St. Paul Park's Seismic Design Category, explained

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, St. Paul Park 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 St. Paul Park sits at the 3th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

How St. Paul Park compares

USGS's underlying values for St. Paul Park: 0.022g peak ground acceleration, 0.047g at short period, 0.031g at 1 second. Within Minnesota alone, St. Paul Park ranks 138 of 155 cities by seismic hazard - the 11th percentile in-state. St. Paul Park has a population of about 5,381.

Bracing and bolting: the actual cost

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.

Earthquake insurance for a St. Paul Park home

A St. Paul Park 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 St. Paul Park's figures come from

St. Paul Park'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 St. Paul Park.