Clayton, NY
How exposed is Clayton to wildfire?
USFS scores Clayton at the 10th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 1,200 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Clayton at the 10th percentile, close to its 10th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
1,200 buildings are counted in Clayton, and 86.9% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 7.2% in Direct exposure or the 5.9% rated Minimal.
Where Clayton ranks
Clayton scores 10th nationally and 23rd within New York — 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 28,468 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,648 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 998 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Clayton's low rating (10th 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 Clayton
Clayton's 86.9% 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 Clayton's figures come from
Clayton's 10th-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 Clayton's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.