Monroe County, Indiana · Bloomington
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Monroe County averages 31 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 17% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 10.1 times a year here, most often in March. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Monroe County gets about 10.1 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Monroe County, 3.75 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
7% of occupied homes in Monroe County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Indiana county median of 17%.
About 39 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
Monroe County covers 395 square miles of central Indiana, with about 140,965 residents and 65,657 homes. Bloomington is the county seat; Ellettsville, Smithville-Sanders and Stanford are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1986.
40/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Monroe County ranks 80 of 92 Indiana counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Monroe County ranks highest compared with other Indiana counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Monroe County sits near the middle of the state. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 31 nights a year at or below 20°F (51st of 92) and 106 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 13 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -10°F on February 20, 2015. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 23 and end around Apr 20.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Indiana. Of roughly 46.5 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 10.1 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 24th of 92. March, April and July see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.75 inches, June 19, 2021. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.92 inches, ending September 10, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 86 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
Roughly 42% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Monroe among the newer housing stocks of Indiana's 92 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 27% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
31% 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.
Renters occupy 46% 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 39 times a year here, close to the Indiana county median of 38. 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 Monroe County it's 44% utility gas, 49% electric, 6% propane and under 1% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Monroe County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Monroe gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Lawrence County has the oldest housing nearby, with 58% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Monroe | Indiana median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 17% | 35% | 89 of 92 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 42% | 58% | 85 of 92 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 18% | 11 of 92 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.7% | 6.4% | 58 of 92 |
| Vacant homes | 9.8% | 9.2% | 38 of 92 |
| Wood or propane heat | 6.8% | 17% | 76 of 92 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 31/yr | 33/yr | 51 of 92 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 10/yr | 7.8/yr | 24 of 92 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 86/yr | 84/yr | 24 of 92 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 39/yr | 38/yr | 44 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 Monroe County: freezing from November to March, 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