Anderson, IA
Anderson wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Anderson lands at the 40th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 56 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Anderson's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 40th percentile nationally.
Where Anderson's buildings actually sit
Of Anderson's 56 counted buildings, 55.4% carry Direct exposure and only 44.6% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Anderson against the rest of the country
Anderson scores 40th nationally and 55th 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, Anderson ranks 18,869 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,763 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 455 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
At the 40th national percentile, Anderson rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Anderson's 55.4% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Anderson's 18,869-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Anderson, see the exposure-zones guide.