Cincinnati, IA
Cincinnati, IA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Cincinnati sits at the 73rd percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 325 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Cincinnati's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 74th percentile nationally.
Cincinnati's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS classifies 68.9% of Cincinnati's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 31.1% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 224 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Cincinnati against the rest of the country
Compare Cincinnati's two percentiles: 96th within Iowa, only 73rd nationally — a gap of 23 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cincinnati ranks 8,661 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,953 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 44 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Cincinnati and the insurance market
Cincinnati's 73rd-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Cincinnati (68.9%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Cincinnati's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 325 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Cincinnati. The exposure-zones guide covers what Cincinnati's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.