Utica, MO
Utica wildfire risk explained
Utica sits at the 61st percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 205 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Utica at the 62nd national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 71.7% of Utica's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 28.3% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 147 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Utica against the rest of the country
Utica's risk sits at a similar level relative to Missouri (58th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (61st) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Utica ranks 12,388 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,664 by building count (1 is largest). Within Missouri alone, it ranks 450 of 1,062 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Missouri on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 61st percentile nationally, Utica carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Utica's 71.7% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 205 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Utica. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Utica, see the exposure-zones guide.