Palermo, NJ
Palermo, NJ's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Palermo at the 87th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 1,461 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Palermo at the 82nd national percentile — 5 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
53.9% of Palermo's 1,461 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 46.1% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Palermo against the rest of the country
Palermo's risk sits at a similar level relative to New Jersey (93rd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (87th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Palermo ranks 4,249 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 9,347 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Jersey alone, it ranks 53 of 700 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Jersey on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Palermo
At the 87th percentile nationally, Palermo carries the very high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
What would actually reduce this score
Palermo's 53.9% 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.
Where Palermo's figures come from
Palermo's 87th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Palermo's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.