WildfireRiskFinder

Oxford, MD

Oxford, MD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers

Elevated
60thpercentile nationally

USFS scores Oxford at the 60th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 657 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)

Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Oxford at the 57th national percentile — 3 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.

Where Oxford's buildings actually sit

657Total buildings
12%Direct exposure
0%Indirect exposure
88%Minimal exposure

Most of Oxford's buildings (88% of 657) fall outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones entirely — that doesn't zero out the score above, it means the risk is regional, not structure-by-structure.

How Oxford compares

Within Maryland, Oxford ranks higher (86th percentile) than it does nationally (60th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Oxford ranks 12,607 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,104 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 77 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.

What this risk score means for insurance

At the 60th national percentile, Oxford 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

Oxford's 88% 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 Oxford's figures come from

Every one of the two percentiles behind Oxford's 12,607-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Oxford's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.