Benton, AL
Benton, AL's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Benton's 53 buildings earn a 57th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Benton at the 60th percentile, close to its 57th-percentile risk score.
Benton's building exposure, zone by zone
69.8% of Benton's 53 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 37 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 30.2% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Benton against the rest of the country
Inside Alabama, Benton sits at just the 18th percentile even though it scores 57th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Benton ranks 13,446 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,839 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alabama alone, it ranks 486 of 592 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alabama on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Benton
Benton's elevated wildfire rating (57th 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
Benton's 69.8% 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.
Where Benton's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 53 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Benton. The exposure-zones guide covers what Benton's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.