Jackson County, Illinois · Murphysboro
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Pipes freeze in Jackson County on about 21 nights a year, mostly December to February. Older homes, 24% of the stock here, are most at risk.
March brings the most downpours to Jackson County, part of 11.8 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Jackson County spike on heavy-rain days, about 11.8 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Jackson County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.64 inches, and about 69 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
8% of occupied homes in Jackson County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Illinois county median of 16.5%.
With 75 muggy nights a year, mold in Jackson County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 27,727 homes and around 53,064 residents, Jackson County is 584 square miles of southern Illinois. Besides Murphysboro, the county seat, the biggest communities are Carbondale, De Soto and Harrison. The county's median home was built in 1976.
42/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Jackson County ranks 82 of 102 Illinois counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Jackson County ranks highest compared with other Illinois counties.
Jackson County is milder than most of Illinois, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. It averaged 82 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 21 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 87th.
The longest cold spell was straight 14 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -8°F on February 19, 2015. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs December to February, 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 Oct 28 and the last spring freeze around Apr 4.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Illinois. About 11.8 days a year bring an inch or more (13th of 102), most often in March, out of 47.7 inches of total precipitation. On April 30, 2017, 3.64 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 7.51 inches (through May 1, 2017).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 69 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
58% of homes in Jackson County predate 1980, below the Illinois county median of 65.9%, which ranks 75th of Illinois's 102 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 24% of homes are pre-1960 and 18% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
24% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Here 11% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
The Census counted 17% of homes as vacant, above the Illinois county median of 10.8%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Renters occupy 50% 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
Jackson County averages 75 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in April. 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, Jackson County homes break down as 33% utility gas, 58% electric, 6% propane and 2% 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 Jackson County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Perry and Randolph get more pipe-freeze nights than Jackson. Franklin County has the oldest housing nearby, with 70% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Jackson | Illinois median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 24% | 38% | 91 of 102 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 58% | 66% | 75 of 102 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 18% | 15% | 27 of 102 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 11% | 5.6% | 22 of 102 |
| Vacant homes | 17% | 11% | 16 of 102 |
| Wood or propane heat | 8.4% | 17% | 78 of 102 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 21/yr | 35/yr | 87 of 102 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 8.4/yr | 13 of 102 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 69/yr | 81/yr | 80 of 102 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 75/yr | 51/yr | 13 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 Jackson County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in March, April and July.
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