Fredericksburg, TX: what USGS's seismic model says

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Fredericksburg in Seismic Design Category A: Lowest seismic design category. Building code requires no seismic-specific detailing here beyond ordinary construction practice. Rank it against the rest of the country and Fredericksburg sits at the 3th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

Where Fredericksburg sits in Texas

USGS's underlying values for Fredericksburg: 0.022g peak ground acceleration, 0.048g at short period, 0.028g at 1 second. Within Texas alone, Fredericksburg ranks 358 of 384 cities by seismic hazard - the 7th percentile in-state. Fredericksburg has a population of about 11,766.

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 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 Fredericksburg 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 Fredericksburg's figures come from

Fredericksburg's Category A 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 A does and doesn't tell you about Fredericksburg.