The Colony's Seismic Design Category, explained

The Colony carries Seismic Design Category B under USGS's ASCE 7-16 model. Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. Rank it against the rest of the country and The Colony sits at the 33th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

The Colony by the numbers

USGS's underlying values for The Colony: 0.055g peak ground acceleration, 0.112g at short period, 0.057g at 1 second. Within Texas alone, The Colony ranks 56 of 384 cities by seismic hazard - the 86th percentile in-state. The Colony has a population of about 45,897.

What a retrofit costs in The Colony

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 The Colony 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 The Colony's figures come from

The Colony's Category B 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 B does and doesn't tell you about The Colony.