State-by-State House Fire Statistics in 2025

House fires are a frequent occurrence in the U.S., with a surprising average of one every 87 seconds in 2022. Here are some additional house fire statistics you should know about:

• In 2022, more than 374,000 families had house fire accidents, averaging over a thousand fires daily.
• From 2015 to 2019, New York had the highest number of home fires among all U.S. states. Out of 338,139 fire incidents that occurred in the state between 2015 and 2019, 51.3% were house fires.
• Cooking accounts for between 42-50% of all house fire incidents in the U.S. It is the leading cause of house fires, according to FEMA’s house fire causes statistics.
• Over the past ten years, the number of house fires has seen a slight decrease (4%), yet the financial losses have increased significantly (21%). This means that even though relatively fewer house fire incidents occur compared to 2013, individual incidents are more costly due to inflation.
• Fire incidents pose a significant economic burden. In 2022, the financial cost of house fires across the U.S. was about $10.82 billion.

Are you a homeowner, insurance broker, or builder curious about the prevalence of house fires, the most common house fire causes, and house fire statistics by state?

Then keep reading. We’ve built our findings on solid ground, thanks to data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), among others.

House Fire Statistics 2025: National Overview

In 2022, fires struck more than a thousand times every day, adding up to 374,300 incidents nationwide, based on fire incident reports.

These led to 2,720 lives lost and 10,250 injuries, not to mention an overwhelming financial toll of nearly $10.82 billion.

Looking back over the past ten years, it’s not all doom and gloom. We’ve seen a slight decrease with a 4% drop in residential fires.

But house fire deaths per year statistics show that fatalities have inched up by 1%, a sober reminder that there is still more work to be done. Injuries reduced by 8%.

This shows the improved efforts firefighters now put into handling fire emergencies. But the financial costs of these accidents have increased by 21%.

Looking at the 10-year fire data, we see that 2015 had the highest number of house fire incidents, with 380,900 fires.

Conversely, 2021 recorded a low of 353,500. The death rate has fluctuated between 2,500 and 2,900 over the last ten years.

Even though 2021 had the lowest number of house fire incidents in the last decade, it had the most house fire deaths, at 2,840.

House Fires in the U.S. Between 2013 and 2022

House Fire Deaths & Injuries in the U.S. Between 2013 and 2022

Overall trends:

• Over the 10-year period from 2013 to 2022, we’ve seen a 4% decrease in the number of house fires.
• In the same period, house fire death statistics increased by 1%, while injuries decreased by 8%.
• The average financial loss from property damages due to house fires increased 21% from 2013 to 2022. This is likely because of increased property values and higher costs of building materials.
• How many house fires per day occur in the U.S.? Between 950 to 1,050 house fires. In 2022, there were 1,026 house fires per day.

House Fire Statistics by State

To present this house fire safety data analysis by state, we gathered figures from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), a tool used by FEMA to track fire incidents across all fire departments nationwide.

We checked the interactive tool which contains organized state-by-state data from 2015 to 2019. To complement this, we looked at NFIRS data on residential fire structure casualties for each state in 2022.

State-by-State Breakdown

Based on the NFIRS’ data on house fire statistics by state, we can see that fire incidents are significantly higher in some states due to their high population numbers and crowded living conditions.

California leads with almost half a million cases, followed by Texas, New York, and Florida.

Fire safety statistics reveal that Alaska experiences a significantly higher rate of fire deaths, with 25.5 deaths per 1,000 house fires, compared to North Carolina’s rate of 0.6 deaths.

This highlights the difference in fire severity, the speed of emergency responses, and building construction standards from one state to another.

Massachusetts and New York are in a league of their own, with house fires making up nearly half of all incidents.

Generally, states in the Northeast, such as Massachusetts (48.4%), Connecticut (34.1%), New York (51.3%), and New Jersey (38.1%), have a high percentage of house fires relative to the total number of fire incidents.

