Does Taylorville, IL need an earthquake retrofit?

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, Taylorville is Category C. Moderate seismic hazard. Code adds irregular-building restrictions and requires bracing of some nonstructural components (e.g. tall shelving, water heaters) in addition to structural detailing. That puts Taylorville in the 72th percentile nationally for seismic hazard - higher than 72% of the 4,875 US cities USGS was checked against here.

Where Taylorville sits in Illinois

USGS's underlying values for Taylorville: 0.118g peak ground acceleration, 0.236g at short period, 0.112g at 1 second. Within Illinois alone, Taylorville ranks 52 of 330 cities by seismic hazard - the 84th percentile in-state. Taylorville has a population of about 10,263.

What a retrofit costs in Taylorville

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 Illinois 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 Illinois.

What this means for insurance

A Taylorville 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 Taylorville's figures come from

Taylorville's Category C 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 C does and doesn't tell you about Taylorville.