Tool
Wind speed, ground snow, and seismic design category are the three numbers a manufacturer asks for first, and the three most likely to be guessed. Start here, then confirm before anyone stamps anything.
ASCE 7-22 · Risk Category II
Dallas County
Wind speed
105 mph
3-second gust, 33 ft, Exposure C
Ground snow
12 psf
pg, before drift and unbalanced cases
Seismic
SDC B
Assumes Site Class D
Local condition worth knowing: Low loads and deep dealer coverage. The most competitive quoting market in the country.
Where this came from. Wind and ground snow are point lookups against ASCE's published ASCE 7-22 hazard layers; the seismic category is from the USGS ASCE 7-22 service, at Risk Category II and Site Class D. Checked 2026-08-22. Hazard data © American Society of Civil Engineers. One value per metro still cannot carry intra-metro variation, so confirm the site itself at ascehazardtool.org and confirm the governing code edition with your local building department — jurisdictions adopt editions on their own schedule, and many amend them. Full provenance notes.
Three ways this number is not the whole answer. Ground snow is not roof snow — drift against a wall, a valley, or a roof step routinely governs over the flat-roof load. Seismic design category moves with Site Class and Risk Category, so a geotechnical report can change the letter above. And Risk Category III or IV, for buildings with an assembly occupancy or an essential function, raises every one of these.
Price a building at these loads
Sorted by state. The right-hand column is the thing most likely to surprise somebody who priced the building from the mapped values alone.
| Metro | Wind | Snow | SDC | Local condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage, AK | 128 | 80 | D | Heavy snow, high wind, and high seismic at once. The 80 psf is the ASCE 7-22 Anchorage zone value below 500 ft; above that it is a case study, and nothing about a Lower 48 spec transfers. |
| Phoenix, AZ | 101 | 3 | B | Lowest combined loads of any major metro. Thermal movement and panel finish matter more. |
| Los Angeles, CA | 95 | 4 | D-E | Seismic governs everything. California also runs its own code (CBC) with Title 24 energy requirements. |
| San Francisco, CA | 92 | 4 | D-E | High seismic on variable soils. Expect a site-specific geotechnical report to drive the foundation. |
| Sacramento, CA | 94 | 6 | D | SDC D like the coast under ASCE 7-22, though the spectral values are lower. California also runs its own code (CBC) rather than plain IBC. |
| Denver, CO | 107 | 54 | A-B | Ground snow climbs fast with elevation. A foothills site is a different building from a Denver site. |
| Washington, DC | 113 | 62 | A | DC has its own construction codes and height limits that can rule out a tall eave outright. |
| Miami, FL | 169 | 3 | A | High Velocity Hurricane Zone. Miami-Dade NOA product approvals apply to panels and fasteners, not just the frame. |
| Tampa, FL | 141 | 3 | A | Wind, not snow, sets the roof. Uplift on the corner zones drives purlin and clip selection. |
| Jacksonville, FL | 125 | 4 | B | Meaningfully lower wind than South Florida. Do not carry a Miami spec up the coast. |
| Savannah, GA | 135 | 7 | C | Coastal wind with almost no snow. Uplift governs the roof throughout. |
| Atlanta, GA | 105 | 19 | B-C | Low loads, high demand. Lead time beats load as the binding constraint. |
| Honolulu, HI | 139 | 0 | D | Oahu is an ASCE 7-22 special wind region - the mapped speed runs 130 to 143 mph across the urban area and the Hawaii State Building Code governs. No snow, and shipping can rival the steel. |
| Des Moines, IA | 110 | 45 | B | Straightforward. Agricultural work here is priced on geometry alone. |
| Boise, ID | 102 | 32 | C | Valley floor is mild; snow rises steeply with elevation nearby. |
| Chicago, IL | 107 | 51 | B | Chicago has its own building code amendments. Confirm with the city, not just the state. |
| Indianapolis, IN | 106 | 30 | C | Wind and snow are unremarkable, but Site Class D puts this in SDC C, so seismic detailing is not the afterthought the other two numbers suggest. |
| Louisville, KY | 106 | 26 | C | Light snow, but Site Class D lands it in SDC C, which is enough to drive connection detailing. |
