Atco, NJ
How exposed is Atco to wildfire?
USFS scores Atco at the 85th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 3,961 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Atco at the 84th percentile, close to its 85th-percentile risk score.
Where Atco's buildings actually sit
Direct exposure dominates in Atco: 74.7% of its 3,961 buildings, versus 25.3% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Atco against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Atco's 85th national percentile and its 90th percentile inside New Jersey, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Atco ranks 4,606 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,280 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Jersey alone, it ranks 69 of 700 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Jersey on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Atco's very high rating (85th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Atco (74.7%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Atco's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 3,961 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Atco. The exposure-zones guide covers what Atco's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.