Cullowhee, NC
Cullowhee, NC's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Cullowhee lands at the 74th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 1,009 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Cullowhee's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 77th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Of Cullowhee's 1,009 counted buildings, 62.8% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Where Cullowhee ranks
There's little gap between Cullowhee's 74th national percentile and its 75th percentile inside North Carolina, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cullowhee ranks 8,228 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,872 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 193 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Cullowhee and the insurance market
At the 74th percentile nationally, Cullowhee carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Cullowhee (62.8%), 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
Cullowhee's 74th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Cullowhee, see the exposure-zones guide.