LaGrange County, Indiana · LaGrange
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Pipes freeze in LaGrange County on about 38 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 29% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 4.6 times a year here, most often in June. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which LaGrange County gets about 4.6 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 87 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
32% of occupied homes in LaGrange County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Indiana county median of 17%.
About 26 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
LaGrange County covers 380 square miles of northeast Indiana, with about 40,805 residents and 15,151 homes. Besides LaGrange, the county seat, the biggest communities are Lagrange, Topeka and Howe. The county's median home was built in 1982.
36/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate LaGrange County ranks 92 of 92 Indiana counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where LaGrange County ranks highest compared with other Indiana counties.
LaGrange is on the colder side of Indiana for pipes. It averaged 122 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 38 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 92 Indiana counties that's 11th.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 19 days below freezing (ending March 2015), and the low bottomed out near -18°F on January 31, 2019.
The freeze season here runs November to March, 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 27 and the last spring freeze around Apr 26.
LaGrange gets fewer downpours than most Indiana counties, but they still fill basements. About 4.6 days a year bring an inch or more (92nd of 92), most often in June, out of 37.5 inches of total precipitation. On September 28, 2019, 3.09 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.2 inches (through February 21, 2018).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 87 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
Indiana's 92 counties range widely in housing age; LaGrange ranks 72nd, with 48% of its homes built before 1980.
Growth since 2000 added 26% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
About 26% 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 8% 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.
15% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
LaGrange County averages 26 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In LaGrange County it's 53% utility gas, 11% electric, 23% propane and 9% wood. Wood and propane heat are above the Indiana norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across LaGrange County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Noble and Steuben get more pipe-freeze nights than LaGrange. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Elkhart County has the oldest housing nearby, with 54% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | LaGrange | Indiana median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 29% | 35% | 60 of 92 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 48% | 58% | 72 of 92 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 18% | 12 of 92 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.3% | 6.4% | 30 of 92 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 9.2% | 11 of 92 |
| Wood or propane heat | 32% | 17% | 10 of 92 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 38/yr | 33/yr | 11 of 92 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 4.6/yr | 7.8/yr | 92 of 92 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 87/yr | 84/yr | 19 of 92 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 26/yr | 38/yr | 87 of 92 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Indiana county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in LaGrange County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, June 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