WildfireRiskFinder

Hatteras, NC

How exposed is Hatteras to wildfire?

High
72ndpercentile nationally

Hatteras's 965 buildings earn a 72nd-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — well above the national norm for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)

USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Hatteras at the 59th percentile, lower than its 72nd-percentile risk score, because so much is actually built here.

Where Hatteras's buildings actually sit

965Total buildings
14%Direct exposure
0%Indirect exposure
86%Minimal exposure

86% of Hatteras's 965 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 14% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.

Hatteras against the rest of the country

Hatteras's risk sits at a similar level relative to North Carolina (73rd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (72nd) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Hatteras ranks 8,734 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,188 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 208 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

At the 72nd percentile nationally, Hatteras carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.

Hardening a home in Hatteras

Hatteras's 86% 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

Hatteras's 72nd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Hatteras, see the exposure-zones guide.