Dubuque, IA: what USGS's seismic model says

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Dubuque is Category B. Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. Nationally, Dubuque ranks above 18% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 18th percentile.

How Dubuque compares

The raw figures: peak ground acceleration 0.035g, short-period spectral response 0.072g, 1-second spectral response 0.052g. Among 85 Iowa cities in this dataset, Dubuque ranks 17 for seismic hazard, the 81th percentile within the state. About 58,987 people live in Dubuque, Iowa.

What a retrofit costs in Dubuque

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

Earthquake insurance for a Dubuque home

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 Dubuque address.

More on how this number was built

The methodology guide covers exactly how USGS's public design-maps API produced Dubuque'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.