Drexel, NC
Drexel wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Drexel lands at the 46th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 918 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Drexel's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 49th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
71.7% of Drexel's 918 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 658 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 28.3% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Drexel ranks
Drexel's 46th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 29th ranking inside North Carolina does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 17 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Drexel ranks 16,966 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,575 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 545 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Drexel's elevated wildfire rating (46th 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
With 71.7% of Drexel in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Drexel's 16,966-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Drexel, see the exposure-zones guide.