Emery, SD
Emery, SD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Emery lands at the 44th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 357 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Emery at the 43rd percentile, close to its 44th-percentile risk score.
Where Emery's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 68.6% of Emery's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 31.4% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
Where Emery ranks
Emery ranks lower within South Dakota (19th percentile statewide) than its 44th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Emery ranks 17,789 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,145 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 356 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Emery's elevated rating (44th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Emery's 68.6% Minimal-exposure share means structure-level hardening matters less here than it would elsewhere — still worth the low-cost basics, per the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 357 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Emery. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Emery, see the exposure-zones guide.