Hempstead, TX: what USGS's seismic model says

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Hempstead is Category A. Lowest seismic design category. Building code requires no seismic-specific detailing here beyond ordinary construction practice. Nationally, Hempstead ranks above 12% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 12th percentile.

Hempstead by the numbers

The raw figures: peak ground acceleration 0.032g, short-period spectral response 0.066g, 1-second spectral response 0.039g. Among 384 Texas cities in this dataset, Hempstead ranks 252 for seismic hazard, the 34th percentile within the state. About 6,658 people live in Hempstead, Texas.

Bracing and bolting: the actual cost

Outside California, no state-level retrofit grant equivalent to Brace + Bolt could be found for Texas. 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 Hempstead address.

More on how this number was built

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