Does Lititz, PA need an earthquake retrofit?

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Lititz is Category B. Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. Nationally, Lititz ranks above 56% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 56th percentile.

Lititz by the numbers

The raw figures: peak ground acceleration 0.102g, short-period spectral response 0.182g, 1-second spectral response 0.047g. Among 193 Pennsylvania cities in this dataset, Lititz ranks 21 for seismic hazard, the 90th percentile within the state. About 9,733 people live in Lititz, Pennsylvania.

Bracing and bolting: the actual cost

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

More on how this number was built

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