Mendota Heights, MN
Mendota Heights, MN's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Mendota Heights lands at the 46th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 4,363 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Mendota Heights's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 42nd percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 78.9% of Mendota Heights's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 19.6% Direct and 1.5% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
Mendota Heights against the rest of the country
Within Minnesota, Mendota Heights ranks higher (68th percentile) than it does nationally (46th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Mendota Heights ranks 16,958 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,917 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 291 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 46th national percentile, Mendota Heights rates elevated 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
Mendota Heights's 78.9% 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 Mendota Heights's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Mendota Heights's 16,958-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Mendota Heights's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.