Paulden, AZ
Paulden wildfire risk explained
Paulden sits at the 87th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 3,677 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Paulden's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 86th percentile nationally.
Paulden's building exposure, zone by zone
Direct exposure dominates in Paulden: 97.7% of its 3,677 buildings, versus 2.3% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Paulden against the rest of the country
Paulden's 87th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 59th ranking inside Arizona does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 28 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Paulden ranks 4,024 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,552 by building count (1 is largest). Within Arizona alone, it ranks 180 of 441 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Arizona on its state page.
Paulden and the insurance market
Paulden's very high rating (87th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Hardening a home in Paulden
With 97.7% of Paulden in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where Paulden's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Paulden's 4,024-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Paulden's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.