Highland Beach, FL
How exposed is Highland Beach to wildfire?
USFS scores Highland Beach at the 61st national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 449 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Highland Beach's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 62nd percentile nationally.
Highland Beach's building exposure, zone by zone
92.7% of Highland Beach's 449 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 7.4% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Highland Beach against the rest of the country
Highland Beach ranks lower within Florida (16th percentile statewide) than its 61st national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Highland Beach ranks 12,156 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,289 by building count (1 is largest). Within Florida alone, it ranks 802 of 955 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Florida on its state page.
Highland Beach and the insurance market
Highland Beach's high rating (61st percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
What would actually reduce this score
Even with 92.7% of Highland Beach outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Highland Beach's 61st-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 Highland Beach, see the exposure-zones guide.