Benbrook, Texas

Benbrook is a town located in the southwestern corner of Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Fort Worth. As of the 2010 United States census, the population was 21,234, reflecting an increase of 1,026 from the 20,208 counted in the 2000 census, which had in turn increased by 644 from the 19,564 counted in the 1990 census. As of the 2020 census, the population grew to 24,520.

Geography
Benbrook is a suburb of Fort Worth located at 32.68472°N, -97.45667°W (32.684658, –97.456692).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.6 sqkm; 29.8 sqkm is land and 1.8 sqkm is water. The total area is 5.63 percent water, and the primary body of water is Benbrook Lake, formed in 1952 after the construction of Benbrook Dam by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which began in May 1947.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 24,520 people, 9,281 households, and 6,030 families residing in the city. In the 2015 census estimates, there were 22,144 people and 9,276 households in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 77.1 percent White, 6.7 percent African American, 0.20 percent Native American, 2.2 percent Asian, 0.01 percent Pacific Islander, 0.01 percent from other races, and 2.8 percent from two or more races. 11.0 percent of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. In contrast, at the 2020 census, its racial makeup was 70.28% non-Hispanic white, 6.68% African American, 0.42% Native American, 2.01% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.28% some other race, 4.67% multiracial, and 15.57% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Top employers
According to Benbrook's 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Prohibition and alcohol sales
In 1949, two years after Benbrook was incorporated as a village, the sale of liquor and beer was made illegal. In 1951, the citizens voted to make taverns illegal. A few years later, in 1954, an election was held to determine the legality of selling alcohol for "off-premises consumption," but there were not enough votes to allow its sale. In 1971, the residents of Benbrook chose to prohibit all alcohol sales, except for beer to be imbibed off-premises.

Education
The Fort Worth Independent School District oversees Benbrook's public schools.

Two elementary schools, Benbrook Elementary and Westpark Elementary, are located in Benbrook. Waverly Park Elementary and Ridglea Hills Elementary in Fort Worth also serve portions of Benbrook. After completion of their elementary education, Benbrook children proceed to Benbrook Middle-High School. Western Hills High School, also in Benbrook, is attended by students living north of I-20.

According to data gathered by the U.S. Census in 2000, a high school diploma was the highest level of educational attainment for 23.7 percent of the population aged 25 or older; the national average was 28.6 percent for this category. Approximately 22.6 percent of residents aged 25 and over had a bachelor's degree, compared to the national average of 15.5 percent, while 7.6 percent had a master's degree and 0.7 percent had earned a Doctoral degree, compared with the national average of 5.9 and 1 percent, respectively.

History of schools
Around 1995 Jerry Dittrich, a City Council member in Benbrook, had campaigned for Benbrook leaving Fort Worth ISD on the grounds that the schools serving Benbrook were too far away, with some being over 15 mi away. Fort Worth ISD, over the following two decades, began building new schools in Benbrook.

Benbrook Middle opened in August 2011. Prior to the opening of Benbrook Middle, students attended Monning Middle School or Leonard Sixth Grade Center and then Leonard Middle School.

Fort Worth ISD used a 2007 bond to pay for a combined middle and high school that opened in August 2014. Westpark Elementary will be converted into a middle school, and then a $15.5 million new elementary school will open next door. The new Westpark Elementary opened in August 2016. The renovated former elementary school is expected to open as a middle school summer of 2017. The combined middle and high school will become solely a high school when the converted middle school opens.