Muskegon, MI: what USGS's seismic model says

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Muskegon in Seismic Design Category B: Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. That puts Muskegon in the 18th percentile nationally for seismic hazard - higher than 18% of the 4,875 US cities USGS was checked against here.

How Muskegon compares

The raw figures: peak ground acceleration 0.034g, short-period spectral response 0.071g, 1-second spectral response 0.044g. Among 153 Michigan cities in this dataset, Muskegon ranks 120 for seismic hazard, the 22th percentile within the state. About 37,287 people live in Muskegon, Michigan.

Retrofit economics for Muskegon

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

Earthquake insurance for a Muskegon 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 Muskegon address.

More on how this number was built

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