DeKalb County, Georgia · Decatur
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With 15% of homes built before 1960 and about 3 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in December. DeKalb County averages 13.7 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in DeKalb County spike on heavy-rain days, about 13.7 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
DeKalb County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 6.98 inches, and about 37 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
1% of occupied homes in DeKalb County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Georgia county median of 7.1%.
With 101 muggy nights a year, mold in DeKalb County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 765,351 people live in DeKalb County, 268 square miles in northwest Georgia, in roughly 330,830 homes. Decatur is the county seat; Stonecrest, Brookhaven and Dunwoody are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1984.
64/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated DeKalb County ranks 16 of 159 Georgia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where DeKalb County ranks highest compared with other Georgia counties.
DeKalb is on the colder side of Georgia for pipes. It averaged 37 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 3 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 25th.
The freeze season here runs January, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 20 and the last spring freeze around Mar 14.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Georgia. About 13.7 days a year bring an inch or more (28th of 159), most often in December, out of 55.2 inches of total precipitation. On September 27, 2024, 6.98 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 10.4 inches (through September 28, 2024).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 37 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
44% of homes in DeKalb County predate 1980, above the Georgia county median of 38.4%, which ranks 44th of Georgia's 159 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 15% predate 1960 and 27% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 29% 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.
Renters occupy 41% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 101 times a year here, close to 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In DeKalb County it's 58% utility gas, 40% electric, 1% 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 DeKalb County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
DeKalb gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | DeKalb | Georgia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 15% | 15% | 73 of 159 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 44% | 38% | 44 of 159 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 27% | 80 of 159 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 0.6% | 21% | 158 of 159 |
| Vacant homes | 13% | 14% | 88 of 159 |
| Wood or propane heat | 1.4% | 7.1% | 156 of 159 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 3/yr | 2/yr | 25 of 159 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 12/yr | 28 of 159 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 37/yr | 29/yr | 51 of 159 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 101/yr | 112/yr | 112 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 DeKalb County: freezing from January, heavy rain in January, 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