Gig Harbor, WA
Gig Harbor wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Gig Harbor lands at the 16th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 3,998 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 Gig Harbor at the 16th percentile, close to its 16th-percentile risk score.
Gig Harbor's building exposure, zone by zone
3,998 buildings are counted in Gig Harbor, and 77.7% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 12.6% in Direct exposure or the 9.7% rated Minimal.
Where Gig Harbor ranks
Gig Harbor scores 16th nationally and 22nd within Washington — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Gig Harbor ranks 26,428 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,249 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 490 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
Gig Harbor and the insurance market
Gig Harbor's low rating (16th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Gig Harbor (77.7% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Gig Harbor's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 3,998 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Gig Harbor. The exposure-zones guide covers what Gig Harbor's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.