Rutherford College, NC
Rutherford College, NC's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Rutherford College sits at the 50th 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 893 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Rutherford College at the 52nd national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Of Rutherford College's 893 counted buildings, 70.1% carry Direct exposure and only 0.2% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Where Rutherford College ranks
Rutherford College's risk sits at a similar level relative to North Carolina (36th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (50th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Rutherford College ranks 15,927 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,784 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 491 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Rutherford College and the insurance market
Rutherford College's elevated rating (50th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Rutherford College's 70.1% 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 Rutherford College's figures come from
Rutherford College's 50th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Rutherford College's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.