Rochester, PA
How exposed is Rochester to wildfire?
Rochester sits at the 24th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,590 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Rochester at the 25th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Rochester's building exposure, zone by zone
99.8% of Rochester's 1,590 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 0.1% Direct and 0.1% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Rochester ranks
Rochester's risk sits at a similar level relative to Pennsylvania (28th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (24th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Rochester ranks 23,841 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,802 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 1,427 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Rochester's moderate wildfire rating (24th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Rochester's 99.8% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Rochester's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Rochester's 23,841-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Rochester's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.