Charlton County, Georgia · Folkston
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With 15% of homes built before 1960 and about 0 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
April brings the most downpours to Charlton County, part of 9.1 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Charlton County spike on heavy-rain days, about 9.1 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Charlton County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 5.34 inches.
3% of occupied homes in Charlton County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Georgia county median of 7.1%.
With 144 muggy nights a year, mold in Charlton County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 12,818 people live in Charlton County, 780 square miles in southeast Georgia, in roughly 4,755 homes. Folkston is the county seat; Homeland is the next largest community. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1987.
34/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Charlton County ranks 142 of 159 Georgia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Charlton County ranks highest compared with other Georgia counties.
Charlton 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 10 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
With only about 10 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 21°F, on January 31, 2022.
Charlton gets fewer downpours than most Georgia counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 49.8 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 9.1 days of an inch or more (157th of 159). Those downpours cluster in March, April and September, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 5.34 inches on September 11, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.91 inches (through September 12, 2017).
Housing
Georgia's 159 counties range widely in housing age; Charlton ranks 101st, with 34% of its homes built before 1980.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 15% predate 1960 and 20% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
About 46% 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 39% 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 144 nights a year in Charlton County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (5th of 159 counties). August 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 expectMain heating fuel in Charlton County's occupied homes: 9% utility gas, 88% electric, 3% propane and under 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 Charlton County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Charlton gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Ware County has the oldest housing nearby, with 54% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Charlton | Georgia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 15% | 15% | 79 of 159 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 34% | 38% | 101 of 159 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 20% | 27% | 122 of 159 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 39% | 21% | 8 of 159 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 14% | 101 of 159 |
| Wood or propane heat | 2.7% | 7.1% | 132 of 159 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 0/yr | 2/yr | 117 of 159 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.1/yr | 12/yr | 157 of 159 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 10/yr | 29/yr | 155 of 159 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 144/yr | 112/yr | 5 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 Charlton County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in March, April and September.
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