Vardaman, MS
Vardaman wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Vardaman at the 56th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 640 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Vardaman at the 59th national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Vardaman's buildings actually sit
640 buildings are counted in Vardaman, and 62.2% 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.
Where Vardaman ranks
Inside Mississippi, Vardaman sits at just the 26th percentile even though it scores 56th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Vardaman ranks 13,904 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,329 by building count (1 is largest). Within Mississippi alone, it ranks 313 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Mississippi on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Vardaman
Vardaman's elevated rating (56th 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 Direct exposure dominates in Vardaman (62.2%), 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
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 640 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Vardaman. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Vardaman, see the exposure-zones guide.