Rich Square, NC
Rich Square wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Rich Square lands at the 57th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 676 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Rich Square at the 57th percentile, close to its 57th-percentile risk score.
Rich Square's building exposure, zone by zone
Of Rich Square's 676 counted buildings, 77.2% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
How Rich Square compares
Rich Square scores 57th nationally and 55th within North Carolina — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Rich Square ranks 13,434 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,912 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 347 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Rich Square and the insurance market
Rich Square's elevated rating (57th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Rich Square's 77.2% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Rich Square's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 676 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Rich Square. The exposure-zones guide covers what Rich Square's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.