South Hempstead, NY
South Hempstead wildfire risk explained
South Hempstead sits at the 28th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,170 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks South Hempstead at the 31st national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where South Hempstead's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 98.8% of South Hempstead's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 1.2% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
How South Hempstead compares
Compare South Hempstead's two percentiles: 58th within New York, only 28th nationally — a gap of 30 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, South Hempstead ranks 22,763 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,830 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 541 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in South Hempstead
South Hempstead's moderate wildfire rating (28th 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
With 98.8% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, South Hempstead gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where South Hempstead's figures come from
South Hempstead's 28th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what South Hempstead's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.