Hickory, MS
How exposed is Hickory to wildfire?
Hickory sits at the 57th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 308 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Hickory at the 60th national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Hickory's buildings actually sit
69.2% of Hickory's 308 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 213 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 30.8% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
How Hickory compares
Hickory's 57th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 27th ranking inside Mississippi does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 30 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Hickory ranks 13,548 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,419 by building count (1 is largest). Within Mississippi alone, it ranks 305 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Mississippi on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Hickory
Hickory's elevated wildfire rating (57th 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
Hickory's 69.2% 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.
Where Hickory's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 308 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Hickory. The exposure-zones guide covers what Hickory's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.