Princeton, SC
Princeton, SC's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Princeton sits at the 65th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 67 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Princeton at the 67th national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Princeton's buildings actually sit
100% of Princeton's 67 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 67 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Princeton against the rest of the country
Princeton's 65th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 33rd ranking inside South Carolina does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 32 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Princeton ranks 11,202 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,399 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Carolina alone, it ranks 320 of 474 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Carolina on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Princeton's 65th-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.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Princeton (100%), 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
Princeton's 65th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Princeton, see the exposure-zones guide.