Delaware City, DE
Delaware City, DE's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Delaware City lands at the 53rd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 799 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Delaware City at the 50th national percentile — 3 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Delaware City's building exposure, zone by zone
Only 22.9% of Delaware City's 799 buildings carry Direct exposure and 6.5% carry Indirect; the remaining 70.6% are Minimal, which shifts the risk driving this page's score toward the surrounding landscape rather than any one structure.
Delaware City against the rest of the country
Within Delaware, Delaware City ranks higher (89th percentile) than it does nationally (53rd) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Delaware City ranks 14,771 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,640 by building count (1 is largest). Within Delaware alone, it ranks 10 of 79 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Delaware on its state page.
Delaware City and the insurance market
At the 53rd national percentile, Delaware City rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Delaware City
Even with 70.6% of Delaware City outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Delaware City's figures come from
Delaware City's 53rd-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 Delaware City's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.