CostolioSeismic retrofit (foundation) cost in Los Angeles
In Los Angeles, the median declared value on 13080 seismic retrofit (foundation) permits issued to was $4,000, according to Building and Safety - Building Permits Issued from 2020 to Present (N) permit data (checked ).
Seismic retrofit (foundation) cost in Los Angeles: permit figures
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median | $4,000 |
| 25th percentile | $3,000 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
How this was counted
13080 permits · 2022-01-03 to 2026-10-31 · Source: Building and Safety - Building Permits Issued from 2020 to Present (N) · Filter: https://data.lacity.org/resource/pi9x-tg5x.json?$where=issue_date >= '2022-01-01' (paged by :id) ; rule: keyword /SEISMIC|SOFT[- ]STORY|CRIPPLE WALL|BRACE (AND|&) BOLT|EARTHQUAKE BRAC|FOUNDATION (BOLT|ANCHOR|RETROFIT|REPAIR|REPLACE|UPGRADE)|ANCHOR BOLT|SILL PLATE ANCHOR|\bEBB\b/ AND NOT /EARTHQUAKE (SHUT|VALVE)|SEISMIC (GAS|VALVE|SHUT)|STRAP|WATER HEATER|SOLAR|NEW (SFD|S\.?F\.?D|SINGLE[- ]FAMILY|DWELLING|HOUSE|HOME|BUILDING|\d+[- ]STORY|DUPLEX|CONDO|APARTMENT)|ADDITION|\bADU\b|REMODEL|TENANT|SIGN/ ; residential only ; cost>0 · Pulled: 2026-11-02T14:21:38-08:00 · Checked on: 2026-11-02
What a seismic retrofit (foundation) permit usually covers
Bolting the house to its foundation and bracing cripple walls. Usually anchor bolts, cripple wall bracing and hardware the inspector checks. Engineering reports, foundation replacement and finish work are often separate.
Seismic retrofit (foundation) in Los Angeles compared with other places
Among the 5 places where we have seismic retrofit (foundation) figures, Los Angeles has the median at position 1 from lowest. Los Angeles has the lowest median of these. Higher medians: Marin County, San Diego, Santa Monica, Elk Grove.
Other Los Angeles projects with figures: Roof replacement, ADU (accessory dwelling unit).
Read this first. Permit values are self-reported by the applicant to set permit fees. They often leave out materials or labor, and they are not what the contractor actually charged. A quote above or below this range can be reasonable.
About this Los Angeles sample
- 13080 permits after dropping $0 or blank values (1% of keyword matches had no cost)
- cost field
valuationin Building and Safety - Building Permits Issued from 2020 to Present (N) - permits issued 2022-01-03 to 2026-10-31
Seismic retrofit (foundation) permits in Los Angeles by year
3,253 of these permits were issued in 2022, the busiest year in this sample. Counting only full years, the number of permits went down in 2023, then up in 2024, then down in 2025. The median declared value went down in 2023, then about the same in 2024, then down in 2025. 2022 and 2026 are partial years here, so their counts are lower.
| Year issued | Permits | Median |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3,253 | $6,000 |
| 2023 | 2,844 | $3,900 |
| 2024 | 3,023 | $3,800 |
| 2025 | 2,553 | $3,500 |
| 2026 | 1,407 | $3,800 |
By month issued, the busiest months were October, August, March, and the quietest were December, November, April.
What the Los Angeles seismic retrofit (foundation) permits describe
We read the description each applicant wrote, leave out the standard wording the city adds to every permit, and sort the permit by the words it uses. The permit type the city chose is not used here. Where the description does not say, we count it as not stated. The most common kind here is brace and bolt or cripple wall.
- Brace and bolt or cripple wall: 9,425 permits (72%), median $3,500
- Soft-story retrofit: 2,560 permits (20%), median $40,000
- Foundation work: 868 permits (7%), median $10,000
- Seismic, scope not given: 184 permits (1%), median $4,950
- Not stated in the description: 43 permits (0%), median $6,500
Other work listed on the same Los Angeles permits
Out of 13,060 Los Angeles seismic retrofit (foundation) permits with a description of their own, 36 (0.3%) also mention windows or doors; 8 (0.1%) also mention plumbing; 2 (0.0%) also mention electrical work; 1 (0.0%) also mention mechanical or HVAC.
How we matched seismic retrofit (foundation) permits in Los Angeles
Los Angeles has no permit type for this work, so we count a permit when its description mentions seismic, soft-story, cripple wall, brace and bolt or foundation bolting and repair. We leave out permits whose description mentions earthquake gas shut-off valves, seismic gas shut-off valves, water heater straps, water heaters, solar, new homes and buildings, additions, ADUs, remodels, tenant work or signs. We keep only permits for homes, not commercial buildings, and only permits with a declared value above $0.
Seismic retrofit (foundation) across Los Angeles County
Putting together every seismic retrofit (foundation) permit on a published page in Los Angeles County (Los Angeles, Santa Monica) gives 13,115 permits with a combined median of $4,000. Los Angeles supplies 100% of them, and its own median is about the same as the combined one. Each place covers its own dates, so treat this as a rough guide.
Seismic retrofit (foundation) across Southern California
Putting together every seismic retrofit (foundation) permit on a published page in Southern California (Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Monica) gives 13,454 permits with a combined median of $4,000. Los Angeles supplies 97% of them, and its own median is about the same as the combined one. Each place covers its own dates, so treat this as a rough guide.
Counted from the same 13080 permits as the figures above (2022-01-03 to 2026-10-31). Source: Building and Safety - Building Permits Issued from 2020 to Present (N).
Related
Contains data from Marin County (all jurisdictions in dataset), under the Open Data Commons ODbL (share-alike).
Updated