What stands out worked out from the figures below

Benson has the most expensive homes ($230k median).

Sandgate has the most people working from home (34.6%).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Benson	Sandgate
People
Population	271Lowest	435Highest
Median age	50.7±7.7Lowest 30% above U.S.	55.7±5.4Highest 43% above U.S.
	Sandgate and Benson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	14.4%±9.3Highest U.S.: 22%	13.1%±7.5Lowest U.S.: 22%
	Benson and Sandgate are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	34.3%±2.9Highest U.S.: 17.2%	26%±11.3Lowest U.S.: 17.2%
	Benson and Sandgate are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	21.1%Lowest U.S.: 35.7%	37.8%Highest U.S.: 35.7%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	1.1%±5.6Lowest U.S.: 6.4%	2.3%±2.4Highest U.S.: 6.4%
	Sandgate and Benson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$69,375±$13kHighest 14% below U.S.	$69,167±$19kLowest 14% below U.S.
	Benson and Sandgate are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$230,100±$15kHighest 31% below U.S.	$193,800±$31kLowest 42% below U.S.
	Benson and Sandgate are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$2,528Lowest 19% below U.S.	$2,778Highest 11% below U.S.
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	0%±100 U.S.: 51.1%	0%±100 U.S.: 51.1%
Below poverty line	5.2%Lowest U.S.: 12.5%	9.7%Highest U.S.: 12.5%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	86.7%Lowest U.S.: 65.2%	94.3%Highest U.S.: 65.2%
Typical home builtmedian year	1966Highest 14 yrs older than U.S.	1959Lowest 21 yrs older than U.S.
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	26 minLowest about the U.S. average	27 minHighest 3% above U.S.
Work from home	9.6%±4.2Lowest U.S.: 15.1%	34.6%±32.4Highest U.S.: 15.1%
	Sandgate and Benson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

U.S. average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.