Hancock County, Iowa · Garner
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Pipes freeze in Hancock County on about 76 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 50% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Hancock County averages 7.2 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Hancock County gets about 7.2 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 93 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
24% of occupied homes in Hancock County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Iowa county median of 22.1%.
About 16 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 5,116 homes and around 10,671 residents, Hancock County is 571 square miles of northern Iowa. The county seat is Garner, and Forest City, Britt and Kanawha round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1961.
58/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Hancock County ranks 29 of 99 Iowa counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Hancock County ranks highest compared with other Iowa counties.
Hancock is on the colder side of Iowa for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 76 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 153 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 11th of 99 counties.
On January 31, 2019 the low fell to about -27°F, and in the stretch ending February 2019 the county went 19 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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 13 and the last spring freeze around May 1.
Rainfall is about average for Iowa. The county gets about 35.1 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 7.2 days of an inch or more (42nd of 99). Those downpours cluster in May, August and September, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.22 inches on September 20, 2018. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.55 inches (through September 21, 2018).
About 93 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
Iowa's 99 counties range widely in housing age; Hancock ranks 27th, with 77% of its homes built before 1980.
Housing age is mixed: 50% of homes are pre-1960 and 10% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 16 times a year here, below the Iowa county median of 29. 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 Hancock County's occupied homes: 56% utility gas, 18% electric, 23% 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 Hancock County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Kossuth and Winnebago get more pipe-freeze nights than Hancock. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Winnebago County has the oldest housing nearby, with 84% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Hancock | Iowa median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 50% | 48% | 43 of 99 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 77% | 73% | 27 of 99 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 10% | 13% | 77 of 99 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.4% | 3.2% | 28 of 99 |
| Vacant homes | 8.7% | 9.5% | 60 of 99 |
| Wood or propane heat | 24% | 22% | 47 of 99 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 76/yr | 62/yr | 11 of 99 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.2/yr | 7.1/yr | 42 of 99 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 93/yr | 94/yr | 54 of 99 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 16/yr | 29/yr | 94 of 99 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Iowa county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Hancock County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, August 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