Geneseo's Seismic Design Category, explained

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Geneseo is Category B. Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. Nationally, Geneseo ranks above 30% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 30th percentile.

Where Geneseo sits in Illinois

The raw figures: peak ground acceleration 0.051g, short-period spectral response 0.107g, 1-second spectral response 0.067g. Among 330 Illinois cities in this dataset, Geneseo ranks 308 for seismic hazard, the 7th percentile within the state. About 6,503 people live in Geneseo, Illinois.

What a retrofit costs in Geneseo

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

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

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 Geneseo address.

More on how this number was built

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