Mathiston, MS
How exposed is Mathiston to wildfire?
Mathiston's 501 buildings earn a 64th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — well above the national norm for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Mathiston's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 66th percentile nationally.
Mathiston's building exposure, zone by zone
Direct exposure dominates in Mathiston: 76.9% of its 501 buildings, versus 23.2% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Mathiston against the rest of the country
Mathiston ranks lower within Mississippi (42nd percentile statewide) than its 64th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Mathiston ranks 11,348 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,336 by building count (1 is largest). Within Mississippi alone, it ranks 243 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Mississippi on its state page.
Mathiston and the insurance market
Mathiston's 64th-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Mathiston (76.9%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Mathiston's 64th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Mathiston, see the exposure-zones guide.