Hingham, MA
Hingham wildfire risk explained
Hingham sits at the 28th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 2,441 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Hingham at the 25th percentile, close to its 28th-percentile risk score.
Hingham's building exposure, zone by zone
Most of Hingham's buildings (38.5%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Where Hingham ranks
Within Massachusetts, Hingham ranks higher (68th percentile) than it does nationally (28th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Hingham ranks 22,564 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,419 by building count (1 is largest). Within Massachusetts alone, it ranks 79 of 248 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Massachusetts on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Hingham's moderate rating (28th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Hingham
Hingham's 38.5% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Hingham's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Hingham's 22,564-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Hingham's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.