Benton, WI
How exposed is Benton to wildfire?
Benton sits at the 11th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 572 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Benton's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 11th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Benton's buildings (80.4% of 572) fall outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones entirely — that doesn't zero out the score above, it means the risk is regional, not structure-by-structure.
Where Benton ranks
Benton's risk sits at a similar level relative to Wisconsin (9th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (11th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Benton ranks 27,943 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,228 by building count (1 is largest). Within Wisconsin alone, it ranks 737 of 808 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Wisconsin on its state page.
Benton and the insurance market
Benton's low wildfire rating (11th 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
With 80.4% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Benton gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Benton's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Benton's 27,943-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Benton's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.