Vigo County, Indiana · Terre Haute
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With 43% of homes built before 1960 and about 30 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 8 times a year here, most often in June. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
43% 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 Vigo County, 2.5 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
6% of occupied homes in Vigo County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Indiana county median of 17%.
With 52 muggy nights a year, mold in Vigo County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 106,109 people live in Vigo County, 404 square miles in western Indiana, in roughly 46,891 homes. The county seat is Terre Haute, and North Terre Haute, West Terre Haute and Seelyville round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1968.
59/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Vigo County ranks 15 of 92 Indiana counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Vigo County ranks highest compared with other Indiana counties.
For frozen pipes, Vigo County is a typical Indiana county, which is still plenty. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 30 nights a year at or below 20°F (59th of 92) and 101 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 14 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -11°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 25 and the last spring freeze around Apr 16.
Rainfall is about average for Indiana. Of roughly 42 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 8 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 44th of 92. March, June and July see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.5 inches, June 16, 2019. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.23 inches (through December 29, 2015).
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
Roughly 64% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Vigo near the middle of Indiana's 92 counties.
In Vigo County 43% 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.
Renters occupy 38% 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 52 times a year here, above the Indiana county median of 38. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Vigo County's occupied homes: 44% utility gas, 48% electric, 5% propane and under 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Vigo County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Clay, Parke and Vermillion get more pipe-freeze nights than Vigo. Vermillion County has the oldest housing nearby, with 68% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Vigo | Indiana median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 43% | 35% | 21 of 92 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 64% | 58% | 32 of 92 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 17% | 18% | 59 of 92 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.6% | 6.4% | 80 of 92 |
| Vacant homes | 9.6% | 9.2% | 42 of 92 |
| Wood or propane heat | 5.6% | 17% | 79 of 92 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 30/yr | 33/yr | 59 of 92 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8/yr | 7.8/yr | 44 of 92 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 82/yr | 84/yr | 53 of 92 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 52/yr | 38/yr | 17 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 Vigo County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in March, 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