Newport, SC
How exposed is Newport to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Newport lands at the 55th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 2,205 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Newport at the 60th national percentile — 4 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Newport's buildings actually sit
Direct exposure dominates in Newport: 86.9% of its 2,205 buildings, versus 13.2% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
How Newport compares
Newport's 55th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 10th ranking inside South Carolina does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 46 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Newport ranks 14,070 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,926 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Carolina alone, it ranks 427 of 474 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Carolina on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Newport
Newport's elevated wildfire rating (55th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Hardening a home in Newport
Because Direct exposure dominates in Newport (86.9%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Newport's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Newport's 14,070-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Newport's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.