Live here
Benton County is home to 15 communities and nearly 26,000 people located between two of Iowa's largest communities - Cedar Rapids and Waterloo. Benton County has all four seasons, open spaces, and starlit nights. Just 60 minutes away, Iowa City is home to the Iowa Hawkeyes and Hancher Auditorium with live, world-class entertainment. Top career opportunities, family-friendly communities, excellent educational opportunities, and recreation make Benton County a fantastic place to call home.
education
PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION
Benton County has four public K-12 schools, each maintaining excellent teacher-to-student ratios, personalized programming, safe learning environments, and high academic standards.
PRIVATE SCHOOL EDUCATION
Central Lutheran School is an accredited private school providing education for students in preschool through 8th grade.
Kirkwood Community College has two centers in the county and provides educational opportunities supporting transfer to four-year institutions and Associate's Degrees, career education, certification, and training.
SECONDARY EDUCATION
Tippie Education Center
1214 9th Ave, Belle Plaine
319-444-2549
Kirkwood Vinton Center
111 West 3rd St, Vinton
319-472-2318
Respected as a leader in PreK-12 education, Iowa also has a robust system of three public universities and 33 private colleges, many within easy commuting distance. Iowa City is home to the University of Iowa. In Cedar Rapids are Mt. Mercy University and Coe College. A little further to the east, Mt. Vernon's Cornell College provides a unique one-course-at-a-time learning opportunity. The University of Northern Iowa is located in Cedar Falls, and nearby in Waterloo are Hawkeye Community College and Allen College, a leader in nursing and medical technology education.
recreation
Benton county's central location makes college sports an excellent recreational pastime whether you're a Hawkeye, Cyclone, or Panther.
Biking enthusiasts can enjoy the 69-mile Cedar Valley Nature Trail stretching from Ely, south of Cedar Rapids, to Evansdale near Waterloo. Many Benton county cyclists look forward to RAGBRAI, the annual ride across Iowa attracting people from all over the U.S. and worldwide.
Outdoor recreation also includes golf, public swimming pools, and ample hunting and fishing opportunities.
high-speed broadband
Benton county is a fiber-rich county, and we're not talking about the fiber your doctor recommends. Thanks to a long history of local self-reliance, most communities and much of our rural area are served by providers initially established to deliver telephone service to farmers and small towns. Those cooperatives now provide high-speed broadband, video entertainment, and telephone service. Vinton, the county seat, constructed its own municipal telecommunications utility and provides gigabit service within the city's boundaries.
healthcare
Routine care is available at clinics in Atkins, Urbana, Van Horne, and Vinton provided by Virginia Gay Hospital, an independent, non-profit hospital located in Vinton that also provides 24/7 emergency medical services.
UnityPoint Health provides care through clinics in Vinton, Shellsburg, and Belle Plaine. St. Luke's Hospital is a major UnityPoint hospital in Cedar Rapids, which is also home to Mercy Medical Center and a wide variety of
medical specialists. The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is one of the nation's premier teaching hospitals and provides advanced medical care across nearly every specialty.
Local medical care is supported by a system of local emergency medical services providing emergency response and ambulance service to area hospitals.
CAREERS
Our county is home to some surprising career opportunities. Frontier Cooperative employs 500 and offers quality spices, herbs, and botanical products to its 40,000 members. Since 1970 the company and its customers have supported the cooperative's mission of creating life-changing opportunities for growers, employees, and customers while focused on sustainability.
Clickstop is a multi-faceted business offering products ranging from cargo straps to hot pepper seeds through advanced web analytics, sales, and marketing capabilities.
Products created by Iowa Mold and Engineering are part of consumer and specialty products shipped worldwide. Workers at Iowa Mold design and manufacture large and small aluminum molds for casting plastics.
In addition to opportunities in a surprising array of industries, the county's largest employers provide healthcare and educational services to support our entire population. As they have since the early history of our county, retail trade and hospitality industries provide the amenities needed for everyday living.