Summit, NJ: what USGS's seismic model says

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Summit is Category B. Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. Nationally, Summit ranks above 63% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 63th percentile.

How Summit compares

The raw figures: peak ground acceleration 0.168g, short-period spectral response 0.275g, 1-second spectral response 0.058g. Among 194 New Jersey cities in this dataset, Summit ranks 87 for seismic hazard, the 55th percentile within the state. About 23,102 people live in Summit, New Jersey.

Retrofit economics for Summit

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.

What this means for insurance

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 Summit address.

More on how this number was built

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