Scottsdale, AZ
How exposed is Scottsdale to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Scottsdale lands at the 88th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 102,100 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Scottsdale's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 85th percentile nationally.
Scottsdale's building exposure, zone by zone
Only 14.8% of Scottsdale's 102,100 buildings carry Direct exposure and 35.2% carry Indirect; the remaining 50% are Minimal, which shifts the risk driving this page's score toward the surrounding landscape rather than any one structure. At 102,100 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Scottsdale against the rest of the country
Scottsdale ranks lower within Arizona (60th percentile statewide) than its 88th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Scottsdale ranks 3,864 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 60 by building count (1 is largest). Within Arizona alone, it ranks 178 of 441 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Arizona on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Scottsdale
Scottsdale's very high rating (88th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 50% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Scottsdale gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Scottsdale's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 102,100 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Scottsdale. The exposure-zones guide covers what Scottsdale's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.