Elmwood Park's Seismic Design Category, explained

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Elmwood Park is Category B. Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. That puts Elmwood Park in the 65th percentile nationally for seismic hazard - higher than 65% of the 4,875 US cities USGS was checked against here.

Where Elmwood Park sits in New Jersey

USGS's underlying values for Elmwood Park: 0.182g peak ground acceleration, 0.294g at short period, 0.061g at 1 second. Within New Jersey alone, Elmwood Park ranks 36 of 194 cities by seismic hazard - the 82th percentile in-state. Elmwood Park has a population of about 21,680.

What a retrofit costs in Elmwood Park

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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Elmwood Park 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 Elmwood Park's figures come from

Elmwood Park'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 Elmwood Park.