Fort Lee, NJ: what USGS's seismic model says

Fort Lee 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 Fort Lee in the 66th percentile nationally for seismic hazard - higher than 66% of the 4,875 US cities USGS was checked against here.

Fort Lee by the numbers

USGS's underlying values for Fort Lee: 0.183g peak ground acceleration, 0.295g at short period, 0.061g at 1 second. Within New Jersey alone, Fort Lee ranks 25 of 194 cities by seismic hazard - the 88th percentile in-state. Fort Lee has a population of about 40,566.

Bracing and bolting: the actual cost

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.

Earthquake insurance for a Fort Lee home

A Fort Lee 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 Fort Lee's figures come from

Fort Lee'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 Fort Lee.