Jamestown's Seismic Design Category, explained

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

Where Jamestown sits in North Dakota

USGS's underlying values for Jamestown: 0.024g peak ground acceleration, 0.052g at short period, 0.02g at 1 second. Within North Dakota alone, Jamestown ranks 11 of 14 cities by seismic hazard - the 23th percentile in-state. Jamestown has a population of about 15,789.

What a retrofit costs in Jamestown

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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota.

What this means for insurance

A Jamestown 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 Jamestown's figures come from

Jamestown'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 Jamestown.