Cottage Grove, TN
How exposed is Cottage Grove to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Cottage Grove lands at the 45th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 69 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Cottage Grove at the 46th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Cottage Grove's building exposure, zone by zone
100% of Cottage Grove's 69 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 69 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
How Cottage Grove compares
Cottage Grove's risk sits at a similar level relative to Tennessee (36th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (45th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cottage Grove ranks 17,286 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,336 by building count (1 is largest). Within Tennessee alone, it ranks 324 of 502 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Tennessee on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 45th national percentile, Cottage Grove rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Cottage Grove (100%), 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 69 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Cottage Grove. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Cottage Grove, see the exposure-zones guide.