Owatonna, MN: what USGS's seismic model says

Owatonna 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 Owatonna sits at the 5th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

Where Owatonna sits in Minnesota

USGS's underlying values for Owatonna: 0.023g peak ground acceleration, 0.048g at short period, 0.035g at 1 second. Within Minnesota alone, Owatonna ranks 59 of 155 cities by seismic hazard - the 62th percentile in-state. Owatonna has a population of about 26,626.

Retrofit economics for Owatonna

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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Owatonna 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 Owatonna's figures come from

Owatonna'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 Owatonna.