Elizabeth, NJ
Elizabeth, NJ's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Elizabeth at the 18th national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 20,732 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Elizabeth at the 19th percentile, close to its 18th-percentile risk score.
Where Elizabeth's buildings actually sit
99.6% of Elizabeth's 20,732 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 0.4% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself. At 20,732 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Elizabeth against the rest of the country
Elizabeth's risk sits at a similar level relative to New Jersey (3rd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (18th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Elizabeth ranks 25,781 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 682 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Jersey alone, it ranks 676 of 700 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Jersey on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 18th national percentile, Elizabeth rates low 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 Elizabeth
Even with 99.6% of Elizabeth 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 20,732 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Elizabeth. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Elizabeth, see the exposure-zones guide.