Does Waupaca, WI need an earthquake retrofit?

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Waupaca in Seismic Design Category A: Lowest seismic design category. Building code requires no seismic-specific detailing here beyond ordinary construction practice. Nationally, Waupaca ranks above 8% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 8th percentile.

Where Waupaca sits in Wisconsin

USGS's underlying values for Waupaca: 0.025g peak ground acceleration, 0.052g at short period, 0.037g at 1 second. Within Wisconsin alone, Waupaca ranks 121 of 157 cities by seismic hazard - the 23th percentile in-state. Waupaca has a population of about 6,231.

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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Waupaca 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 Waupaca's figures come from

Waupaca'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 Waupaca.