McGregor's Seismic Design Category, explained

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, McGregor is Category A. 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 McGregor sits at the 10th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

Where McGregor sits in Texas

USGS's underlying values for McGregor: 0.029g peak ground acceleration, 0.061g at short period, 0.041g at 1 second. Within Texas alone, McGregor ranks 279 of 384 cities by seismic hazard - the 27th percentile in-state. McGregor has a population of about 6,161.

Retrofit economics for McGregor

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 Texas 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 Texas.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A McGregor 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 McGregor's figures come from

McGregor'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 McGregor.