The percentage of adults in Benson who are college-educated is close to the national average for all communities of 21.84%: 20.83% of the adults in Benson have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Benson in 2022 was $26,918, which is lower middle income relative to North Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $107,672 for a family of four. However, Benson contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Benson also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 32.88% of its population below the federal poverty line.

Benson is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Benson home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Benson residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Benson also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 23.46% of the town鈥檚 residents. Important ancestries of people in Benson include English, German, European, Irish, and Nigerian.

The most common language spoken in Benson is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.