Tipton County, Indiana · Tipton
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With 46% of homes built before 1960 and about 35 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 6.8 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 Tipton County gets about 6.8 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Tipton County, 2.68 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
18% of occupied homes in Tipton County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Indiana county median of 17%.
About 33 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
About 15,346 people live in Tipton County, 261 square miles in central Indiana, in roughly 6,845 homes. Besides Tipton, the county seat, the biggest communities are Windfall City, Sharpsville and Goldsmith. Half the homes here were built before 1965, half after.
59/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Tipton County ranks 13 of 92 Indiana counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Tipton County ranks highest compared with other Indiana counties.
Tipton County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Indiana. From 2015–2024 it averaged 35 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 111 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 30th of 92 counties.
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 -15°F on January 2, 2018.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November to March. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 24 and end around Apr 23.
Rainfall is about average for Indiana. About 6.8 days a year bring an inch or more (56th of 92), most often in June, out of 42.1 inches of total precipitation. On May 31, 2015, 2.68 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3.85 inches, ending September 9, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 82 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
68% of homes in Tipton County predate 1980, above the Indiana county median of 58.2%, which ranks 22nd of Indiana's 92 counties.
In Tipton County 46% 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
Tipton County averages 33 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in June. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Tipton County it's 50% utility gas, 28% electric, 17% propane and 1% wood. Propane heat is 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 Tipton County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Clinton gets more pipe-freeze nights than Tipton. Clinton County has the oldest housing nearby, with 74% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Tipton | Indiana median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 46% | 35% | 15 of 92 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 68% | 58% | 22 of 92 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 12% | 18% | 76 of 92 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3% | 6.4% | 74 of 92 |
| Vacant homes | 8.5% | 9.2% | 52 of 92 |
| Wood or propane heat | 18% | 17% | 45 of 92 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 35/yr | 33/yr | 30 of 92 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.8/yr | 7.8/yr | 56 of 92 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 82/yr | 84/yr | 53 of 92 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 33/yr | 38/yr | 63 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 Tipton County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in April, 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