Iowa, LA
Iowa wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Iowa at the 53rd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 1,768 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Iowa at the 56th percentile, close to its 53rd-percentile risk score.
Where Iowa's buildings actually sit
40.1% of Iowa's 1,768 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 24.4% Direct and 35.5% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How Iowa compares
Iowa's risk sits at a similar level relative to Louisiana (63rd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (53rd) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Iowa ranks 14,748 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,159 by building count (1 is largest). Within Louisiana alone, it ranks 179 of 488 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Louisiana on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Iowa
Iowa's elevated rating (53rd percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Iowa (40.1% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Iowa's figures come from
Iowa's 53rd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Iowa's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.