St. Joseph, LA
St. Joseph, LA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts St. Joseph at the 39th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 745 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, St. Joseph's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 40th percentile nationally.
St. Joseph's building exposure, zone by zone
60.7% of St. Joseph's 745 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 39.3% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
St. Joseph against the rest of the country
St. Joseph's risk sits at a similar level relative to Louisiana (38th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (39th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, St. Joseph ranks 19,097 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,174 by building count (1 is largest). Within Louisiana alone, it ranks 302 of 488 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Louisiana on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
St. Joseph's moderate rating (39th 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
St. Joseph's 60.7% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where St. Joseph's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind St. Joseph's 19,097-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what St. Joseph's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.