Sioux Rapids, IA
Sioux Rapids, IA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Sioux Rapids lands at the 48th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 514 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Sioux Rapids at the 48th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
88.9% of Sioux Rapids's 514 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 11.1% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How Sioux Rapids compares
Sioux Rapids's 67th-percentile standing inside Iowa outpaces its 48th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Sioux Rapids ranks 16,253 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,120 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 336 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Sioux Rapids's elevated wildfire rating (48th 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
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Sioux Rapids (88.9% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Sioux Rapids's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 514 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Sioux Rapids. The exposure-zones guide covers what Sioux Rapids's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.