Bentonville is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers adjacent to the east. The city proper had a population of 54,164 at the 2020 census, making it the ninth-most populous city in Arkansas. It is one of the four main cities in the three-county Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area, with 546,725 residents in 2020.
The original store of Sam Walton, who later founded Walmart, the world's largest retailer, can be found in Bentonville, along with the retailer's headquarters and 350-acre home office. Bentonville is one of the fastest-growing cities in the state.
History
Early history
The first known use by humans of the area which is now known as Bentonville, was as hunting grounds by the Osage Nation who lived in Missouri. The Osage would leave their settlements to hunt in present-day Benton County for months at a time before returning to their families. European settlers first inhabited the area around 1837 and named their settlement "Osage". By this time, the Osage had ceased using the area for hunting, and the European settlers began to establish farms. Upon establishment of Benton County on September 30, 1836, Osage was deemed a suitable site for the county seat, and the town square was established as the home of county government the following year. Osage was renamed Bentonville in honor of Thomas Hart Benton, a senator from Missouri who strongly supported Arkansas statehood.
Early statehood and Civil War
Two years after Arkansas received statehood in 1836, thousands of Cherokee people from Georgia passed through Benton County as part of the Trail of Tears route to the Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma.
Although no Civil War battles were fought inside Bentonville, the city was occupied by both armies and saw almost all of its buildings burned. The 2nd Arkansas Mounted Rifles brigade was organized in the summer of 1861 and inducted into the Confederate States Army in a field outside of town. Bentonville was a staging point for the Confederate army prior to the Battle of Pea Ridge, fought about northeast of town, and the town saw a brief skirmish just prior to the battle.
The city began to rebuild about a decade after incorporation on April 3, 1873, with many of these Reconstruction Era buildings today serving as the oldest structures in Bentonville.
The first railroad line into the area bypassed Bentonville, instead creating the nearby town of Rogers. So in 1883, a corporation called the Bentonville Railroad Company (a forerunner of the Arkansas and Oklahoma Railroad) proceeded to link Rogers with Bentonville, about six miles. That line has changed hands over time, but remains in use.
With good transportation available, the area established a vibrant apple industry, with Benton County becoming the leading apple producing county in the nation in 1901.
Twentieth century In May 1922, the first Ku Klux Klan chapter was opened in Bentonville. By 1923, there was documentation of at least 162 men who were members of the Klan. Most of the town's most prominent citizens were charter members of the Klan chapters, including mayor Lee Seamster, his successor Tom Curt, the Benton County sheriff and several deputies, and Circuit Judge William A. Dickson, as well as half of the aldermen on the city council.
In the 1920s and 1930s the county developed a reputation as a leader in poultry production that continued into the World War II years, and which the area still maintains today. The post-war economy helped Bentonville grow, with many new businesses starting.
In 1950, Sam Walton bought the Harrison Variety Store on the Bentonville town square. He fully remodeled the building and opened "Walton's 5 and 10 Variety Store" on March 18, 1951. This single store eventually led to the creation of Walmart, the world's largest retailer, which still strongly influences the community today.
The late twentieth and early twenty-first century has seen a dramatic reduction in the manufacturing sector in Bentonville, corresponding with an increase in tourism and entertainment focused on the natural setting and outdoor opportunities of the area as well as the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which opened in 2011. This has resulted in Bentonville being the fastest growing city in Arkansas, and the larger Northwest Arkansas area one of the fastest growing in the United States.
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.67%, is water.
Metropolitan area
The Northwest Arkansas region consists of three Arkansas counties: Benton, Madison, and Washington. The area had a population of 347,045 at the 2000 census which had increased to 463,204 by the 2010 Census (an increase of 33.47 percent). The Metropolitan Statistical Area does not consist of the usual principal-city-with-suburbs morphology; instead Bentonville is bordered to the east by Rogers, the north by Bella Vista, and the west by Centerton. The Northwest Arkansas National Airport is located to the southwest of Bentonville and is used to connect all of the northwest Arkansas region to the rest of the nation. For more than the last decade, Northwest Arkansas has been one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States.
