Beltsville, MD
How exposed is Beltsville to wildfire?
Beltsville sits at the 27th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 4,609 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Beltsville at the 27th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
82.1% of Beltsville's 4,609 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 17.9% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Where Beltsville ranks
Beltsville's risk sits at a similar level relative to Maryland (40th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (27th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Beltsville ranks 23,128 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,695 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 316 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Beltsville
Beltsville's moderate rating (27th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Even with 82.1% of Beltsville 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 4,609 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Beltsville. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Beltsville, see the exposure-zones guide.