This paper summarizes the results of a comprehensive statistical study aimed at evaluating peak lateral inelastic displacement demands of structures with known lateral strength and sti ness built on soft soil site conditions. For that purpose, empirical information on inelastic displacement ratios which are deÿned as the ratio of peak lateral inelastic displacement demands to peak elastic displacement demands are investigated. Inelastic displacement ratios were computed from the response of singledegree-of-freedom systems having 6 levels of relative lateral strength when subjected to 118 earthquake ground motions recorded on bay-mud sites of the San Francisco Bay Area and on soft soil sites located in the former lake-bed zone of Mexico City. Mean inelastic displacement ratios and their corresponding scatter are presented for both ground motion ensembles. The in uence of period of vibration normalized by the predominant period of the ground motion, the level of lateral strength, earthquake magnitude, and distance to the source are evaluated and discussed. In addition, the e ects of post-yield sti ness and of sti ness and strength degradation on inelastic displacement ratios are also investigated. It is concluded that magnitude and distance to the source have negligible e ects on constant-strength inelastic displacement ratios. Results also indicate that weak and sti ness-degrading structures in the short spectral region could experience inelastic displacement demands larger than those corresponding to non-degrading structures. Finally, a simpliÿed equation obtained using regression analyses aimed at estimating mean inelastic displacement ratios is proposed for assisting structural engineers in performance-based assessment of structures built on soft soil sites.