Norton, VA
Norton, VA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Norton lands at the 85th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 2,058 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Norton at the 87th national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Norton's buildings actually sit
77.4% of Norton's 2,058 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 22.6% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Norton ranks
Norton scores 85th nationally and 95th within Virginia — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Norton ranks 4,741 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,319 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 35 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Norton's 85th-percentile, very 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
Norton's 77.4% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,058 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Norton. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Norton, see the exposure-zones guide.