Data report · 2026

Alabama Water Damage Risk Index

Where in Alabama is a house most likely to take on water? We combined Census housing age with ten years of daily weather for 67 of Alabama's 67 counties to rank them.

Highest index

Colbert

Score 77 of 100

Most pipe-freeze nights

Colbert

7 nights ≤ 20°F a year

Oldest housing

Jefferson

28% built before 1960

Most heavy-rain days

Washington

19.6 days ≥ 1 inch a year

< 3838–4646–5353–61≥ 61 index (0–100)

Key findings

The five highest-scoring counties are Colbert, Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Jefferson. Each combines old housing with harsher-than-average winters or frequent downpours.
Jefferson County has the oldest housing in the state, with 28% of homes built before 1960, against a county median of 16%.
Colbert County averaged 7 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the most of any county in the data. The county median is 3.
Baldwin County has the newest housing, with 48% of homes built since 2000, which pulls its index down even where winters are cold.

Weather: NOAA nClimGrid-Daily county averages, 2015–2024. Housing: ACS 2020-2024.

All counties

Select a column header to sort.

Rank	County	Index	Freeze nights	Pre-1960 homes	Heavy-rain days	Muggy nights
1	Colbert	77	7	23%	16	89
2	Marion	73	6	17%	17.2	94
3	Lamar	71	4	22%	15.3	109
4	Fayette	70	4	20%	15.8	105
5	Jefferson	70	4	28%	14.9	106
6	Clay	69	4	21%	16.6	85
7	Franklin	67	7	15%	17.8	89
8	Etowah	66	4	28%	14.8	103
9	Jackson	66	6	16%	16.5	86
10	Talladega	65	3	21%	16.1	100
11	Walker	64	4	19%	15.2	102
12	Lauderdale	63	7	19%	14.8	84
13	Clarke	61	2	15%	18	131
14	Mobile	61	0	19%	17.6	151
15	DeKalb	60	6	16%	15.3	83
16	Chambers	59	3	28%	14.9	93
17	Geneva	59	1	21%	15.6	138
18	Washington	59	2	14%	19.6	133
19	Winston	58	6	11%	17.8	90
20	Covington	57	1	22%	15.3	130
21	Pickens	57	3	17%	15.2	118
22	Blount	56	4	13%	16.2	105
23	Conecuh	56	1	17%	16.9	130
24	Escambia	56	1	16%	17	138
25	Cullman	54	4	13%	16.2	103
26	Greene	54	3	17%	14.9	119
27	Choctaw	53	2	14%	16.7	129
28	Coosa	53	3	16%	16.1	99
29	Lawrence	53	6	11%	16.3	89
30	Butler	52	1	18%	15.7	122
31	Montgomery	52	2	20%	14.4	127
32	Dallas	51	2	23%	13.5	124
33	Madison	51	6	9%	15.9	95
34	Marshall	51	4	14%	15.3	101
35	Tallapoosa	51	3	16%	15.2	98
36	Calhoun	50	3	23%	13.4	99
37	Morgan	49	5	14%	14.9	100
38	Cleburne	47	4	18%	14	84
39	Monroe	46	1	12%	17.7	134
40	Perry	46	2	22%	12.9	115
41	Randolph	46	4	16%	14.6	86
42	Crenshaw	44	2	15%	15.1	119
43	Limestone	44	6	9%	14.9	94
44	St. Clair	44	4	6%	15.5	102
45	Sumter	44	2	16%	14.6	123
46	Bibb	43	3	15%	14.6	106
47	Cherokee	43	4	15%	14.2	94
48	Macon	42	2	16%	14.5	121
49	Russell	41	2	19%	13.3	114
50	Marengo	40	2	17%	12.7	122
51	Barbour	39	1	19%	13.8	125
52	Pike	39	2	16%	14.1	123
53	Elmore	38	2	8%	15.7	119
54	Henry	38	1	17%	12.7	136
55	Wilcox	38	2	15%	14	127
56	Baldwin	37	0	5%	16.9	154
57	Chilton	37	3	14%	14.6	101
58	Hale	37	3	14%	13.8	118
59	Lowndes	36	2	10%	14.9	129
60	Tuscaloosa	35	3	12%	14.2	112
61	Shelby	34	3	4%	15.1	101
62	Autauga	33	2	7%	15	120
63	Houston	31	1	14%	13.9	144
64	Dale	30	1	13%	14.3	135
65	Coffee	29	1	13%	14.4	130
66	Bullock	28	2	11%	14.1	121
67	Lee	26	2	7%	14.6	108

Methodology

For each county with weather data, we convert four factors to a percentile rank among those counties (0 = lowest, 100 = highest), then take a weighted average:

Pipe-freeze nights (nights ≤ 20°F / yr), weight 30%
Homes built before 1960 (% of homes), weight 30%
Heavy-rain days (days ≥ 1 in / yr), weight 25%
Muggy nights (nights ≥ 65°F / yr), weight 15%

Freezing weather and old plumbing get the most weight because burst and failing supply lines are among the most common causes of household water damage. Heavy rain drives basement flooding and sewer backups, and warm, muggy nights mark the humid air that lets mold follow. The index is relative: a low score means lower risk than other Alabama counties, not no risk.

Limits: weather values are county-wide averages, so hollows, ridges and lakeshores can differ; ACS housing figures are survey estimates; the index doesn't account for floodplains, soil, or local sewer systems. Full details on our data sources page.

Cite this data

You're welcome to use these figures with attribution. Suggested citation:

Local Water & Mold, "Alabama Water Damage Risk Index 2026," https://localwatermold.com/alabama/alabama-water-damage-risk/. Data: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024; NOAA nClimGrid-Daily 2015–2024.