Franklin, NH: what USGS's seismic model says

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Franklin is Category C. Moderate seismic hazard. Code adds irregular-building restrictions and requires bracing of some nonstructural components (e.g. tall shelving, water heaters) in addition to structural detailing. Rank it against the rest of the country and Franklin sits at the 78th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

Franklin by the numbers

The raw figures: peak ground acceleration 0.233g, short-period spectral response 0.368g, 1-second spectral response 0.081g. Among 13 New Hampshire cities in this dataset, Franklin ranks 4 for seismic hazard, the 75th percentile within the state. About 8,823 people live in Franklin, New Hampshire.

Retrofit economics for Franklin

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

What this means for insurance

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 Franklin address.

More on how this number was built

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