Wesson, MS
Wesson, MS's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Wesson sits at the 80th 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 863 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Wesson's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 83rd percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Of Wesson's 863 counted buildings, 70.7% 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.
Wesson against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Wesson's 80th national percentile and its 80th percentile inside Mississippi, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Wesson ranks 6,334 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,048 by building count (1 is largest). Within Mississippi alone, it ranks 85 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Mississippi on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Wesson's high rating (80th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Hardening a home in Wesson
Because Direct exposure dominates in Wesson (70.7%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Wesson's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Wesson's 6,334-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Wesson's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.