Selma, NC
Selma, NC's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Selma at the 44th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 2,843 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Selma at the 43rd percentile, close to its 44th-percentile risk score.
Where Selma's buildings actually sit
51.5% of Selma's 2,843 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 33.4% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Selma against the rest of the country
Selma ranks lower within North Carolina (23rd percentile statewide) than its 44th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Selma ranks 17,657 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 5,673 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 596 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Selma and the insurance market
Selma's elevated wildfire rating (44th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Selma's 51.5% Minimal-exposure share means structure-level hardening matters less here than it would elsewhere — still worth the low-cost basics, per the home-hardening guide.
Where Selma's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,843 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Selma. The exposure-zones guide covers what Selma's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.