North Caldwell, NJ
How exposed is North Caldwell to wildfire?
USFS scores North Caldwell at the 25th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 2,298 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts North Caldwell at the 25th percentile, close to its 25th-percentile risk score.
North Caldwell's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS classifies 66.6% of North Caldwell's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 0% Indirect share and far above its 33.4% Minimal share — a profile where 1,530 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
How North Caldwell compares
There's little gap between North Caldwell's 25th national percentile and its 15th percentile inside New Jersey, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, North Caldwell ranks 23,801 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,701 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Jersey alone, it ranks 598 of 700 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Jersey on its state page.
North Caldwell and the insurance market
North Caldwell's moderate rating (25th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in North Caldwell (66.6%), 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
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,298 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for North Caldwell. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond North Caldwell, see the exposure-zones guide.