Minden, IA
Minden wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Minden lands at the 21st percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 362 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Minden's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 19th percentile nationally.
Where Minden's buildings actually sit
93.9% of Minden's 362 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 6.1% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Where Minden ranks
Minden scores 21st nationally and 34th within Iowa — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Minden ranks 24,857 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,016 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 670 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Minden's moderate rating (21st percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
With 93.9% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Minden gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Minden's figures come from
Minden's 21st-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 Minden's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.