Paulsboro, NJ: what USGS's seismic model says

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Paulsboro is Category B. Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. That puts Paulsboro in the 55th percentile nationally for seismic hazard - higher than 55% of the 4,875 US cities USGS was checked against here.

Where Paulsboro sits in New Jersey

The raw figures: peak ground acceleration 0.097g, short-period spectral response 0.176g, 1-second spectral response 0.047g. Among 194 New Jersey cities in this dataset, Paulsboro ranks 166 for seismic hazard, the 15th percentile within the state. About 6,316 people live in Paulsboro, New Jersey.

Retrofit economics for Paulsboro

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.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

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 Paulsboro address.

More on how this number was built

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