Dalton, PA
Dalton, PA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Dalton at the 56th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 721 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Dalton's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 57th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 77.5% of Dalton's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 22.5% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 559 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
How Dalton compares
Within Pennsylvania, Dalton ranks higher (93rd percentile) than it does nationally (56th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Dalton ranks 13,721 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,443 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 143 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Dalton's elevated wildfire rating (56th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Dalton's 77.5% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Dalton's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 721 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Dalton. The exposure-zones guide covers what Dalton's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.