Does my house need an earthquake retrofit?
All 4,875 US cities USGS was checked against. Start typing.
USGS's own building-code seismic hazard model, the same one contractors and inspectors use, scored for 4,875 US cities. See your city's official Seismic Design Category, then what retrofitting actually costs after California's Brace + Bolt grant.
Seismic Design Category, A to F
USGS scores every point in the country against ASCE 7-16, the standard building code uses to decide how much seismic bracing new construction legally needs there. It is not this site's own scale.
- AMinimal
- BLow
- CModerate
- DHigh
- EVery high
- F+Near-fault
What retrofitting actually costs, after the grant
Typical bracing + bolting
$3,000–$7,000
California Brace + Bolt grant
$3,000–$10,000
Net, income-eligible CA household
$0
California only, ZIP-code participation and a pre-1980 raised-foundation house required. Outside California, a full retrofit runs $5,000–$10,000 with no equivalent grant found.
Browse all 4,875 cities by state
- Alaska11
- Alabama (Alabaster, AL – Guntersville, AL)40
- Alabama (Hamilton, AL – Prattville, AL)40
- Alabama (Prichard, AL – Wetumpka, AL)27
- Arkansas (Alma, AR – Monticello, AR)40
- Arkansas (Morrilton, AR – Wynne, AR)28
- Arizona (Apache Junction, AZ – Safford, AZ)40
- Arizona (Sahuarita, AZ – Yuma, AZ)17
- California (Adelanto, CA – Buellton, CA)40
- California (Buena Park, CA – Corona, CA)40
- California (Coronado, CA – Fairfield, CA)40
- California (Farmersville, CA – Hillsborough, CA)40
- California (Hollister, CA – Lemon Grove, CA)40
- California (Lemoore, CA – Montclair, CA)40
- California (Montebello, CA – Parlier, CA)40
- California (Pasadena, CA – Roseville, CA)40
- California (Sacramento, CA – Seal Beach, CA)40
- California (Seaside, CA – Vacaville, CA)40
- California (Vallejo, CA – Yucca Valley, CA)29
- Colorado (Alamosa, CO – Golden, CO)40
- Colorado (Grand Junction, CO – Woodland Park, CO)39
- Connecticut21
- District of Columbia1
- Delaware11
- Florida (Alachua, FL – DeBary, FL)40
- Florida (Deerfield Beach, FL – Homestead, FL)40
- Florida (Indian Harbour Beach, FL – Miami Lakes, FL)40
- Florida (Miami Shores, FL – Panama City Beach, FL)40
- Florida (Panama City, FL – Sunny Isles Beach, FL)40
- Florida (Sunrise, FL – Zephyrhills, FL)28
- Georgia (Acworth, GA – Dacula, GA)40
- Georgia (Dahlonega, GA – Kingsland, GA)40
- Georgia (LaFayette, GA – Snellville, GA)40
- Georgia (Social Circle, GA – Woodstock, GA)28
- Hawaii1
- Iowa (Adel, IA – Hiawatha, IA)40
- Iowa (Independence, IA – Waukee, IA)40
- Iowa (Waverly, IA – Winterset, IA)5
- Idaho36
- Illinois (Addison, IL – Carbondale, IL)40
- Illinois (Carlinville, IL – East Peoria, IL)40
- Illinois (East St. Louis, IL – Harwood Heights, IL)40
- Illinois (Hawthorn Woods, IL – Lincolnwood, IL)40
- Illinois (Lindenhurst, IL – Mount Prospect, IL)40
- Illinois (Mount Vernon, IL – Plano, IL)40
- Illinois (Pontiac, IL – South Holland, IL)40
- Illinois (Spring Grove, IL – Winfield, IL)40
- Illinois (Winnetka, IL – Zion, IL)10
- Indiana (Alexandria, IN – Gary, IN)40
- Indiana (Gas City, IN – Munster, IN)40
- Indiana (Nappanee, IN – Westville, IN)40
- Indiana (Whiteland, IN – Zionsville, IN)6
- Kansas (Abilene, KS – Merriam, KS)40
- Kansas (Mission, KS – Winfield, KS)23
- Kentucky (Alexandria, KY – Leitchfield, KY)40
- Kentucky, part 2 of 239
- Louisiana (Abbeville, LA – Patterson, LA)40
- Louisiana (Pineville, LA – Zachary, LA)19
- Massachusetts (Agawam Town, MA – Palmer Town, MA)40
- Massachusetts (Peabody, MA – Worcester, MA)18
- Maryland (Aberdeen, MD – Rockville, MD)40
- Maryland (Salisbury, MD – Westminster, MD)6
- Maine20
- Michigan (Adrian, MI – Ferndale, MI)40
- Michigan (Flat Rock, MI – Lincoln Park, MI)40
- Michigan (Livonia, MI – Royal Oak, MI)40
- Michigan (Saginaw, MI – Zeeland, MI)33
- Minnesota (Albert Lea, MN – Eagan, MN)40
