Auburn Hills, MI: what USGS's seismic model says

Auburn Hills carries Seismic Design Category B under USGS's ASCE 7-16 model. Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. Rank it against the rest of the country and Auburn Hills sits at the 24th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

How Auburn Hills compares

USGS's underlying values for Auburn Hills: 0.043g peak ground acceleration, 0.089g at short period, 0.043g at 1 second. Within Michigan alone, Auburn Hills ranks 98 of 153 cities by seismic hazard - the 36th percentile in-state. Auburn Hills has a population of about 26,047.

What a retrofit costs in Auburn Hills

A full earthquake retrofit typically runs $5,000-$10,000 nationally (around $7,000 typical), driven mainly by house size and foundation type, not by Michigan specifically. California's Earthquake Brace + Bolt grant, which covers a large share of this cost, is a California-only program and does not apply in Michigan.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Auburn Hills homeowner cannot buy a standalone earthquake policy in most cases - it is added to an existing homeowners policy as an endorsement, so the place to start is a regular home-insurance quote.

Where Auburn Hills's figures come from

Auburn Hills's Category B and every number above trace to USGS's own ASCE 7-16 Design Maps service - see the methodology guide. See the category explainer for what Category B does and doesn't tell you about Auburn Hills.