The reason for the high number of house fires is that these states often experience harsh winter weather. This leads to increased reliance on heating systems and the associated fire risks.

House Fire Occurrences in each State in the U.S. from 2015 to 2019

States with the Highest Number of House Fire Incidents (2015 – 2019)

Based on the above data on house fire statistics by state, we can see that in the five years between 2015 and 2019, New York recorded the highest number and percentage of house fires in the country.

The primary causes for the majority of these fires were cooking and heating. Despite the high percentage of house fires in New York, the death rate is low.

This means that the state has an effective emergency response system.

California, due to its large population, has the second highest number of house fires. Despite just 18.6% of fire incidents in the state from 2015 to 2019 being house fires, the state recorded over 92,000 house fires.

Most of these were caused by cooking and electrical malfunctions.

Similar to California, Texas’ large population also means that it records a higher number of house fire incidents per year.

This is despite house fires making up one-fifth of all fire incidents in the state. The leading causes of these fires are cooking and electrical malfunctions.

Massachusetts had the second highest percentage of house fires during the measurement period. The primary causes of house fires in this state are cooking and heating.

Illinois recorded the fifth highest number of house fires. In Illinois, between 2015 and 2019, house fires made up almost 27% of the total 246,990 house fire incidents.

Cooking and careless or unintentional fires were the leading causes here.

States with the Lowest Number of House Fire Incidents (2015 – 2019)

From 2015 to 2019, Wyoming recorded the fewest house fires among all states — only 1,717. But here’s the catch: despite these low numbers, the stakes are high.

With a death rate of 14.3 per 1,000 fires, it’s a stark reminder that it’s not just the frequency of fires that matters, but the impact of each one.

This means homeowners in Wyoming could be at more risk when these fires occur. In the state, most of these house fires stem from cooking, heating, or unintentional causes.

North Dakota reported just 2,594 house fires in the same period. Yet, this state sees an even higher death rate of 16.3 per 1,000 residential fires, alongside a high injury rate (34.1 injuries per 1000 house fires).

It’s an eye-opener about the critical role of professional firefighters. North Dakota’s fire department front line has only 3.1% career firefighters.

In part, this could be a reason for the high mortality and injury rates from residential fire incidents.

South Dakota’s fire departments made 3,080 house fire incident reports between 2015 and 2019. While the death toll from these blazes seems moderate, it’s the injuries that tell the untold story.

Over 57 people per thousand got injured in house fires in 2022. We may also attribute this to the low number of professional fire fighters in the state (just 3.1%).

Island living in Hawaii seems to have its perks for fire safety too, not just the sunny days and luaus.

With only 3,250 house fires in the five-year span from 2015 to 2019, the Aloha State has the fourth lowest rate of house fires. It also has a low rate of house fire deaths (3.5%).

That’s because 75% of its fire departments are staffed by professional firefighters, ensuring fast response times.

In Montana, only 3,537 house fires occurred from 2015 to 2019. Despite the low number of incidents, the mortality rate for house fires is high at 8.3 deaths per 1,000 incidents.

That’s because the state’s fire departments are mostly volunteer-based. Professional (career) firefighters make up a small percentage of Montana’s fire departments.

The Leading Causes of House Fires

Below, you’ll learn about house fire causes statistics from 2013 to 2022 and the most common causes of house fires.

Cooking Fires

Cooking ranks first among the most common house fire causes. In 2022 alone, around 178,600 fires started in the kitchen.

Even though kitchen fires are still common, there’s some good news.

They’ve dropped by 7% since a decade ago, hitting a high in 2015 but slowing down to 178,600 in 2022.

Also, cooking fires are becoming less deadly. Over the past ten years, deaths have plummeted by 51%, and injuries have fallen by 36%, leading to 100 fatalities and 2,350 injuries in 2022.

Financial losses from cooking fires have also reduced by 23%, from about $652 million in 2013 to $522.5 million in 2022.

