Hopkinsville's Seismic Design Category, explained

Hopkinsville carries Seismic Design Category D under USGS's ASCE 7-16 model. High seismic hazard - this is the category most of coastal California, the Pacific Northwest, and other active fault regions fall into. Code mandates significant seismic detailing and restricts irregular structural configurations. This is the category the Brace + Bolt scope (cripple-wall bracing, foundation bolting) is built for. Nationally, Hopkinsville ranks above 83% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 83th percentile.

Where Hopkinsville sits in Kentucky

USGS's underlying values for Hopkinsville: 0.235g peak ground acceleration, 0.446g at short period, 0.187g at 1 second. Within Kentucky alone, Hopkinsville ranks 7 of 79 cities by seismic hazard - the 92th percentile in-state. Hopkinsville has a population of about 30,800.

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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky.

What this means for insurance

A Hopkinsville 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 Hopkinsville's figures come from

Hopkinsville's Category D 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 D does and doesn't tell you about Hopkinsville.