Gorman, NC
Gorman, NC's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Gorman at the 38th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 660 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Gorman at the 39th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Gorman's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS classifies 95.8% of Gorman's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 4.2% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 632 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
How Gorman compares
Gorman ranks lower within North Carolina (12th percentile statewide) than its 38th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Gorman ranks 19,607 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,064 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 681 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Gorman's moderate wildfire rating (38th 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
With 95.8% of Gorman in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Gorman's 19,607-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Gorman, see the exposure-zones guide.