Mitchell, IA
Mitchell, IA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Mitchell at the 19th national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 172 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Mitchell at the 18th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Mitchell's buildings actually sit
50.6% of Mitchell's 172 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 49.4% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Mitchell against the rest of the country
Mitchell scores 19th nationally and 30th within Iowa — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Mitchell ranks 25,648 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,934 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 708 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Mitchell
At the 19th national percentile, Mitchell rates low for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Mitchell
With 50.6% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Mitchell gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Mitchell's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Mitchell's 25,648-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Mitchell's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.