Northampton, MA
How exposed is Northampton to wildfire?
Northampton sits at the 26th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 11,403 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Northampton at the 25th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Northampton's buildings actually sit
Of Northampton's 11,403 counted buildings, 39.9% carry Direct exposure and only 29.8% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first. At 11,403 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Northampton against the rest of the country
Northampton's 53rd-percentile standing inside Massachusetts outpaces its 26th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Northampton ranks 23,258 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 1,383 by building count (1 is largest). Within Massachusetts alone, it ranks 120 of 248 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Massachusetts on its state page.
Northampton and the insurance market
Northampton's moderate rating (26th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Northampton (39.9%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Northampton's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 11,403 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Northampton. The exposure-zones guide covers what Northampton's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.