Taneytown, MD
How exposed is Taneytown to wildfire?
Taneytown sits at the 7th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 2,587 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Taneytown at the 7th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Taneytown's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS puts 54.8% of Taneytown's 2,587 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 20.4% Direct and 24.9% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Taneytown against the rest of the country
Taneytown scores 7th nationally and 1st within Maryland — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Taneytown ranks 29,378 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,127 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 524 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Taneytown
Taneytown's low rating (7th 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
Because 54.8% of Taneytown's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Taneytown's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Taneytown's 29,378-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Taneytown's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.