Jackson, MS
How exposed is Jackson to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Jackson at the 52nd national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 68,870 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Jackson at the 54th percentile, close to its 52nd-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Jackson's buildings (40.3% of 68,870) fall outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones entirely — that doesn't zero out the score above, it means the risk is regional, not structure-by-structure. At 68,870 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
How Jackson compares
Jackson ranks lower within Mississippi (20th percentile statewide) than its 52nd national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Jackson ranks 15,091 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 116 by building count (1 is largest). Within Mississippi alone, it ranks 335 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Mississippi on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Jackson's elevated wildfire rating (52nd percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
What would actually reduce this score
With 40.3% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Jackson gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Jackson's figures come from
Jackson's 52nd-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 minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.