Odessa, DE
Odessa, DE's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Odessa lands at the 50th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 218 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Odessa's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 49th percentile nationally.
Where Odessa's buildings actually sit
59.2% of Odessa's 218 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 40.8% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Where Odessa ranks
Compare Odessa's two percentiles: 80th within Delaware, only 50th nationally — a gap of 30 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Odessa ranks 15,907 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,187 by building count (1 is largest). Within Delaware alone, it ranks 17 of 79 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Delaware on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Odessa's elevated wildfire rating (50th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Hardening a home in Odessa
With 59.2% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Odessa gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Odessa's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Odessa's 15,907-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Odessa's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.