Benton County, Oregon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Benton County
U.S. county
Benton County Courthouse in Corvallis
Location within the U.S. state of Oregon
Oregon's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Oregon
Founded	December 23, 1847
Named for	Thomas H. Benton
Seat	Corvallis
Largest city	Corvallis
Area
• Total	679 sq mi (1,760 km2)
• Land	676 sq mi (1,750 km2)
• Water	2.7 sq mi (7 km2)  0.4%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	95,184
• Estimate  (2023)	99,355
• Density	127/sq mi (49/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
Congressional district	4th

Map of Benton County

Benton County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2023 census population estimates, the population was 99,355. Its county seat is Corvallis. The county was named after Thomas Hart Benton, a U.S. Senator who advocated American control over the Oregon Country. Benton County is designated as the Corvallis, OR Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Portland–Vancouver–Salem, OR–WA Combined Statistical Area. It is in the Willamette Valley.

History

Benton County was created on December 23, 1847, by an act of the Provisional Government of Oregon. The county was named after Democratic Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, an advocate of the doctrine of Manifest Destiny and the belief that the American government should control the whole of the Oregon Country. At the time of its formation the county included all the country west of the Willamette River, south of Polk County and running all the way to the California border in the south and the Pacific Ocean in the west.

The county was created out of lands originally inhabited by the Klickitat, who rented it from the Kalapuyas for use as hunting grounds. All aboriginal claims to land within Benton County were ceded in the Treaty of Dayton in 1855. Portions of Benton County were taken to form Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Lane and Lincoln Counties, leaving Benton County in its present form.

The city of Marysville, later renamed Corvallis, was made the county seat in 1851. The city briefly was the capital of Oregon. In 1862 Corvallis became the site of the Oregon State Agricultural College, known today as Oregon State University.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 679 square miles (1,760 km²), of which 676 square miles (1,750 km²) is land and 2.7 square miles (7.0 km²) (0.4%) is water. It is the fourth-smallest county in Oregon by land area and third-smallest by total area.

Adjacent counties

• Polk County (north)
• Lincoln County (west)
• Linn County (east)
• Lane County (south)

National protected areas

• Siuslaw National Forest (part)
• William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 95,184 people, the racial make up of the county was 75.9% non-Hispanic white, 1% African American, 0.6% Native American, 6.7% Asian, 6.1% of two or more races. Residents of Hispanic or Latino ancestry made up 9% of the population.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 85,579 people, 34,317 households, and 19,256 families residing in the county. The population density was 126.6 inhabitants per square mile (48.9 inhabitants/km²). There were 36,245 housing units at an average density of 53.6 units per square mile (20.7 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.1% white, 5.2% Asian, 0.9% black or African American, 0.7% American Indian, 0.2% Pacific islander, 2.3% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 6.4% of the population. In terms of ethnicity, 22.6% reported German ancestry, 16.1% English, 13.5% Irish, and 3.6% were American heritage.

Of the 34,317 households, 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 43.9% were non-families, and 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 32.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,012 and the median income for a family was $71,763. Males had a median income of $50,282 versus $35,387 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,177. About 7.7% of families and 19.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Lewisburg

Cities

• Adair Village
• Albany (part)
• Corvallis (county seat)
• Monroe
• Philomath

Census-designated places

• Alpine
• Alsea
• Bellfountain
• Blodgett
• Kings Valley
• Summit

Unincorporated communities

Economy

Along with Oregon State University, agriculture, lumber, wood products, and some printing technology research and development form the economic base of the county. A substantial portion of the nation's research in forestry, agriculture, engineering, education and the sciences takes place at OSU.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Benton (Oregón) para niños