Appling County, Georgia · Baxley
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Pipes freeze in Appling County on about 0 nights a year, mostly midwinter. Older homes, 13% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in January. Appling County averages 11.1 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Appling County gets about 11.1 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
4% of occupied homes in Appling County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Georgia county median of 7.1%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 134 times a year in Appling County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 8,565 homes and around 18,493 residents, Appling County is 508 square miles of southeast Georgia. The county seat is Baxley, and Graham and Surrency round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1986.
35/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Appling County ranks 140 of 159 Georgia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Appling County ranks highest compared with other Georgia counties.
Appling County is milder than most of Georgia, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 0 nights a year at or below 20°F (117th of 159) and 18 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
With only about 18 freezing nights a year, many homes here aren't built for cold, so a single arctic outbreak can burst pipes across the county. The record low in this data was about 18°F, on December 25, 2022.
Appling gets fewer downpours than most Georgia counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 48.5 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 11.1 days of an inch or more (125th of 159). Those downpours cluster in January, April and May, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 6.87 inches on August 6, 2024. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 8.5 inches (through August 7, 2024).
Housing
38% of homes in Appling County predate 1980, close to the Georgia county median of 38.4%, which ranks 82nd of Georgia's 159 counties.
The mix runs from 13% built before 1960 to 18% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 44% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
37% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the Georgia county median of 20.9%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
With 16% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 134 times a year here, above the Georgia county median of 112. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Appling County homes break down as 5% utility gas, 91% electric, 3% propane and under 1% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Appling County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Appling gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Bacon County has the oldest housing nearby, with 52% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Appling | Georgia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 13% | 15% | 91 of 159 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 38% | 38% | 82 of 159 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 18% | 27% | 137 of 159 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 37% | 21% | 9 of 159 |
| Vacant homes | 16% | 14% | 63 of 159 |
| Wood or propane heat | 3.8% | 7.1% | 107 of 159 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 0/yr | 2/yr | 117 of 159 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 11/yr | 12/yr | 125 of 159 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 18/yr | 29/yr | 110 of 159 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 134/yr | 112/yr | 24 of 159 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Georgia county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Appling County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in January, April and May.
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