Benson first appeared on the 1890 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. It did not appear on the 1900 census. It reappeared again in 1910. It did not return separately (as a village) in 1920, but the population for the Benson Precinct of Cochise County (825) was substituted (which included the village of Benson and adjacent area). It formally incorporated as a town in 1924 and has returned on every census since 1930. On March 26, 1985, voters approved a resolution upgrading Benson to city status.