CostolioSeismic retrofit (foundation) cost in Santa Monica
In Santa Monica, the median declared value on 35 seismic retrofit (foundation) permits issued to was $16,000, according to Active Building & Safety Permits (active permits only) permit data (checked ).
Seismic retrofit (foundation) cost in Santa Monica: permit figures
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median | $16,000 |
| 25th percentile | $6,250 |
| 75th percentile | $40,650 |
How this was counted
35 permits · 2024-11-27 to 2026-10-31 · Source: Active Building & Safety Permits (active permits only) · Filter: https://data.santamonica.gov/api/3/action/datastore_search_sql sql: SELECT ... FROM "d6867c7d-89bc-4975-be35-4d2673a4764b" WHERE "date_issued" >= '2022-01-01' ; rule: code: permit_sub_type ~ /^Seismic Retrofit/i ; cost>0 · Pulled: 2026-11-02T14:19:22-08:00 · Checked on: 2026-11-02 · Contains data from Santa Monica, made available under the ODC-BY 1.0
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 Santa Monica compared with other places
Among the 5 places where we have seismic retrofit (foundation) figures, Santa Monica has the median at position 4 from lowest. Lower medians: Los Angeles, Marin County, San Diego. Higher medians: Elk Grove.
Other Santa Monica projects with figures: Roof replacement, Window replacement, Electrical panel upgrade, Heat pump installation.
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 Santa Monica sample
- 35 permits after dropping $0 or blank values (0% of keyword matches had no cost)
- cost field
valuationin Active Building & Safety Permits (active permits only) - permits issued 2024-11-27 to 2026-10-31
Seismic retrofit (foundation) permits in Santa Monica by year
31 of these permits were issued in 2026, the busiest year in this sample. 2024 and 2026 are partial years here, so their counts are lower.
| Year issued | Permits | Median |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | fewer than 30 permits |
| 2025 | 3 | fewer than 30 permits |
| 2026 | 31 | $15,000 |
What the Santa Monica 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 soft-story retrofit.
- Soft-story retrofit: 20 permits (57%)
- Brace and bolt or cripple wall: 13 permits (37%)
- Seismic, scope not given: 2 permits (6%)
Other work listed on the same Santa Monica permits
Out of 35 Santa Monica seismic retrofit (foundation) permits with a description of their own, 1 (2.9%) also mention electrical work; 1 (2.9%) also mention mechanical or HVAC.
How we matched seismic retrofit (foundation) permits in Santa Monica
We count a permit when its permit sub-type in the Santa Monica dataset starts with “Seismic Retrofit”. We keep 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. Santa Monica supplies 0% of them, and its own median is 300% higher than 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. Santa Monica supplies 0% of them, and its own median is 300% higher than the combined one. Each place covers its own dates, so treat this as a rough guide.
Counted from the same 35 permits as the figures above (2024-11-27 to 2026-10-31). Source: Active Building & Safety Permits (active permits only).
Contains data from Santa Monica (source), made available under the ODC-BY 1.0.
Related
Contains data from Marin County (all jurisdictions in dataset), under the Open Data Commons ODbL (share-alike).
Updated