Oak City, NC
Oak City, NC's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Oak City lands at the 45th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 343 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Oak City at the 44th national percentile — 0 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Oak City's buildings actually sit
53.4% of Oak City's 343 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 46.7% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Oak City against the rest of the country
Oak City's 45th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 24th ranking inside North Carolina does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 21 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Oak City ranks 17,493 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,493 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 589 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 45th national percentile, Oak City rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because 53.4% of Oak City's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 343 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Oak City. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Oak City, see the exposure-zones guide.