Benton is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Arkansas, United States and a suburb of Little Rock. It was established in 1837. According to a 2006 Special Census conducted at the request of the city government, the population of the city is 27,717, ranking it as the state's 16th largest city, behind Texarkana. However in the 2010 census, the city population increased to 30,681, making it the 12th largest city in the state of Arkansas. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area.