Katy, TX
Katy wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Katy lands at the 64th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 8,753 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Katy at the 66th national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
63.4% of Katy's 8,753 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 12% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself. At 8,753 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
How Katy compares
Katy ranks lower within Texas (19th percentile statewide) than its 64th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Katy ranks 11,485 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 1,905 by building count (1 is largest). Within Texas alone, it ranks 1,453 of 1,795 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Texas on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 64th percentile nationally, Katy 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.
Hardening a home in Katy
Even with 63.4% of Katy outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Katy's 64th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Katy, see the exposure-zones guide.