Niskayuna, NY
Niskayuna wildfire risk explained
Niskayuna's 8,005 buildings earn a 16th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Niskayuna at the 16th national percentile — 0 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
USFS classifies 59.6% of Niskayuna's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 16.1% Indirect share and far above its 24.4% Minimal share — a profile where 4,769 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most. At 8,005 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Where Niskayuna ranks
Compare Niskayuna's two percentiles: 37th within New York, only 16th nationally — a gap of 22 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Niskayuna ranks 26,578 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 2,111 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 809 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Niskayuna and the insurance market
At the 16th national percentile, Niskayuna rates low 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
Because Direct exposure dominates in Niskayuna (59.6%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Niskayuna's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Niskayuna's 26,578-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Niskayuna's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.