Lexington's Seismic Design Category, explained

Lexington 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. Rank it against the rest of the country and Lexington sits at the 86th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

Lexington by the numbers

USGS's underlying values for Lexington: 0.329g peak ground acceleration, 0.605g at short period, 0.235g at 1 second. Within Tennessee alone, Lexington ranks 35 of 104 cities by seismic hazard - the 67th percentile in-state. Lexington has a population of about 8,037.

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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee.

What this means for insurance

A Lexington 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 Lexington's figures come from

Lexington'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 Lexington.