| New Orleans, LA | 138 | 7 | B | Soft soils. The foundation, not the frame, is usually the schedule risk here. |
| Boston, MA | 116 | 65 | B | High snow and coastal wind together. The unusual case where neither load case can be dismissed early. |
| Baltimore, MD | 113 | 59 | A | Ground snow runs well above Philadelphia under ASCE 7-22 despite near-identical wind. Watch the county-versus-city permitting split. |
| Detroit, MI | 108 | 37 | B | Snow governs. Wind rarely decides anything on a low-eave building here. |
| Minneapolis, MN | 109 | 58 | A | Snow is the whole design problem. Tighter bays usually beat 30 ft here. |
| St. Louis, MO | 108 | 23 | D | New Madrid influence pushes seismic higher than the rest of the Midwest. |
| Kansas City, MO | 110 | 30 | B | Moderate loads. Straddles two states, so confirm which side the site is on. |
| Raleigh, NC | 115 | 26 | B | Inland enough to miss the worst hurricane wind, close enough to feel it. |
| Charlotte, NC | 109 | 22 | B | Mild on all three. One of the cheapest large metros to frame in. |
| Omaha, NE | 111 | 52 | B | Snow governs clearly over wind. |
| Albuquerque, NM | 104 | 16 | D | Elevation drives the snow number, and ASCE 7-22 puts Bernalillo County in SDC D on Site Class D. Confirm the specific site, not the metro. |
| Las Vegas, NV | 98 | 9 | D | Seismic is the only meaningful lateral demand. |
| Buffalo, NY | 109 | 60 | A | Lake-effect. Ground snow varies enormously across the county, and drift on a valley or a lean-to often governs over the flat-roof load. |
| New York, NY | 115 | 47 | B | NYC Building Code overrides the state code. Expect a separate special-inspection regime. |
| Cleveland, OH | 109 | 35 | B | Lake-effect snow on the east side runs higher than the county value suggests. |
| Columbus, OH | 108 | 31 | B | Unremarkable loads. A good baseline for a Midwest budget number. |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 109 | 17 | B | Mapped wind is modest, but tornado-resistant design is often specified separately by the owner. |
| Portland, OR | 97 | 43 | D | Cascadia subduction demand. Braced frame and anchorage design dominate the engineering. |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 110 | 54 | B | Sloped sites. Retaining and site work often outrun the building package. |
| Philadelphia, PA | 114 | 34 | A-B | Balanced snow and wind. Neither dominates, so both load combinations matter. |
| Charleston, SC | 147 | 8 | D | The rare combination of hurricane wind and genuine seismic demand. Both govern different members. |
| Nashville, TN | 105 | 19 | D | Light wind and snow, but ASCE 7-22 on Site Class D puts Nashville in SDC D. Seismic detailing, not snow, drives the connections. Permitting backlogs are the real schedule risk. |
| Memphis, TN | 105 | 23 | D | New Madrid seismic zone. Seismic detailing, not snow, drives the connections. |
| Houston, TX | 133 | 7 | A | Wind rises sharply toward the coast. A Harris County number does not apply in Galveston. |
| Corpus Christi, TX | 149 | 7 | A | Windborne debris region. Openings need protection or the building is designed as partially enclosed. |
| Dallas, TX | 105 | 12 | B | Low loads and deep dealer coverage. The most competitive quoting market in the country. |
| Austin, TX | 105 | 8 | A | Minimal loads. Expansive clay is the foundation issue, not the frame. |
| San Antonio, TX | 107 | 8 | A | Low loads throughout. |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 103 | 38 | D | High seismic, and ground snow that more than triples between the valley floor and the Wasatch benches a few miles east. Bracing and connection design get expensive before the frame does. |
| Virginia Beach, VA | 124 | 30 | A | Hurricane exposure with a real snow load. Both load cases need checking. |
| Seattle, WA | 98 | 46 | D | Snow, wind, and high seismic all present at moderate levels. Seismic detailing usually wins. |
| Milwaukee, WI | 106 | 55 | B | Lakeside drifting on the downwind side of any roof step. |
Wind in mph (3-second gust, 33 ft, Exposure C). Snow in psf ground snow load. SDC assumes Site Class D. See provenance and limitations.