Ellis County, Kansas · Hays
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Ellis County averages 48 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 31% of its homes predate 1960.
August brings the most downpours to Ellis County, part of 5.7 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
31% 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 Ellis County, 3.27 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 Ellis County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 45 times a year in Ellis County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 13,287 homes and around 28,920 residents, Ellis County is 900 square miles of northern Kansas. The county seat is Hays, and Ellis, Victoria and Munjor round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1973.
40/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Ellis County ranks 91 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Ellis County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Ellis is on the colder side of Kansas for pipes. It averaged 131 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 48 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 105 Kansas counties that's 25th.
On February 15, 2021 the low fell to about -16°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 13 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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 22 and the last spring freeze around Apr 20.
Rainfall is about average for Kansas. The county gets about 24.6 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 5.7 days of an inch or more (70th of 105). Those downpours cluster in May, June and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.27 inches on April 17, 2016. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.34 inches (through April 18, 2016).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 112 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
64% of homes in Ellis County predate 1980, below the Kansas county median of 73.7%, which ranks 75th of Kansas's 105 counties.
16% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Kansas. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
Renters occupy 37% 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
Ellis County averages 45 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 Ellis County it's 64% utility gas, 28% electric, 6% propane and 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 Ellis County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Rooks gets more pipe-freeze nights than Ellis. Rush County has the oldest housing nearby, with 87% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Ellis | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 31% | 48% | 90 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 64% | 74% | 75 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 16% | 11% | 24 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.2% | 5.6% | 68 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 7.8% | 15% | 92 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 6.6% | 17% | 96 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 48/yr | 39/yr | 25 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.7/yr | 6.8/yr | 70 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 112/yr | 97/yr | 29 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 45/yr | 59/yr | 75 of 105 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Kansas county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Ellis County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, June and August.
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