Hays, TX
Hays, TX's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Hays lands at the 70th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 143 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Hays at the 69th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Hays's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 100% of Hays's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 0% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 143 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Hays ranks
Inside Texas, Hays sits at just the 30th percentile even though it scores 70th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Hays ranks 9,562 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,181 by building count (1 is largest). Within Texas alone, it ranks 1,250 of 1,795 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Texas on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Hays
At the 70th percentile nationally, Hays 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 Hays
Hays's 100% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 143 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Hays. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Hays, see the exposure-zones guide.