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Risk & Response

Benton County, MN

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 58.4 Relatively Moderate

41,593
Population
6
Departments
10
Stations
10
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
0.32
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
37th highest of 87
Life Safety per 100k
0.76
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
61st highest of 87
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$13.2M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
32nd highest of 87
Property Loss per Resident
$317
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
63rd highest of 87

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Benton County, the largest single contributor is Cold Wave, 44% of the life-safety total.

Benton County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $13.2M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 87 Minnesota counties. Nationally, Benton County ranks 1466th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 2143rd for life safety per 100k residents, 1254th for property loss, and 1718th for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Benton County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Benton County.

Talk to us about Benton County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

73%
24%
Property (buildings): $13.2M (72.7%)
Life safety: $4.3M (23.9%)
Agriculture: $604K (3.3%)

Total expected annual loss: $18,122,422 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Cold Wave
$1.9M
Tornado
$1.1M
Strong Wind
$527K
Heat Wave
$328K
Lightning
$238K
Hail
$103K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$10.3M
Tornado
$1.4M
Strong Wind
$684K
Hail
$610K
Wildfire
$142K
Ice Storm
$51K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Benton County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

33%
67%
Volunteer: 33% (2)
Unreported: 67% (4)
Residents per Station
4,159
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
24.0
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 6 departments registered in NERIS Public for Benton County, MN. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Benton County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 6 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
St. Augusta Fire Department 73,691 $7.5M Relatively Moderate 1
Saint Cloud Fire Department 72,562 $7.3M Relatively Moderate 5
SartellFire Department 21,348 $2.3M Relatively High 1
Sauk Rapids Fire Department 21,854 $2.2M Relatively Moderate 1
Foley Fire Department 13,318 $1.3M Relatively Moderate 1
Rice Fire Department 5,089 $517.0K Relatively Moderate 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

9.9%
Poverty Rate
14.0%
Age 65+
12.9%
Disability Rate
3.4%
Uninsured
42.2%
Pre-1980 Housing
5.5%
Mobile Homes
5.0%
Vacancy Rate
3.2%
Wood Heat
$79,092
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

2
Last 10 Years
5
Last 25 Years
Flood
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

Explore the Regional Tier See the Response Demo