Youngsville, LA: what USGS's seismic model says

Youngsville 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. That puts Youngsville in the 21th percentile nationally for seismic hazard - higher than 21% of the 4,875 US cities USGS was checked against here.

Where Youngsville sits in Louisiana

USGS's underlying values for Youngsville: 0.04g peak ground acceleration, 0.083g at short period, 0.052g at 1 second. Within Louisiana alone, Youngsville ranks 54 of 59 cities by seismic hazard - the 9th percentile in-state. Youngsville has a population of about 19,038.

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 Louisiana 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 Louisiana.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Youngsville 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 Youngsville's figures come from

Youngsville'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 Youngsville.