Shepherdstown, WV
How exposed is Shepherdstown to wildfire?
Shepherdstown's 457 buildings earn a 41st-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Shepherdstown at the 42nd percentile, close to its 41st-percentile risk score.
Shepherdstown's building exposure, zone by zone
457 buildings are counted in Shepherdstown, and 86.9% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 13.1% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Where Shepherdstown ranks
Inside West Virginia, Shepherdstown sits at just the 15th percentile even though it scores 41st nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Shepherdstown ranks 18,770 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,143 by building count (1 is largest). Within West Virginia alone, it ranks 363 of 429 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for West Virginia on its state page.
Shepherdstown and the insurance market
Shepherdstown's elevated rating (41st percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Shepherdstown (86.9% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Shepherdstown's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Shepherdstown's 18,770-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Shepherdstown's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.