Mississippi · county 28009

Benton County, Mississippi: public records at a glance

What national public records say about Benton County — people, schools, health, drinking water, bridges, disaster risk, the jail, federal grants and how to vote — each with its source. A full County Commons site (the budget line by line, your tax bill, audits, local offices) isn't built for Benton County yet — not gathered, never hidden.

7,566 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.3% since 2020)
407 square miles of land · 19 people per square mile

How Benton County compares — against the other counties in Mississippi

7,566 — people: 76th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$13,860 — spending per student in its school districts: 18th highest of 81 Mississippi counties.
70.7 years — life expectancy: 47th highest of 81 Mississippi counties.
18.0% — share of adults under 65 without health insurance: 2nd highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
30.1% — child poverty: 32nd highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
62.1% — households with broadband internet: 76th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$47,969 — median household income: 47th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
5.8% — share of bridges rated poor: 28th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$775 — federal grant dollars per resident: 22nd highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$3.7 million — expected yearly losses from natural hazards: 80th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.

“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.

Drinking water — public water systems serving Benton County

6 active community water systems list Benton County in the area they serve, reporting 5,717 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).

TOWN OF ASHLAND groundwater · local government · MS0050001	1,977 served
TOWN OF HICKORY FLAT groundwater · local government · MS0050002	1,423 served
TOWN OF SNOW LAKE SHORES groundwater · local government · MS0050003	834 served
BLACKJACK DEVELOPMENT ASSN groundwater · public/private · MS0050016	644 served
NORTH BENTON W/A groundwater · public/private · MS0050017	449 served
TOWN OF POTTS CAMP #2 groundwater · local government · MS0050019	390 served

Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.

The jail — people held in the county jail

About 12 people were held in Benton County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 247 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 12.

Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.

Public schools — district budgets, fiscal 2023

1 school district has its office in Benton County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.

BENTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT961 students

Spent $13.9 million — $13.3 million to run schools, about $13,860 per student, plus $534,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.2 million local (mostly property tax), $6.3 million state, $4.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $1.8 million.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.

Health, money and internet at home — Benton County beside Mississippi

Life expectancy70.7 years · Mississippi 71.9 years

Adults under 65 without health insurance18.0% · Mississippi 13.1%

Children in poverty30.1% · Mississippi 24.3%

Households without enough food (food insecurity)18.5% · Mississippi 18.8%

Households with broadband internet62.1% · Mississippi 81.9%

Households with severe housing problems10.8% · Mississippi 14.3%

Residents per primary care doctor7,646 · Mississippi 1,875

Residents per mental health provider1,859 · Mississippi 436

Unemployment3.7% · Mississippi 3.2%

Median household income$47,969 · Mississippi $54,386

Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.

Disaster risk — FEMA's National Risk Index

Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Benton County about $3.7 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Low; social vulnerability: Very High.

The costliest hazards here

River and inland flooding$1.1 million a year · Very Low

Tornado$901,083 a year · Relatively Low

Earthquake$873,845 a year · Relatively Low

Cold wave$402,097 a year · Relatively Low

Heat wave$220,046 a year · Relatively Low

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.

Bridges — condition of every public bridge, 2025

104 bridges in Benton County: 74 in good condition, 24 fair, and 6 poor (5.8%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.

Busiest bridges rated poor

SR 704 over GRAYS CREEK · built 1955	780 vehicles a day
SR 178 over BURLINGTON NORTHERN RR · built 1937	280 vehicles a day
BRENTS ROAD over UNNAMED CREEK · built 1960	45 vehicles a day
BRENT ROAD over TIPPAH RIVER · built 1960	40 vehicles a day
CATHEY ROAD over PECHAHALEE CREEK · built 1960	40 vehicles a day
MOOREHEAD ROAD over TIPPAH RIVER · built 1965	40 vehicles a day

Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.

Federal grants — the money that came in, and what's open now

Federal grants paid for $5.9 million of work in Benton County in fiscal 2025, about $775 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.

Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.

Open now: federal grants county governments can apply for

F26AS00062: Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act FY 2026 Fish and Wildlife Service · F26AS00062	closes 2026-10-13
OVC FY 2026 Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking Office for Victims of Crime · O-OVC-2026-172699	closes 2026-10-14
BJA FY 2026 Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172661	closes 2026-10-15
FY26 Bureau of Land Management Youth Conservation Corps - Bureau wide Bureau of Land Management · L26AS00064	closes 2026-10-16
FY 2027 Notice of Funding Opportunity: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) FAA Contract Tower (FCT) Competitive Grant Program Airport Improvement Program Discretionary Grants · DOT-FAA-26-0117-002	closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Service Area Competition (SAC) Health Resources and Services Administration · HRSA-27-005	closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP Competition AmeriCorps · AC-08-20-2026	closes 2026-10-20
DOJ FY 2026 Assisting Neighborhoods and Governments with Enforcement of Laws (ANGEL) Grant Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172778	closes 2026-10-20
Long-term health outcomes of people living with spina bifida Centers for Disease Control - NCBDDD · CDC-RFA-DD-26-0222	closes 2026-10-26
OJJDP FY 2026 Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Program Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention · O-OJJDP-2026-172741	closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Veterans Treatment Court Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172714	closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172708	closes 2026-10-29

From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.

Voting

Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Mississippi are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.

Not here yet

The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Benton County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Benton County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.

More of Mississippi: the state government and every county in Mississippi.

Nearby counties: Tippah County (16 mi) · Marshall County (17 mi) · Union County (25 mi) · Fayette County, TN (29 mi) · Hardeman County, TN (31 mi) · Lafayette County (35 mi).