Does Fort Worth, TX need an earthquake retrofit?

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Fort Worth in Seismic Design Category B: Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. That puts Fort Worth in the 26th percentile nationally for seismic hazard - higher than 26% of the 4,875 US cities USGS was checked against here.

How Fort Worth compares

USGS's underlying values for Fort Worth: 0.045g peak ground acceleration, 0.093g at short period, 0.051g at 1 second. Within Texas alone, Fort Worth ranks 123 of 384 cities by seismic hazard - the 68th percentile in-state. Fort Worth has a population of about 1,008,106.

What a retrofit costs in Fort Worth

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 Texas 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 Texas.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Fort Worth 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 Worth's figures come from

Fort Worth'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 Worth.