South Charleston, OH
South Charleston wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, South Charleston lands at the 1st percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 969 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, South Charleston's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 2nd percentile nationally.
Where South Charleston's buildings actually sit
89.3% of South Charleston's 969 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 10.7% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
South Charleston against the rest of the country
South Charleston scores 1st nationally and 9th within Ohio — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, South Charleston ranks 31,091 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,163 by building count (1 is largest). Within Ohio alone, it ranks 1,157 of 1,264 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Ohio on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in South Charleston
South Charleston's low wildfire rating (1st 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
South Charleston's 89.3% 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 South Charleston's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 969 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for South Charleston. The exposure-zones guide covers what South Charleston's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.