Roanoke Rapids, NC
How exposed is Roanoke Rapids to wildfire?
Roanoke Rapids 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 7,733 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Roanoke Rapids's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 43rd percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
37.8% of Roanoke Rapids's 7,733 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 2,920 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 27.1% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 35.1% are Minimal. At 7,733 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Where Roanoke Rapids ranks
Roanoke Rapids 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, Roanoke Rapids ranks 18,063 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 2,201 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 610 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Roanoke Rapids
Roanoke Rapids's elevated rating (43rd percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Roanoke Rapids
Roanoke Rapids's 37.8% 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.
More on how this number was built
Roanoke Rapids's 43rd-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 Roanoke Rapids, see the exposure-zones guide.