Pierpont, SD
Pierpont, SD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Pierpont lands at the 58th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 131 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Pierpont at the 56th national percentile — 2 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
131 buildings are counted in Pierpont, and 45.8% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 38.9% rated Minimal.
How Pierpont compares
Inside South Dakota, Pierpont sits at just the 43rd percentile even though it scores 58th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Pierpont ranks 13,374 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,690 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 253 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Pierpont's elevated rating (58th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Pierpont
Because Direct exposure dominates in Pierpont (45.8%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 131 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Pierpont. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Pierpont, see the exposure-zones guide.