Charlotte, TX
Charlotte wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Charlotte at the 90th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 989 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Charlotte's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 91st percentile nationally.
Where Charlotte's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 77% of Charlotte's 989 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 23.1% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Where Charlotte ranks
There's little gap between Charlotte's 90th national percentile and its 84th percentile inside Texas, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Charlotte ranks 3,068 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,018 by building count (1 is largest). Within Texas alone, it ranks 279 of 1,795 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Texas on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Charlotte's very high rating (90th 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
Charlotte's 77% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Charlotte's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Charlotte's 3,068-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Charlotte's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.