Mankato, KS
Mankato, KS's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Mankato at the 48th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 665 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Mankato at the 46th national percentile — 3 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Mankato's buildings actually sit
665 buildings are counted in Mankato, and 55.9% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 13.2% in Direct exposure or the 30.8% rated Minimal.
How Mankato compares
Inside Kansas, Mankato sits at just the 28th percentile even though it scores 48th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Mankato ranks 16,255 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,009 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kansas alone, it ranks 520 of 721 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kansas on its state page.
Mankato and the insurance market
Mankato's elevated rating (48th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Mankato (55.9% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Mankato's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 665 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Mankato. The exposure-zones guide covers what Mankato's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.