Climate Bentonville lies in the humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen Cfa) with influence from the humid continental climate type. Bentonville experiences all four seasons and does receive cold air masses from the north. July is the hottest month of the year, with an average high of and an average low of . Temperatures above are common, with a high of occurring about once per year on average. January is the coldest month with an average high of and an average low of . The city's highest temperature was , recorded in 1954. The lowest temperature recorded was , in 1996.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Bentonville city, Arkansas – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop.2000Pop.2010Pop.2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)17,34627,19334,68787.92%77.03%64.04%Black or African American alone (NH)1658501,6530.84%2.41%3.05%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)2594174931.31%1.18%0.91%Asian alone (NH)4702,9198,4272.38%8.27%15.56%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)7692280.04%0.20%0.42%Other race alone (NH)11482130.06%0.14%0.39%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)2747313,0291.39%2.07%5.59%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,1983,0745,4346.07%8.71%10.03%Total19,73035,30154,164 100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Bentonville had a population of 54,164, with 18,223 households and 12,212 families. The median age was 32.2 years. 28.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 8.2% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.0 males age 18 and over.
97.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 2.4% lived in rural areas.
There were 20,476 households in Bentonville, of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 52.8% were married-couple households, 18.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 22,436 housing units, of which 8.7% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.4%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number PercentWhite 35,908 66.3%Black or African American 1,695 3.1%American Indian and Alaska Native 664 1.2%Asian 8,455 15.6%Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 230 0.4%Some other race 2,193 4.0%Two or more races 5,019 9.3%
2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 19,730 people, 7,458 households, and 5,265 families residing in the city. The city grew substantially in the 1990s; the 1990 population was 11,257 and the city is expected to reach 50,000 people by the year 2030. According to the US Census, Bentonville and surrounding communities in Benton County is second in growth for Arkansas and among the 100 fastest-growing counties in the United States.
The population density was . There were 7,924 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.92% White, 0.88% Black or African American, 1.33% Native American, 2.40% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.68% from other races, and 1.76% from two or more races. 6.07% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The 2005 Special Census reported 24,837 Whites/non-Hispanic whites (86.8%), 2,428 Hispanics of any race (8.5%), 1,135 Asians (4.0%), and 510 Blacks/African Americans (1.8%).
There were 7,458 households, out of which 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% are classified as non-families by the United States Census Bureau. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.11.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.5% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 34.2% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,936, and the median income for a family was $46,558. Males had a median income of $31,816 versus $23,761 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,831. 10.3% of the population and 7.5% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 13.7% are under the age of 18 and 10.9% are 65 or older.
Economy
+ Bentonville's Top Employers+Bentonville-Bella Vista Chamber of CommerceRankEmployer1 Walmart Inc.2 Northwest Health System3 Mercy of Northwest Arkansas4 Bentonville School District5 Benton County, Arkansas6 City of Bentonville7 Northwest Arkansas Community College8 Arvest Bank Group, Inc9 Outdoor Cap Company10 Community Publishers
Bentonville has been home to Walmart since Sam Walton purchased a store on the town square in 1950 and renamed it Walton's 5 & 10. The retailer continued a rapid growth, but Helen Walton wished to remain in Bentonville to raise the family, and thus by the time Walmart became the #1 Fortune 500 in 2002, it was still based in Bentonville. The former Walmart "Home Office" included more than 20 buildings throughout Bentonville, specifically along Walton Boulevard (US 71B) in the western part of the city. In 2017, Walmart announced their intention to construct a new central headquarters in Bentonville, consolidating many of their employees to a more centralized campus, with the first portion of their new 350-acre campus opening in January 2025.
The impact from the Walmart Home Office is multiplied by the over 1,100 prospective Walmart vendors who have established sales offices in the region. The large number of satellite offices for companies of almost every industry means a large number of transplants from around the United States live in or near Bentonville.
The entrepreneurial scene in Bentonville is growing, with co-working spaces and startup incubators being added over the last 5 years.
Arts and culture
Bentonville's culture is a combination of a southern city, small town, global business hub, and the surrounding Northwest Arkansas metro.