Waxhaw, NC
Waxhaw wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Waxhaw at the 44th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 7,298 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Waxhaw's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 47th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Of Waxhaw's 7,298 counted buildings, 51.7% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first. At 7,298 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Where Waxhaw ranks
Waxhaw ranks lower within North Carolina (23rd percentile statewide) than its 44th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Waxhaw ranks 17,620 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 2,346 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 593 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Waxhaw
At the 44th national percentile, Waxhaw rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Waxhaw
Because Direct exposure dominates in Waxhaw (51.7%), 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
Waxhaw's 44th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Waxhaw, see the exposure-zones guide.