Malden, MO
Malden wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Malden lands at the 4th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 2,549 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Malden at the 4th percentile, close to its 4th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
85.1% of Malden's 2,549 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 14.9% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Where Malden ranks
Malden scores 4th nationally and 4th within Missouri — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Malden ranks 30,421 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,202 by building count (1 is largest). Within Missouri alone, it ranks 1,022 of 1,062 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Missouri on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Malden's low wildfire rating (4th 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.
Hardening a home in Malden
Malden's 85.1% Minimal-exposure share means structure-level hardening matters less here than it would elsewhere — still worth the low-cost basics, per the home-hardening guide.
Where Malden's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,549 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.