Ludlow, KY
Ludlow wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Ludlow at the 9th national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 1,862 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 Ludlow at the 10th percentile, close to its 9th-percentile risk score.
Where Ludlow's buildings actually sit
1,862 buildings are counted in Ludlow, and 95.6% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 4.3% in Direct exposure or the 0.1% rated Minimal.
Where Ludlow ranks
Ludlow scores 9th nationally and 3rd 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, Ludlow ranks 28,680 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,875 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kentucky alone, it ranks 535 of 552 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kentucky on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Ludlow's low wildfire rating (9th 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
Ludlow's 95.6% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Ludlow's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Ludlow's 28,680-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Ludlow's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.