Data report · 2026

Arkansas Water Damage Risk Index

Where in Arkansas is a house most likely to take on water? We combined Census housing age with ten years of daily weather for 75 of Arkansas's 75 counties to rank them.

Highest index

Ouachita

Score 71 of 100

Most pipe-freeze nights

Madison

18 nights ≤ 20°F a year

Oldest housing

Ouachita

30% built before 1960

Most heavy-rain days

Hempstead

19.7 days ≥ 1 inch a year

< 4141–4646–5454–59≥ 59 index (0–100)

Key findings

The five highest-scoring counties are Ouachita, Sebastian, Lee, Hempstead, Polk. Each combines old housing with harsher-than-average winters or frequent downpours.
Ouachita County has the oldest housing in the state, with 30% of homes built before 1960, against a county median of 15%.
Madison County averaged 18 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the most of any county in the data. The county median is 6.
Benton County has the newest housing, with 52% 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	Ouachita	71	4	30%	19.6	111
2	Sebastian	69	9	21%	17.7	101
3	Lee	67	5	24%	17.2	118
4	Hempstead	66	4	20%	19.7	112
5	Polk	66	9	18%	19	84
6	Clay	64	11	25%	15.1	95
7	Jackson	64	8	22%	16.5	102
8	Lafayette	64	3	23%	18.1	123
9	Conway	63	8	17%	18.6	94
10	Montgomery	63	8	16%	19.6	93
11	Newton	63	17	22%	15.2	64
12	Scott	63	9	19%	17.8	90
13	Logan	61	9	21%	16.3	95
14	Searcy	60	16	20%	15.4	71
15	Columbia	59	3	23%	17.9	116
16	Pike	59	6	16%	19.3	98
17	Union	59	3	21%	18.2	116
18	Garland	58	6	16%	18	102
19	Howard	58	5	18%	18.4	100
20	Nevada	58	4	18%	19.4	109
21	Ashley	57	3	21%	17.3	123
22	Clark	57	5	16%	18.6	108
23	Hot Spring	57	5	19%	17.4	107
24	Dallas	56	4	18%	18.6	109
25	Johnson	55	12	15%	17.1	83
26	Lincoln	55	4	18%	17.2	120
27	Pulaski	55	5	18%	17.2	109
28	Cross	54	6	14%	17.5	114
29	Desha	54	4	20%	16.2	123
30	Franklin	54	10	13%	17.8	90
31	Bradley	53	3	18%	18	117
32	Calhoun	53	4	14%	19.3	113
33	Drew	53	3	16%	18.4	122
34	Mississippi	53	8	18%	15.2	109
35	Lawrence	52	10	16%	15.8	94
36	Miller	52	3	17%	17.8	126
37	Crawford	51	11	11%	17.4	93
38	Arkansas	50	4	22%	13.7	122
39	Madison	50	18	16%	14.7	63
40	Phillips	50	4	21%	15	120
41	Jefferson	49	4	20%	15.9	115
42	Poinsett	49	7	15%	16	109
43	St. Francis	47	5	13%	16.6	116
44	Stone	47	13	12%	16.4	76
45	Pope	46	11	9%	17.4	85
46	Sevier	46	4	13%	18.4	109
47	Cleveland	45	4	9%	19.1	114
48	Monroe	45	4	20%	14.2	119
49	Yell	45	7	15%	16.1	95
50	Carroll	44	17	15%	13.2	65
51	Little River	44	4	10%	18.1	119
52	Van Buren	44	12	10%	16.7	79
53	Boone	43	17	13%	13.6	64
54	Independence	43	10	12%	15.8	91
55	Randolph	43	13	12%	15	87
56	Chicot	42	3	12%	17.8	126
57	Saline	42	5	7%	18.8	107
58	Crittenden	41	6	12%	15	117
59	Marion	41	17	13%	13.1	68
60	Perry	41	6	11%	17.2	99
61	Cleburne	40	10	8%	16.5	92
62	Greene	40	9	11%	15.1	100
63	Grant	39	4	6%	19	110
64	Izard	39	14	11%	14.7	75
65	Prairie	39	5	14%	14.1	117
66	Baxter	37	16	10%	13.7	70
67	Fulton	36	16	9%	14.4	72
68	Woodruff	36	6	10%	15.1	111
69	Craighead	35	8	8%	15.3	105
70	Faulkner	35	7	5%	16.6	99
71	Sharp	35	13	8%	14.9	81
72	White	35	6	9%	16.1	107
73	Lonoke	34	5	6%	16.4	114
74	Washington	32	16	7%	13.3	73
75	Benton	29	16	5%	12.3	75

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