North Laurel, MD
North Laurel, MD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
North Laurel sits at the 19th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 4,000 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, North Laurel's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 18th percentile nationally.
Where North Laurel's buildings actually sit
73.6% of North Laurel's 4,000 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 20.5% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
How North Laurel compares
North Laurel scores 19th nationally and 23rd within Maryland — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, North Laurel ranks 25,562 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,245 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 405 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in North Laurel
North Laurel's low rating (19th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in North Laurel
North Laurel's 73.6% Minimal-exposure share means structure-level hardening matters less here than it would elsewhere — still worth the low-cost basics, per the home-hardening guide.
Where North Laurel's figures come from
North Laurel's 19th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what North Laurel's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.