Milton, DE
How exposed is Milton to wildfire?
USFS scores Milton at the 31st national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 1,720 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Milton's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 30th percentile nationally.
Where Milton's buildings actually sit
64.4% of Milton's 1,720 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 20.2% Direct and 15.4% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How Milton compares
There's little gap between Milton's 31st national percentile and its 19th percentile inside Delaware, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Milton ranks 21,766 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,338 by building count (1 is largest). Within Delaware alone, it ranks 64 of 79 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Delaware on its state page.
Milton and the insurance market
At the 31st national percentile, Milton 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
Milton's 64.4% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Milton's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Milton's 21,766-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Milton's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.