Sterling Heights, MI: what USGS's seismic model says

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Sterling Heights is Category B. Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. Nationally, Sterling Heights ranks above 27% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 27th percentile.

Sterling Heights by the numbers

The raw figures: peak ground acceleration 0.046g, short-period spectral response 0.093g, 1-second spectral response 0.044g. Among 153 Michigan cities in this dataset, Sterling Heights ranks 79 for seismic hazard, the 49th percentile within the state. About 134,342 people live in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

What a retrofit costs in Sterling Heights

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.

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 Sterling Heights address.

More on how this number was built

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