Cleveland Heights, OH: what USGS's seismic model says

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Cleveland Heights in Seismic Design Category B: 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 Cleveland Heights sits at the 51th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

How Cleveland Heights compares

USGS's underlying values for Cleveland Heights: 0.081g peak ground acceleration, 0.149g at short period, 0.05g at 1 second. Within Ohio alone, Cleveland Heights ranks 40 of 254 cities by seismic hazard - the 85th percentile in-state. Cleveland Heights has a population of about 44,064.

Retrofit economics for Cleveland Heights

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 Ohio 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 Ohio.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Cleveland Heights 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 Cleveland Heights's figures come from

Cleveland Heights'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 Cleveland Heights.