Benton, TN
How exposed is Benton to wildfire?
Benton's 894 buildings earn a 76th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — well above the national norm for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Benton at the 79th national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
71.7% of Benton's 894 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 641 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 28.3% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
How Benton compares
Benton scores 76th nationally and 79th within Tennessee — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Benton ranks 7,510 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,779 by building count (1 is largest). Within Tennessee alone, it ranks 104 of 502 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Tennessee on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Benton
Benton's high rating (76th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
What would actually reduce this score
With 71.7% of Benton in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 894 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Benton. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Benton, see the exposure-zones guide.