Wilcox County, Alabama · Camden
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Pipes freeze in Wilcox County on about 2 nights a year, mostly midwinter. Older homes, 15% of the stock here, are most at risk.
February brings the most downpours to Wilcox County, part of 14 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
15% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
Wilcox County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.57 inches, and about 28 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
23% of occupied homes in Wilcox County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Alabama county median of 9.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 127 times a year in Wilcox County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 10,172 people live in Wilcox County, 888 square miles in southwest Alabama, in roughly 5,334 homes. Besides Camden, the county seat, the biggest communities are Pine Hill, Boykin and Yellow Bluff. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1985.
38/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Wilcox County ranks 55 of 67 Alabama counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Wilcox County ranks highest compared with other Alabama counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Wilcox County sits near the middle of the state. From 2015–2024 it averaged 2 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 28 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 37th of 67 counties.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs midwinter. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 18 and end around Mar 5.
Wilcox gets fewer downpours than most Alabama counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 53.3 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 14 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 57th of 67. February, March and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.57 inches, April 15, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.15 inches, ending June 23, 2017, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 28 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
Roughly 42% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Wilcox near the middle of Alabama's 67 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 15% predate 1960 and 17% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
About 41% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
Here 36% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
28% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 127 times a year here, above the Alabama county median of 112. Keep indoor humidity under 60%, as the EPA advises, and dry any leak within 24 to 48 hours; in a humid month a wet basement left alone won't dry by itself.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Wilcox County homes break down as 7% utility gas, 68% electric, 18% propane and 5% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Wilcox County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Wilcox gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Dallas County has the oldest housing nearby, with 56% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Wilcox | Alabama median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 15% | 16% | 37 of 67 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 42% | 44% | 44 of 67 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 17% | 23% | 57 of 67 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 36% | 22% | 5 of 67 |
| Vacant homes | 28% | 16% | 7 of 67 |
| Wood or propane heat | 23% | 9.9% | 5 of 67 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 3/yr | 37 of 67 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 15/yr | 57 of 67 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 28/yr | 38/yr | 49 of 67 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 127/yr | 112/yr | 16 of 67 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Alabama county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Wilcox County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in February, March and December.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024); weather from NOAA nClimGrid-Daily county averages (EpiNOAA), 2015–2024, averaged across the county; county boundaries from Census TIGER. Reviewed 2026-10-21. Methodology