Long Branch, NJ: what USGS's seismic model says

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Long Branch in Seismic Design Category B: Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. Nationally, Long Branch ranks above 61% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 61th percentile.

Long Branch by the numbers

The raw figures: peak ground acceleration 0.14g, short-period spectral response 0.237g, 1-second spectral response 0.053g. Among 194 New Jersey cities in this dataset, Long Branch ranks 139 for seismic hazard, the 28th percentile within the state. About 33,214 people live in Long Branch, New Jersey.

What a retrofit costs in Long Branch

Outside California, no state-level retrofit grant equivalent to Brace + Bolt could be found for New Jersey. A typical retrofit still runs $5,000-$10,000 nationally, about $7,000 for a common single-family job.

Earthquake insurance for a Long Branch home

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 Long Branch address.

More on how this number was built

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