Cartersville's Seismic Design Category, explained

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Cartersville 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 Cartersville sits at the 75th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

Where Cartersville sits in Georgia

USGS's underlying values for Cartersville: 0.167g peak ground acceleration, 0.289g at short period, 0.096g at 1 second. Within Georgia alone, Cartersville ranks 10 of 148 cities by seismic hazard - the 94th percentile in-state. Cartersville has a population of about 25,082.

What a retrofit costs in Cartersville

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 Georgia 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 Georgia.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Cartersville 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 Cartersville's figures come from

Cartersville'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 Cartersville.