Princeton, NC
Princeton wildfire risk explained
Princeton sits at the 43rd 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 782 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Princeton at the 41st percentile, close to its 43rd-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Princeton's buildings (54.7%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Where Princeton ranks
Princeton ranks lower within North Carolina (21st percentile statewide) than its 43rd national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Princeton ranks 18,096 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,797 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 614 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Princeton and the insurance market
At the 43rd national percentile, Princeton rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Princeton
Because 54.7% of Princeton's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Princeton's 18,096-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Princeton, see the exposure-zones guide.