Swannanoa, NC
Swannanoa wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Swannanoa lands at the 68th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 2,526 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Swannanoa at the 71st national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Swannanoa's building exposure, zone by zone
2,526 buildings are counted in Swannanoa, and 62.4% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
Swannanoa against the rest of the country
Swannanoa's risk sits at a similar level relative to North Carolina (67th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (68th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Swannanoa ranks 10,124 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,255 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 253 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Swannanoa
Swannanoa's high rating (68th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Swannanoa (62.4%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Swannanoa's 10,124-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Swannanoa, see the exposure-zones guide.