Heating Fires

There were about 38,000 incidents of heating fires in 2022. In 2013, it rose to a peak of 49,000 and has steadily fallen since then.

As of 2022, heating fires had reduced by 34%. It isn’t just the rate that fell but the impact of the fire, too. Fatalities have more than halved, from a high of 245 in 2014 to just 110 in 2022.

Electrical Malfunction Fires

In 2022, we had 26,100 electrical malfunction fires in the U.S. This led to 185 deaths and 850 injuries, along with an economic loss of $1.49 billion.

While these types of fires rose by 6%, there was a 37% fall in the death rate between 2013 and 2022. Injuries grew by 7% while the financial loss from such fires also rose by 27% from 2013 to 2022.

Smoking

In 2022, cigarette-related fires ravaged 8,600 homes, resulting in 295 deaths, over 700 injuries, and $525.7 million in property damage.

These tragedies are not isolated incidents; the number of such fires increased by 3% from 2013 to 2022.

While deaths and injuries from smoking fires reduced by 10% and 9% during that ten-year period, financial loss from smoking fires rose by a whopping 52%.

Arson (Intentional Fires)

Arson is a growing threat. While the number of deliberately set house fires rose in 2022 by 16%, quick responses have led to a drop in fatalities (16% decrease that year compared to 2013).

But injuries increased slightly (by 7%), and the financial damage caused by these fires also rose by 32% between 2013 and 2022.

Open flames (e.g., Candles)

In 2022, open flames turned deadly in over 17,000 homes, claiming 125 lives and leaving 850 injured. The heartbreak came with a hefty price tag, too — It cost nearly $905 million in damages.

Over the ten-year period between 2013 and 2022, open flame fire incidents decreased by 3%. Deaths and injuries also fell by 5% and 15%, respectively

However, the cost of these tragedies increased by 19%. Fewer fires, yes, but at a greater cost. In 2022, there were 25 open flame fires that resulted in damages exceeding $1 million each.

Unintentional Fires or Carelessness (e.g., Children Playing with Fire)

Between 2013 and 2022, accidental house fires increased by 49%. This highlights the importance of being vigilant when children are playing at home, as these fires can result in serious injuries and property damage.

Lives are also at stake. Fatalities climbed by almost half (44%) and injuries by 51%.

And the financial toll? Very expensive. We’re talking about $2.3 billion in damages. From 2013 to 2022, financial losses from property damage caused by unintentional fires have climbed by 74%.

Leading Causes of House Fires by Year

Home Fire Statistics by Cause

• Cooking is the leading cause of residential building fires, accounting for approximately 42-50% of all reported incidents. There was a 7% decrease in residential cooking fires between 2013 and 2022.
• Heating equipment is the second leading cause, accounting for around 9-12.5% of residential fires. There was a 34% decrease in residential heating fires between 2013 and 2022.
• Electrical malfunctions account for about 6-7.7% of residential fires. Residential electrical malfunction fires increased by 6% from 2013 to 2022.
• There was a 49% increase in unintentionally or carelessly set fires between 2013 and 2022.

Conclusion

In 2022 alone, over 374,000 house fires occurred across the U.S., leading to the loss of 2,720 lives, 10,250 injuries, and $10.8 billion in property damages. Evidently, house fires cause significant economic and physical damage.

Therefore, as a homeowner, it’s necessary to be prepared for house fire incidents: install smoke alarms, have a well-practiced preparedness checklist, fix damaged electrical wiring promptly, and never leave your kitchen unattended while cooking.

If your house has already suffered from a fire, you may want to sell your fire damaged house fast by requesting a cash offer on your home.

Learn:

• How to sell a burned house
• How to price a fire-damaged house
• Whether or not you have to disclose fire damage when selling a house

Data Sources:

• fema.gov/data-visualization/fire-incidents-states-and-counties
• usfa.fema.gov/statistics/states
• usfa.fema.gov/statistics/residential-fires/causes.html
• usfa.fema.gov/statistics/residential-fires/