Bartow County, Georgia · Cartersville
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Pipes freeze in Bartow County on about 4 nights a year, mostly December to January. Older homes, 11% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 11.3 times a year here, most often in February. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Bartow County gets about 11.3 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 and, with about 52 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
8% of occupied homes in Bartow County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Georgia county median of 7.1%.
With 84 muggy nights a year, mold in Bartow County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 45,210 homes and around 113,113 residents, Bartow County is 459 square miles of northwest Georgia. The county seat is Cartersville, and Adairsville, Euharlee and Emerson round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1994.
44/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Bartow County ranks 109 of 159 Georgia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Bartow County ranks highest compared with other Georgia counties.
Bartow is on the colder side of Georgia for pipes. It averaged 52 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 4 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 159 Georgia counties that's 18th.
Most freezing nights fall from December to January, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 12 and the last spring freeze around Mar 28.
Bartow gets fewer downpours than most Georgia counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 51.4 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 11.3 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 117th of 159. February, April and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.84 inches, September 27, 2024. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 7.19 inches (through September 28, 2024).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 52 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
Georgia's 159 counties range widely in housing age; Bartow ranks 124th, with 27% of its homes built before 1980.
37% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Georgia. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
About 36% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 10% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
Beyond water
About 84 nights a year in Bartow County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (140th of 159 counties). February is the wettest month. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Bartow County homes break down as 28% utility gas, 63% electric, 7% propane and 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Bartow County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cherokee and Gordon get more pipe-freeze nights than Bartow. Floyd County has the oldest housing nearby, with 54% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Bartow | Georgia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 11% | 15% | 106 of 159 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 27% | 38% | 124 of 159 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 37% | 27% | 38 of 159 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 9.7% | 21% | 119 of 159 |
| Vacant homes | 9.7% | 14% | 115 of 159 |
| Wood or propane heat | 7.7% | 7.1% | 78 of 159 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 2/yr | 18 of 159 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 11/yr | 12/yr | 117 of 159 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 52/yr | 29/yr | 12 of 159 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 84/yr | 112/yr | 140 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 Bartow County: freezing from December to January, heavy rain in February, April 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