Hillsville, VA
How exposed is Hillsville to wildfire?
Hillsville's 1,729 buildings earn a 73rd-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.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Hillsville at the 76th national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Hillsville's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 73.8% of Hillsville's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 26.2% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 1,276 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Hillsville against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Hillsville's 73rd national percentile and its 88th percentile inside Virginia, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Hillsville ranks 8,400 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,309 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 85 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Hillsville
At the 73rd percentile nationally, Hillsville 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Hillsville (73.8%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Hillsville's 73rd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Hillsville, see the exposure-zones guide.