Beaumont, TX: what USGS's seismic model says

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Beaumont is Category B. Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. Nationally, Beaumont ranks above 20% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 20th percentile.

Beaumont by the numbers

The raw figures: peak ground acceleration 0.038g, short-period spectral response 0.078g, 1-second spectral response 0.045g. Among 384 Texas cities in this dataset, Beaumont ranks 172 for seismic hazard, the 55th percentile within the state. About 112,893 people live in Beaumont, Texas.

Retrofit economics for Beaumont

Outside California, no state-level retrofit grant equivalent to Brace + Bolt could be found for Texas. A typical retrofit still runs $5,000-$10,000 nationally, about $7,000 for a common single-family job.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

Outside California, earthquake coverage is typically sold as an endorsement added to a standard homeowners policy, not a separate product - worth asking about directly when getting a home-insurance quote for a Beaumont address.

More on how this number was built

The methodology guide covers exactly how USGS's public design-maps API produced Beaumont's numbers. The guide to what a Seismic Design Category actually means covers why a category is never a substitute for an engineer's assessment of one specific house.