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
Sacramento County
Wind speed
94 mph
3-second gust, 33 ft, Exposure C
Ground snow
6 psf
pg, before drift and unbalanced cases
Seismic
SDC D
Assumes Site Class D
Local condition worth knowing: 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.
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.