City · Cochise County, Arizona

Benson, Arizona

Benson is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, part of the Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ metro area. It has 5,417 residents. Benson, Arizona has a quality-of-life score of 18 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,899 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Arizona it ranks #120 of 207 cities and towns. It ranks best on comfortable days (high), preventable hospital stays (low) and new homes permitted (high). It ranks worst on job growth (low), suicide rate (high) and flu vaccinations (low).

18Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,899 of 15,651 cities and towns
Arizona: #120 of 207 in AZ
Population: 5,417 (2020-2024)
Land area: 42 mi²
Density: 130.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 0405770

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety37#9,875/15,637
Economy18#12,867/15,631
Housing48#7,755/14,977
Health29#11,114/15,609
Healthcare21#12,406/15,650
Environment55#6,902/15,453
Education18#12,764/15,649
Infrastructure22#12,152/15,650
Community40#9,437/15,651
Leisure & amenities14#13,439/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Benson, Arizona ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Cochise County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Comfortable days · high36.5%
96/100Arizona 31.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCochise County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,682 /100k
93/100Arizona 2,070 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCochise County value
New homes permitted · high14.2 /1k
93/100Arizona 6.3 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.9 µg/m³
91/100Arizona 6.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCochise County value
Loneliness · low31.9%
84/100Arizona 32.7%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Effective property tax rate · low0.55%
84/100Arizona 0.48%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Weaknesses

Job growth · low-5.8%
1/100Arizona -0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataCochise County value
Suicide rate · high33.7 /100k
2/100Arizona 20.8 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCochise County value
Flu vaccinations · low28.0%
5/100Arizona 41.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCochise County value
Grocery stores · low0.8 /10k
7/100Arizona 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCochise County value
Pharmacies · low0.8 /10k
8/100Arizona 1.4 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCochise County value
Firearm deaths · high23.3 /100k
9/100Arizona 18.1 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCochise County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
4,878 (2015-2019) → 5,417 (2020-2024)
+11%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
4.8 /1k (2021) → 14.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+199%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
24.3% (2015-2019) → 4.5% (2020-2024)
−20 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
73.3% (2015-2019) → 61.9% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$32,783 (2015-2019) → $49,346 (2020-2024)
+51%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.8% (2015-2019) → 89.3% (2020-2024)
+9.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Benson, Arizona improved on 3 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Rent / income−9 points43.7% → 34.7%
Poverty−7.9 points20.0% → 12.1%
Household income+51%$32,783 → $49,346

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Benson, Arizona between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.4 min2015-2019	31.3 min2020-2024	+7.0 min	Within the margin of error	5%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.1%2015-2019	25.2%2020-2024	+6.1 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Broadband subscriptions	79.8%2015-2019	89.3%2020-2024	+9.5 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Effective property tax rate	0.79%2015-2019	0.55%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	65%
High school diploma or higher	86.8%2015-2019	86.2%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Home price to income ratio	3.3×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	−0.3×	Within the margin of error	89%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4432015-2019	0.4382020-2024	−0.005	Within the margin of error	55%
Median household income	$32,7832015-2019	$49,3462020-2024	+51%	Improved	85%
Poverty rate	20.0%2015-2019	12.1%2020-2024	−7.9 points	Improved	89%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	43.7%2015-2019	34.7%2020-2024	−9 points	Improved	92%
Rent-burdened households	73.3%2015-2019	61.9%2020-2024	−11 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.1%2015-2019	9.5%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	30%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Benson, Arizona five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Benson, Arizona in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Benson, Arizona itself moved +4 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

5,417 residents (±19)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

2,395 households (±235)

Benson, Arizona
Arizona share

Under $25k27%†653
$25k–50k24%†573
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

2,395 households (±235)

Benson, Arizona
Arizona share

Own59%1,424
Rent41%971

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−13.0 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,863 workers (±326)

Benson, Arizona
Arizona share

Drive alone70%1,313
Carpool14%†263
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Cochise County, the county holding most of Benson's residents.

Cochise County has 2,189 employer establishments, 176 for every 10,000 residents (0.71× the US rate of 248; 0.80× Arizona's), with 26,077 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,262. The Census Bureau also counts 7,736 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,189; 7,736 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 176; US 248 · Arizona 219
Paid employees: 26,077
Average annual pay: $45,262; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Cochise County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	180	14.4	0.69×Fewer than typical	2,051	$65,086	350
Restaurants and other eating places	178	14.3	0.78×Fewer than typical	2,972	$20,506	63
Specialty trade contractors	138	11.1	0.71×Fewer than typical	845	$47,821	488
Lessors of real estate	117	9.4	0.76×Fewer than typical	402	$38,913	572
Religious organizations	85	6.8	1.23×About typical	366	$22,057	—
Full-service restaurants	80	6.4	0.84×About typical	1,348	$21,984	32
Limited-service restaurants	71	5.7	0.71×Fewer than typical	1,369	$19,892	21
Construction of buildings	68	5.5	0.72×Fewer than typical	751	$56,762	342
Building equipment contractors	64	5.1	0.85×About typical	385	$46,730	92
Automotive repair and maintenance	58	4.7	0.92×About typical	261	$40,364	141
Gasoline stations	55	4.4	1.36×More than typical	661	$28,513	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	48	3.8	0.57×Fewer than typical	312	$33,599	696

Rank places for an industry Open Cochise County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 124,716 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $9,342 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Benson, Arizona: $1.72 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $9,342; −47% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1.72; US $1,994
Sole-source: 4.3%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

U.S. Customs and Border Protection$8,60592%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$4024.3%
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center$3433.7%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

51.1FY2017
1.5KFY2019
766.9FY2020
13.5KFY2021
1.4KFY2022
125.7KFY2023
60.9KFY2024
17.7KFY2025

Top industries (NAICS)

Support activities for animal production · 1152$8,60592%
Automotive repair and maintenance · 8111$4024.3%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$3433.7%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Benson, Arizona, so they do not add up across cities.

Benson, Arizona's figures are part of those of Cochise County, AZ ($857.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Benson is mostly in Cochise County.

See federal money in Cochise County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Benson, Arizona is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Cochise County34100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ38

Other cities and towns in Cochise County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0405770

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends