Jackson, MT
Jackson wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Jackson lands at the 74th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 68 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Jackson at the 74th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Jackson's building exposure, zone by zone
Of Jackson's 68 counted buildings, 100% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Jackson against the rest of the country
Inside Montana, Jackson sits at just the 44th percentile even though it scores 74th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Jackson ranks 8,100 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,359 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 265 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 74th percentile nationally, Jackson 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Jackson (100%), 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
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 68 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Jackson. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Jackson, see the exposure-zones guide.