Payson, AZ
Payson wildfire risk explained
Payson's 9,559 buildings earn a 97th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Payson at the 95th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Payson's buildings actually sit
9,559 buildings are counted in Payson, and 73.6% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 26.4% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal. At 9,559 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Where Payson ranks
Payson's risk sits at a similar level relative to Arizona (85th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (97th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Payson ranks 837 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 1,705 by building count (1 is largest). Within Arizona alone, it ranks 69 of 441 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Arizona on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Payson
At the 97th percentile nationally, Payson 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.
Hardening a home in Payson
Payson's 73.6% 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 Payson's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Payson's 837-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Payson's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.