Christian County, Illinois · Taylorville
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Pipes freeze in Christian County on about 33 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 47% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 8.4 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Christian County gets about 8.4 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 82 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
12% of occupied homes in Christian County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Illinois county median of 16.5%.
With 50 muggy nights a year, mold in Christian County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Christian County covers 709 square miles of central Illinois, with about 33,538 residents and 15,184 homes. Besides Taylorville, the county seat, the biggest communities are Pana, Kincaid and Assumption. The county's median home was built in 1963.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Christian County ranks 29 of 102 Illinois counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Christian County ranks highest compared with other Illinois counties.
For frozen pipes, Christian County is a typical Illinois county, which is still plenty. It averaged 104 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 33 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 102 Illinois counties that's 55th.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 14 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -11°F on January 30, 2019.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, 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 Oct 22 and the last spring freeze around Apr 14.
Rainfall is about average for Illinois. About 8.4 days a year bring an inch or more (51st of 102), most often in July, out of 41.7 inches of total precipitation. On December 27, 2015, 3.92 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.66 inches (through December 29, 2015).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 82 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
Illinois's 102 counties range widely in housing age; Christian ranks 23rd, with 75% of its homes built before 1980.
47% were built before 1960. Homes from that era often still have galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside until it pinholes, and cast iron drains that crack with age. Slow leaks behind walls are a common start to water damage in these houses.
Beyond water
Christian County averages 50 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in July. Keep indoor humidity under 60%, as the EPA advises, and dry any leak within 24 to 48 hours; in a humid month a wet basement left alone won't dry by itself.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Christian County's occupied homes: 69% utility gas, 19% electric, 11% 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 Christian County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Macon and Sangamon get more pipe-freeze nights than Christian. Macon County has the oldest housing nearby, with 75% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Christian | Illinois median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 47% | 38% | 24 of 102 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 75% | 66% | 23 of 102 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 9% | 15% | 89 of 102 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.3% | 5.6% | 59 of 102 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 11% | 53 of 102 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 17% | 71 of 102 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 33/yr | 35/yr | 55 of 102 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.4/yr | 8.4/yr | 51 of 102 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 82/yr | 81/yr | 40 of 102 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 50/yr | 51/yr | 54 of 102 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Illinois county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Christian County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in June, July and August.
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