Benson, Minnesota

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Benson is a city in Swift County, Minnesota, along the Chippewa River. The population was 3,376 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Swift County ⁶.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Alternative Energy
4 Items of Interest
5 External links

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.4 km² (2.5 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 3,376 people, 1,451 households, and 880 families residing in the city. The population density was 525.6/km² (1,360.5/mi²). There were 1,566 housing units at an average density of 243.8/km² (631.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.07% White, 0.24% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.18% of the population.

There were 1,451 households out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.3% were non-families. 36.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 24.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 86.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,234, and the median income for a family was $44,638. Males had a median income of $31,280 versus $23,444 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,269. About 3.2% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over.