Chester, NY
Chester wildfire risk explained
Chester's 1,013 buildings earn a 51st-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.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Chester at the 53rd percentile, close to its 51st-percentile risk score.
Chester's building exposure, zone by zone
1,013 buildings are counted in Chester, and 75.3% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 24.7% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Chester against the rest of the country
Within New York, Chester ranks higher (96th percentile) than it does nationally (51st) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Chester ranks 15,419 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,843 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 55 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Chester
Chester's elevated rating (51st percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Chester
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Chester (75.3% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Chester's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Chester's 15,419-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Chester's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.