St. Stephens, NC
St. Stephens, NC's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, St. Stephens lands at the 33rd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 4,683 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks St. Stephens at the 36th national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where St. Stephens's buildings actually sit
4,683 buildings are counted in St. Stephens, and 52.5% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 40% rated Minimal.
Where St. Stephens ranks
St. Stephens's 33rd national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 5th ranking inside North Carolina does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 28 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, St. Stephens ranks 21,246 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,633 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 736 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in St. Stephens
At the 33rd national percentile, St. Stephens rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in St. Stephens
Because Direct exposure dominates in St. Stephens (52.5%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where St. Stephens's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind St. Stephens's 21,246-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what St. Stephens's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.