# Benton County, Iowa: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Vinton, Belle Plaine and Atkins The data center boom is not abstract in Benton County: it is on the ground here. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 1 data center in Benton County. Benton County is home to Vinton, Belle Plaine, Atkins and Urbana. Electrical contractors employ 23, up 27.8% since 2019 against up 25.6% statewide, at an average $43,137 a year. Construction employs 380, down 11.6% since 2019. Its power plants have 18 MW of capacity, 92% of it natural gas. 1 data centers on the SAVRN Data Center Map 18 MW of operating power plants, mostly natural gas 17.90¢ per kWh for Interstate Power and Light Co residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Benton County Benton County is home to Vinton, Belle Plaine, Atkins and Urbana. Vinton5,004 residents Belle Plaine2,346 residents Atkins2,203 residents Urbana1,671 residents Shellsburg997 residents Walford962 residents · 71% of the city Newhall906 residents Van Horne769 residents Blairstown709 residents Keystone617 residents Norway470 residents Garrison353 residents Mount Auburn160 residents Luzerne113 residents - Walford also extends into [Linn County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/linn-county). Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Watkins. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Benton County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Iowa | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 25,552 | 26,004 | ▲ 1.8% | 24th of 99 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 6,067 | 6,040 | ▼ 0.4% | 42nd of 99 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $39,783 | $52,040 | ▲ 30.8% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 430 | 380 | ▼ 11.6% | 72nd of 81 by growth | | Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 18 | 23 | ▲ 27.8% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.7% | 3.3% | ▲ 0.6pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Unemployment was 3.3% in August 2026, against 2.7% in 2019. Interstate Power and Light Co is the largest utility serving Benton County, one of 6 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 17.90¢/kWh in 2024, above the 13.77¢ median for Iowa utilities. Employers here counted 6,040 jobs in 2025, down 0.4% from 2019. 26,004 people live here, up 1.8% since 2020. ## Who powers Benton County ### Utilities with service territory in Benton County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Interstate Power and Light Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 417,153 | 17.90¢ | 29% | | Linn County REC | Cooperative | Bundled | 30,323 | 14.23¢ | 11% | | East-Central Iowa Rural Elec Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 7,368 | 13.28¢ | 27% | | T I P Rural Electric Coop | — | — | — | — | — | | City of Traer - (IA) | — | — | — | — | — | | City of Vinton - (IA) | — | — | — | — | — | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Natural gas | 16 MW | 92% | | Petroleum | 1 MW | 8% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Vinton | City of Vinton - (IA) | Natural gas | 18 MW | 1946 | ## The Benton County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 6,040 | $52,040 | 1.00 | | Construction | 380 | $71,829 | 1.19 | | Electrical contractors | 23 | $43,137 | 0.53 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Benton County 1 data center in Benton County is on the SAVRN Data Center Map. ## Benton County and its neighbors Of the 7 counties that border Benton County, Linn County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Benton County | 26,004 | ▼ 0.4% | 18 MW | — | 1 | — | | Black Hawk County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/black-hawk-county) | 131,532 | ▼ 4.0% | 394 MW | — | 3 | — | | Buchanan County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/buchanan-county) | 20,883 | ▲ 1.1% | 2 MW | — | 1 | 1 | | Iowa County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/iowa-county) | 16,504 | ▼ 18.2% | 277 MW | — | — | 1 | | Johnson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/johnson-county) | 160,044 | ▲ 2.5% | 124 MW | — | 4 | 1 | | Linn County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/linn-county) | 232,028 | ▼ 4.5% | 742 MW | 100 MW | 7 | 2 | | Poweshiek County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/poweshiek-county) | 18,368 | ▼ 6.0% | 538 MW | — | — | — | | Tama County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/tama-county) | 16,796 | ▼ 3.2% | 180 MW | — | — | — | ## More of Iowa [All Iowa countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa)[Linn County232,028 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/linn-county)[Johnson County160,044 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/johnson-county)[Black Hawk County131,532 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/black-hawk-county)[Buchanan County20,883 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/buchanan-county)[Poweshiek County18,368 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/poweshiek-county) ## Benton County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Benton County, Iowa? 6 utilities have service territory in Benton County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Interstate Power and Light Co, Linn County REC, East-Central Iowa Rural Elec Coop, T I P Rural Electric Coop. The largest, Interstate Power and Light Co, charged residential customers 17.90¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Benton County? 1 operating plant with 18 MW of capacity. The largest is Vinton (18 MW, natural gas). ### Are there data centers in Benton County? Yes. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 1 data center in Benton County. ### Is Benton County adding jobs? Employers counted 6,040 jobs in 2025 against 6,067 in 2019 (-0.4%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 430 to 380. ### Does Benton County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Benton County. Iowa has 31 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/benton-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).