Clayton, GA
How exposed is Clayton to wildfire?
USFS scores Clayton at the 76th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 965 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Clayton's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 78th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 72.5% of Clayton's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 27.5% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 700 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Clayton ranks
Clayton scores 76th nationally and 84th within Georgia — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Clayton ranks 7,527 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,183 by building count (1 is largest). Within Georgia alone, it ranks 110 of 669 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Georgia on its state page.
Clayton and the insurance market
Clayton's 76th-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 Clayton (72.5%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 965 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Clayton. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Clayton, see the exposure-zones guide.