Dearborn Heights's Seismic Design Category, explained

Dearborn Heights 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. That puts Dearborn Heights in the 31th percentile nationally for seismic hazard - higher than 31% of the 4,875 US cities USGS was checked against here.

Where Dearborn Heights sits in Michigan

USGS's underlying values for Dearborn Heights: 0.051g peak ground acceleration, 0.102g at short period, 0.046g at 1 second. Within Michigan alone, Dearborn Heights ranks 40 of 153 cities by seismic hazard - the 74th percentile in-state. Dearborn Heights has a population of about 61,040.

What a retrofit costs in Dearborn 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 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 Dearborn 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 Dearborn Heights's figures come from

Dearborn 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 Dearborn Heights.