Peapack and Gladstone, NJ
Peapack and Gladstone, NJ's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Peapack and Gladstone sits at the 42nd percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,165 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Peapack and Gladstone at the 41st national percentile — 1 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
Direct exposure dominates in Peapack and Gladstone: 83.1% of its 1,165 buildings, versus 16.9% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Peapack and Gladstone against the rest of the country
Peapack and Gladstone's risk sits at a similar level relative to New Jersey (45th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (42nd) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Peapack and Gladstone ranks 18,437 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,869 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Jersey alone, it ranks 384 of 700 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Jersey on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Peapack and Gladstone's elevated wildfire rating (42nd 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.
What would actually reduce this score
With 83.1% of Peapack and Gladstone 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,165 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Peapack and Gladstone. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Peapack and Gladstone, see the exposure-zones guide.