Jackson, KY
Jackson wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Jackson lands at the 89th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 1,305 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Jackson's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 92nd percentile nationally.
Where Jackson's buildings actually sit
69% of Jackson's 1,305 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 31% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How Jackson compares
Jackson scores 89th nationally and 89th within Kentucky — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Jackson ranks 3,565 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,056 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kentucky alone, it ranks 64 of 552 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kentucky on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Jackson
Jackson's 89th-percentile, very high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because 69% of Jackson's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Jackson's figures come from
Jackson's 89th-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 Jackson's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.