New Canaan, CT
New Canaan, CT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts New Canaan at the 30th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 3,801 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks New Canaan at the 29th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
3,801 buildings are counted in New Canaan, and 68.5% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 13.5% in Direct exposure or the 18% rated Minimal.
How New Canaan compares
New Canaan scores 30th nationally and 44th within Connecticut — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, New Canaan ranks 22,146 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,421 by building count (1 is largest). Within Connecticut alone, it ranks 122 of 214 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Connecticut on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 30th national percentile, New Canaan 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
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in New Canaan (68.5% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 3,801 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for New Canaan. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond New Canaan, see the exposure-zones guide.