Lexington, NC
Lexington wildfire risk explained
Lexington's 10,139 buildings earn a 52nd-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Lexington at the 55th percentile, close to its 52nd-percentile risk score.
Where Lexington's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Lexington (41.5% of 10,139 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 34.7% sit in the Direct zone. At 10,139 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Where Lexington ranks
Lexington scores 52nd nationally and 44th within North Carolina — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Lexington ranks 15,137 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 1,582 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 435 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Lexington'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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Lexington (41.5% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Lexington's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 10,139 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Lexington. The exposure-zones guide covers what Lexington's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.