Marco Island, FL: what USGS's seismic model says

Marco Island carries Seismic Design Category A under USGS's ASCE 7-16 model. Lowest seismic design category. Building code requires no seismic-specific detailing here beyond ordinary construction practice. Rank it against the rest of the country and Marco Island sits at the 1th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

Marco Island by the numbers

USGS's underlying values for Marco Island: 0.019g peak ground acceleration, 0.042g at short period, 0.021g at 1 second. Within Florida alone, Marco Island ranks 208 of 228 cities by seismic hazard - the 9th percentile in-state. Marco Island has a population of about 16,554.

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 Florida 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 Florida.

Earthquake insurance for a Marco Island home

A Marco Island 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 Marco Island's figures come from

Marco Island'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 Marco Island.