Benson, VT
Benson, VT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Benson at the 25th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 270 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (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 27th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
97% of Benson's 270 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 262 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 3% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Benson ranks
Within Vermont, Benson ranks higher (99th percentile) than it does nationally (25th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Benson ranks 23,527 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,520 by building count (1 is largest). Within Vermont alone, it ranks 2 of 179 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Vermont on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Benson
Benson's moderate wildfire rating (25th 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.
Hardening a home in Benson
Benson's 97% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Benson's 23,527-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Benson, see the exposure-zones guide.