Benson, IL
How exposed is Benson to wildfire?
Benson's 264 buildings earn a 0th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Benson's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 0th percentile nationally.
Where Benson's buildings actually sit
Only 1.5% of Benson's 264 buildings carry Direct exposure and 0% carry Indirect; the remaining 98.5% are Minimal, which shifts the risk driving this page's score toward the surrounding landscape rather than any one structure.
Where Benson ranks
Benson's risk sits at a similar level relative to Illinois (1st percentile statewide) as it does nationally (0th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Benson ranks 31,479 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,696 by building count (1 is largest). Within Illinois alone, it ranks 1,422 of 1,445 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Illinois on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Benson
Benson's low wildfire rating (0th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Benson's 98.5% Minimal-exposure share means structure-level hardening matters less here than it would elsewhere — still worth the low-cost basics, per the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 264 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Benson. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Benson, see the exposure-zones guide.