- Minnesota (East Bethel, MN – Mankato, MN)40
- Minnesota (Maple Grove, MN – Rosemount, MN)40
- Minnesota (Roseville, MN – Zimmerman, MN)35
- Missouri (Arnold, MO – Florissant, MO)40
- Missouri (Fulton, MO – O'Fallon, MO)40
- Missouri (Oak Grove, MO – Troy, MO)40
- Missouri (Union, MO – Wright City, MO)15
- Mississippi (Amory, MS – New Albany, MS)40
- Mississippi (Ocean Springs, MS – Yazoo City, MS)21
- Montana19
- North Carolina (Aberdeen, NC – Fayetteville, NC)40
- North Carolina (Fletcher, NC – Lumberton, NC)40
- North Carolina (Marion, NC – Smithfield, NC)40
- North Carolina (Southern Pines, NC – Zebulon, NC)27
- North Dakota14
- Nebraska32
- New Hampshire13
- New Jersey (Absecon, NJ – Edgewater, NJ)40
- New Jersey (Elizabeth, NJ – Kearny, NJ)40
- New Jersey (Kenilworth, NJ – Norwood, NJ)40
- New Jersey (Oakland, NJ – Sayreville, NJ)40
- New Jersey (Secaucus, NJ – Woodland Park, NJ)34
- New Mexico35
- Nevada12
- New York (Airmont, NY – Floral Park, NY)40
- New York (Fredonia, NY – Lawrence, NY)40
- New York (Liberty, NY – Oswego, NY)40
- New York (Patchogue, NY – Watertown, NY)40
- New York (Watervliet, NY – Yonkers, NY)10
- Ohio (Ada, OH – Celina, OH)40
- Ohio (Centerville, OH – Gahanna, OH)40
- Ohio (Galion, OH – Lyndhurst, OH)40
- Ohio (Macedonia, OH – Norwood, OH)40
- Ohio (Oakwood, OH – Springboro, OH)40
- Ohio (Springdale, OH – Westlake, OH)40
- Ohio (Whitehall, OH – Zanesville, OH)14
- Oklahoma (Ada, OK – Miami, OK)40
- Oklahoma (Midwest City, OK – Yukon, OK)35
- Oregon (Albany, OR – Medford, OR)40
- Oregon (Milton-Freewater, OR – Woodburn, OR)40
- Pennsylvania (Aliquippa, PA – Columbia, PA)40
- Pennsylvania (Connellsville, PA – Hermitage, PA)40
- Pennsylvania (Hollidaysburg, PA – New Brighton, PA)40
- Pennsylvania (New Castle, PA – Shippensburg, PA)40
- Pennsylvania (Somerset, PA – York, PA)33
- Rhode Island8
- South Carolina (Aiken, SC – Laurens, SC)40
- South Carolina (Lexington, SC – York, SC)26
- South Dakota18
- Tennessee (Alcoa, TN – Henderson, TN)40
- Tennessee (Hendersonville, TN – Oak Ridge, TN)40
- Tennessee (Oakland, TN – Winchester, TN)24
- Texas (Abilene, TX – Bowie, TX)40
- Texas (Breckenridge, TX – Crandall, TX)40
- Texas (Crockett, TX – Fredericksburg, TX)40
- Texas (Freeport, TX – Horizon City, TX)40
- Texas (Horseshoe Bay, TX – Lake Dallas, TX)40
- Texas (Lake Jackson, TX – Melissa, TX)40
- Texas (Mercedes, TX – Plano, TX)40
- Texas (Pleasanton, TX – Sandy Oaks, TX)40
- Texas (Sanger, TX – Venus, TX)40
- Texas (Vernon, TX – Yoakum, TX)24
- Utah (Alpine, UT – Midvale, UT)40
- Utah (Midway, UT – Sunset, UT)40
- Utah (Syracuse, UT – Woods Cross, UT)15
- Virginia (Abingdon, VA – Petersburg, VA)40
- Virginia (Poquoson, VA – Wytheville, VA)23
- Vermont8
- Washington (Aberdeen, WA – Ferndale, WA)40
- Washington (Fife, WA – Pacific, WA)40
- Washington (Pasco, WA – Wenatchee, WA)40
- Washington (West Richland, WA – Yelm, WA)5
- Wisconsin (Allouez, WI – Glendale, WI)40
- Wisconsin (Grafton, WI – Milwaukee, WI)40
- Wisconsin (Monona, WI – Shorewood, WI)40
- Wisconsin (Slinger, WI – Wisconsin Rapids, WI)37
- West Virginia26
- Wyoming16
A building-code category, not a guess
QuakeRetrofitCheck reports USGS's own Seismic Design Category for 4,875 US cities - the same letter grade (A through F) that ASCE 7 and the IBC use to decide how much seismic bracing new construction legally needs at that point. 1,008 cities in this dataset are Category D or more severe.
The category is not the whole answer
A city's category describes the ground motion at that point, not any one specific house - foundation type, age, and construction all change what a real retrofit needs. This site pairs the category with sourced retrofit cost figures and California's Brace + Bolt grant, so the next question - is retrofitting worth it - has real numbers behind it, not just a risk score.