Wantagh, NY
Wantagh, NY's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Wantagh at the 50th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 6,749 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Wantagh's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 42nd percentile nationally.
Wantagh's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS classifies 96.2% of Wantagh's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 3.8% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one. At 6,749 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Wantagh against the rest of the country
Within New York, Wantagh ranks higher (95th percentile) than it does nationally (50th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Wantagh ranks 15,671 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 2,564 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 67 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Wantagh and the insurance market
Wantagh's elevated rating (50th 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
Wantagh's 96.2% Minimal-exposure share means structure-level hardening matters less here than it would elsewhere — still worth the low-cost basics, per the home-hardening guide.
Where Wantagh's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 6,749 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Wantagh. The exposure-zones guide covers what Wantagh's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.