Area burned wildfires by type in United States
United States: Area burned wildfires by type was 1.13 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
1.13 million
Change on year
down 49.4%
World rank
25th
of 225 countries
All-time high
2.46 million
in 2011
All-time low
647,303
in 2023
Years of data
24
2002–2025
Area burned wildfires by type in United States, 2002–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
United States recorded 1.13 million for area burned wildfires by type in 2025.
That represents a change of down 49.4% on the previous year and up 4.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area burned wildfires by type in United States peaked at 2.46 million in 2011 and was at its lowest, 647,303, in 2023.
That places United States 25th out of 225 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Area burned wildfires by type in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1.07 million | — |
| 2003 | 1.12 million | +4.7% |
| 2004 | 735,056 | -34.4% |
| 2005 | 1.82 million | +148.0% |
| 2006 | 2.21 million | +21.3% |
| 2007 | 1.78 million | -19.4% |
| 2008 | 1.33 million | -25.6% |
| 2009 | 1.24 million | -6.2% |
| 2010 | 803,403 | -35.4% |
| 2011 | 2.46 million | +206.0% |
| 2012 | 2.27 million | -7.7% |
| 2013 | 683,173 | -69.9% |
| 2014 | 1.22 million | +79.2% |
| 2015 | 1.08 million | -11.4% |
| 2016 | 1.53 million | +41.3% |
| 2017 | 2.06 million | +34.3% |
| 2018 | 1.97 million | -4.4% |
| 2019 | 971,416 | -50.6% |
| 2020 | 2.35 million | +141.6% |
| 2021 | 1.37 million | -41.7% |
| 2022 | 1.45 million | +5.7% |
| 2023 | 647,303 | -55.2% |
| 2024 | 2.24 million | +246.1% |
| 2025 | 1.13 million | -49.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.41 million | 735,056 | 2.21 million | 8 |
| 2010s | 1.51 million | 683,173 | 2.46 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.53 million | 647,303 | 2.35 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More reference data data for United States
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 19.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 24.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 20.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 64.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 52.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 133.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 589.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 112.69 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area burned wildfires by type in United States?
- Area burned wildfires by type in United States was 1.13 million in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest area burned wildfires by type recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 2.46 million in 2011.
- What is the lowest area burned wildfires by type recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 647,303 in 2023.
- How does United States rank for area burned wildfires by type?
- United States ranks 25th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is area burned wildfires by type rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Area burned wildfires by type. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).