Franklin, VA
Franklin, VA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Franklin lands at the 44th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 3,707 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Franklin's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 44th percentile nationally.
Franklin's building exposure, zone by zone
Most of Franklin's buildings (46.6%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
How Franklin compares
Franklin scores 44th nationally and 41st within Virginia — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Franklin ranks 17,629 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,515 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 400 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Franklin's elevated wildfire rating (44th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Because 46.6% of Franklin's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Franklin's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Franklin's 17,629-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Franklin's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.