New Bern, NC
New Bern wildfire risk explained
New Bern sits at the 64th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 13,756 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, New Bern's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 62nd percentile nationally.
Where New Bern's buildings actually sit
Of New Bern's 13,756 counted buildings, 36.7% carry Direct exposure and only 32.8% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first. At 13,756 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Where New Bern ranks
There's little gap between New Bern's 64th national percentile and its 63rd percentile inside North Carolina, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, New Bern ranks 11,447 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 1,101 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 290 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in New Bern
At the 64th percentile nationally, New Bern carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 36.7% of New Bern in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where New Bern's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 13,756 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for New Bern. The exposure-zones guide covers what New Bern's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.