Pierson, IA
How exposed is Pierson to wildfire?
Pierson's 260 buildings earn a 37th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Pierson at the 34th national percentile — 3 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Pierson's buildings actually sit
Only 40% of Pierson's 260 buildings carry Direct exposure and 0% carry Indirect; the remaining 60% are Minimal, which shifts the risk driving this page's score toward the surrounding landscape rather than any one structure.
Where Pierson ranks
Within Iowa, Pierson ranks higher (52nd percentile) than it does nationally (37th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Pierson ranks 19,879 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,823 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 487 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Pierson's moderate wildfire rating (37th 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 60% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Pierson gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Pierson's figures come from
Pierson's 37th-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 Pierson's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.