Burlington's Seismic Design Category, explained

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Burlington in Seismic Design Category C: Moderate seismic hazard. Code adds irregular-building restrictions and requires bracing of some nonstructural components (e.g. tall shelving, water heaters) in addition to structural detailing. Rank it against the rest of the country and Burlington sits at the 78th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

Burlington by the numbers

USGS's underlying values for Burlington: 0.221g peak ground acceleration, 0.36g at short period, 0.088g at 1 second. Within Vermont alone, Burlington ranks 1 of 8 cities by seismic hazard - the 100th percentile in-state. Burlington has a population of about 44,432.

Bracing and bolting: the actual cost

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 Vermont 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 Vermont.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Burlington 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 Burlington's figures come from

Burlington's Category C 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 C does and doesn't tell you about Burlington.