Gastonia, NC
Gastonia, NC's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Gastonia at the 55th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 29,279 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Gastonia at the 58th national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Gastonia's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 37.7% of Gastonia's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 29.9% Indirect share and far above its 32.4% Minimal share — a profile where 11,029 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most. At 29,279 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Gastonia against the rest of the country
Gastonia's risk sits at a similar level relative to North Carolina (51st percentile statewide) as it does nationally (55th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Gastonia ranks 14,252 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 399 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 379 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Gastonia and the insurance market
At the 55th national percentile, Gastonia 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 Gastonia
Because Direct exposure dominates in Gastonia (37.7%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 29,279 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Gastonia. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Gastonia, see the exposure-zones guide.