Burlington, NC
How exposed is Burlington to wildfire?
Burlington's 22,744 buildings earn a 52nd-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Burlington's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 55th percentile nationally.
Where Burlington's buildings actually sit
54% of Burlington's 22,744 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 23.6% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself. At 22,744 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Burlington against the rest of the country
Burlington scores 52nd nationally and 44th within North Carolina — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Burlington ranks 15,135 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 583 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 433 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Burlington
Burlington's elevated wildfire rating (52nd 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.
Hardening a home in Burlington
Burlington's 54% Minimal-exposure share means structure-level hardening matters less here than it would elsewhere — still worth the low-cost basics, per the home-hardening guide.
Where Burlington's figures come from
Burlington's 52nd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Burlington's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.