Platte City, MO
Platte City, MO's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Platte City lands at the 62nd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 1,620 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Platte City at the 64th national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Platte City's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Platte City (51.2% of 1,620 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 11.9% sit in the Direct zone.
How Platte City compares
Platte City scores 62nd nationally and 61st within Missouri — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Platte City ranks 11,979 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,693 by building count (1 is largest). Within Missouri alone, it ranks 417 of 1,062 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Missouri on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Platte City
Platte City's 62nd-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Platte City (51.2% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,620 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Platte City. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Platte City, see the exposure-zones guide.