Benson vs Smithfield

A side-by-side comparison of Benson and Smithfield: population, income, housing, and more.

Benson and Smithfield are places in North Carolina. This page compares them across population, income, housing, education, commuting, and how each has changed since 2019.

Smithfield has the higher population (11,798 vs 4,144 in Benson). Benson has the higher median household income ($65,614 vs $37,827 in Smithfield). Smithfield has the higher median home value ($217,000 vs $176,000 in Benson).

Population, income & housing

	Benson	Smithfield
Population	4,144	11,798
Median age	35.0 yrs	42.7 yrs
Median household income	$65,614	$37,827
Median home value	$176,000	$217,000
Median gross rent	$978	$601
Housing units	1,916	5,447
Homeownership rate	52.8%	49.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.8%	26.0%
Unemployment rate	9.8%	8.2%

Trends (ACS 5-year, 2019–2023)

	Benson	Smithfield
Population	3,731 → 4,144 (+11.1%)	12,400 → 11,798 (-4.9%)
Median household income	$35,635 → $65,614 (+84.1%)	$36,335 → $37,827 (+4.1%)
Median home value	$111,400 → $176,000 (+58.0%)	$142,200 → $217,000 (+52.6%)
Median gross rent	$735 → $978 (+33.1%)	$688 → $601 (-12.6%)

Benson

Population

3,7314,144

Median household income

$35,635$65,614

Median home value

$111,400$176,000

Median gross rent

$735$978

Smithfield

Population

12,40011,798

Median household income

$36,335$37,827

Median home value

$142,200$217,000

Median gross rent

$688$601

Age & race/ethnicity

Age distribution (share)

	Benson	Smithfield
Under 5	9.5%	4.2%
5 to 17	17.2%	19.1%
18 to 24	3.6%	6.8%
25 to 34	19.6%	10.4%
35 to 44	9.9%	11.1%
45 to 54	12.7%	13.0%
55 to 64	7.3%	15.8%
65 to 74	14.0%	12.4%
75 and over	6.0%	7.3%

Race & ethnicity (share)

	Benson	Smithfield
White (non-Hispanic)	40.8%	52.9%
Black or African American	35.4%	26.3%
American Indian & Alaska Native	0.0%	0.3%
Asian	0.0%	1.8%
Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander	0.0%	0.0%
Some other race	0.0%	0.2%
Two or more races	0.3%	0.8%
Hispanic or Latino	23.5%	17.8%

Educational attainment (age 25+)

Share of adults 25+

	Benson	Smithfield
No high school diploma	17.8%	21.2%
High school graduate	29.1%	29.2%
Some college or associate's	32.3%	23.7%
Bachelor's degree	16.2%	18.0%
Graduate or professional degree	4.7%	8.0%

Commute to work

How workers get to work (share)

	Benson	Smithfield
Drove alone	74.4%	84.1%
Carpooled	6.6%	7.8%
Public transit	3.3%	0.1%
Walked	0.0%	2.9%
Bicycle	0.0%	0.2%
Worked from home	15.7%	4.9%
Other means	0.0%	0.0%

Housing

Units in structure (share)

	Benson	Smithfield
1-unit, detached	67.4%	58.7%
1-unit, attached	10.3%	5.2%
2 to 4 units	11.0%	12.3%
5 to 19 units	7.4%	6.3%
20 or more units	3.9%	12.3%
Mobile home & other	0.0%	5.3%

Poverty & households

	Benson	Smithfield
Poverty rate	32.9%	31.4%
Average household size	2.60	2.34
Mean commute (minutes)	24	24
Median year structure built	1978	1973