Nicholson, GA
Nicholson wildfire risk explained
Nicholson sits at the 61st 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 920 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Nicholson's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 65th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 91% of Nicholson's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 9% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 837 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Nicholson ranks
Inside Georgia, Nicholson sits at just the 22nd percentile even though it scores 61st nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Nicholson ranks 12,283 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,554 by building count (1 is largest). Within Georgia alone, it ranks 520 of 669 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Georgia on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Nicholson's 61st-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Nicholson (91%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Nicholson's 12,283-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Nicholson, see the exposure-zones guide.