Stark County, Illinois · Toulon
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With 54% of homes built before 1960 and about 47 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
June brings the most downpours to Stark County, part of 6.8 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
54% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
In Stark County, 4.29 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
21% of occupied homes in Stark County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Illinois county median of 16.5%.
About 34 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
With 2,573 homes and around 5,308 residents, Stark County is 288 square miles of northern Illinois. Besides Toulon, the county seat, the biggest communities are Wyoming, Bradford and La Fayette. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1956.
60/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Stark County ranks 20 of 102 Illinois counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Stark County ranks highest compared with other Illinois counties.
Stark is on the colder side of Illinois for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 47 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 122 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 14th of 102 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 15 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -25°F on January 31, 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 24.
Stark gets fewer downpours than most Illinois counties, but they still fill basements. About 6.8 days a year bring an inch or more (88th of 102), most often in June, out of 38.4 inches of total precipitation. On September 28, 2019, 4.29 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.13 inches (through September 30, 2019).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 89 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; Stark ranks 4th, with 81% of its homes built before 1980.
In Stark County 54% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
Beyond water
Stark County averages 34 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Stark County's occupied homes: 58% utility gas, 21% electric, 20% propane and 2% wood. Propane heat is more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Stark County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Bureau gets more pipe-freeze nights than Stark. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Stark | Illinois median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 54% | 38% | 3 of 102 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 81% | 66% | 4 of 102 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 5.6% | 15% | 102 of 102 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.9% | 5.6% | 88 of 102 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 11% | 45 of 102 |
| Wood or propane heat | 21% | 17% | 31 of 102 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 47/yr | 35/yr | 14 of 102 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.8/yr | 8.4/yr | 88 of 102 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 89/yr | 81/yr | 11 of 102 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 34/yr | 51/yr | 89 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 Stark County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in June, July 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