Winston-Salem's Seismic Design Category, explained

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Winston-Salem in Seismic Design Category B: 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 Winston-Salem sits at the 50th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

Winston-Salem by the numbers

USGS's underlying values for Winston-Salem: 0.08g peak ground acceleration, 0.161g at short period, 0.069g at 1 second. Within North Carolina alone, Winston-Salem ranks 73 of 147 cities by seismic hazard - the 51th percentile in-state. Winston-Salem has a population of about 255,769.

Retrofit economics for Winston-Salem

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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem's figures come from

Winston-Salem'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 Winston-Salem.