Rockport's Seismic Design Category, explained

Rockport 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 Rockport sits at the 9th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

How Rockport compares

USGS's underlying values for Rockport: 0.027g peak ground acceleration, 0.057g at short period, 0.019g at 1 second. Within Texas alone, Rockport ranks 299 of 384 cities by seismic hazard - the 22th percentile in-state. Rockport has a population of about 11,069.

What a retrofit costs in Rockport

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.

What this means for insurance

A Rockport 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 Rockport's figures come from

Rockport'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 Rockport.