New Bedford, IL
New Bedford, IL's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, New Bedford lands at the 4th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 77 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, New Bedford's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 4th percentile nationally.
Where New Bedford's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 68.8% of New Bedford's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 31.2% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
How New Bedford compares
Compare New Bedford's two percentiles: 23rd within Illinois, only 4th nationally — a gap of 19 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, New Bedford ranks 30,344 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,002 by building count (1 is largest). Within Illinois alone, it ranks 1,115 of 1,445 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Illinois on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
New Bedford's low wildfire rating (4th 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
Even with 68.8% of New Bedford outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 77 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for New Bedford. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond New Bedford, see the exposure-zones guide.