Arlington, MN
Arlington wildfire risk explained
Arlington sits at the 11th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,149 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Arlington at the 9th percentile, close to its 11th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 93.3% of Arlington's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 6.5% Direct and 0.2% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
Where Arlington ranks
Arlington's risk sits at a similar level relative to Minnesota (15th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (11th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Arlington ranks 28,020 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,963 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 778 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Arlington's low wildfire rating (11th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 93.3% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Arlington gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Arlington's figures come from
Arlington's 11th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Arlington's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.