Malden, MA
Malden, MA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Malden at the 28th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 12,524 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Malden's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 24th percentile nationally.
Malden's building exposure, zone by zone
Most of Malden's buildings (97.2% of 12,524) 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 12,524 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Malden against the rest of the country
Compare Malden's two percentiles: 65th within Massachusetts, only 28th nationally — a gap of 37 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Malden ranks 22,626 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 1,230 by building count (1 is largest). Within Massachusetts alone, it ranks 87 of 248 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Massachusetts on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 28th national percentile, Malden rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Even with 97.2% of Malden 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.
Where Malden's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 12,524 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Malden. The exposure-zones guide covers what Malden's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.