Benton, PA
Benton, PA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Benton lands at the 49th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 522 buildings, not the land around them. (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 52nd percentile, close to its 49th-percentile risk score.
Where Benton's buildings actually sit
522 buildings are counted in Benton, and 71.7% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 28.4% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Where Benton ranks
Benton's 81st-percentile standing inside Pennsylvania outpaces its 49th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Benton ranks 15,949 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,998 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 384 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
Benton and the insurance market
Benton's elevated wildfire rating (49th 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 Benton
Benton's 71.7% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Benton's figures come from
Benton's 49th-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 Benton's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.