The city has an ancient nucleus on a modest relief not far from the sea, at the foot of which develops the original settlement of the most recent part "Navy'. This is crossed by the Albula torrent and has developed over the years up to the river Tronto, to the south, incorporating the locality Porto d'Ascoli, while at north it joins with the Ischia district of Grottammare, with which it constitutes a single urban agglomeration that reaches almost until Tesino. Southwest following the river bank Tronto merges with the Centobuchi, a frazione of Monteprandone.

San Benedetto del Tronto has become, over the centuries, a fishing and tourist center of primary national importance. In 1912 the launch of a motorized fish-carrier began a process of transformation of the propulsion of the ships that, from the sail, reached the ocean fishing vessels. Alongside these events there have also been modernizations and developments also in other sectors directly linked to maritime activities, such as shipbuilding, hemp processing, cable and network construction, naval workshops, on-board instrumentation, fish marketing (San Benedetto boasts the most important wholesale fish market in Italy), the cold chains for the transport of fish.

Although in continuous decline, this sector remains a driving force for the local economy if we do not consider only the properly maritime part (note that San Benedetto del Tronto is the second Italian port, behind Mazara del Vallo, for quantity of fish caught and number of fishing boats and one of the largest fish markets in Italy) but all related industries are taken into account and above all the highly developed canning industry which, established to support the marketing of fish, now operates on all food products, mainly fruit and vegetables. In San Benedetto del Tronto we also find a vocational training center for offshore fishing workers.