Ellsworth County, Kansas · Ellsworth
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With 51% of homes built before 1960 and about 36 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Ellsworth County, part of 6.3 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Ellsworth County gets about 6.3 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Ellsworth County, 2.43 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 Ellsworth County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
About 60 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
Ellsworth County covers 716 square miles of central Kansas, with about 6,360 residents and 3,127 homes. The county seat is Ellsworth, and Wilson, Kanopolis and Holyrood round out the largest towns. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1958.
50/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Ellsworth County ranks 59 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Ellsworth County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Ellsworth County sits near the middle of the state. It averaged 114 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 36 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 59th.
The longest cold spell was straight 13 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -15°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 26 and end around Apr 18.
Rainfall is about average for Kansas. About 6.3 days a year bring an inch or more (59th of 105), most often in May, out of 28 inches of total precipitation. On August 25, 2019, 2.43 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.47 inches, ending October 10, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 97 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
76% of homes in Ellsworth County predate 1980, close to the Kansas county median of 73.7%, which ranks 40th of Kansas's 105 counties.
The mix runs from 51% built before 1960 to 10% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 9% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
With 22% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
About 60 nights a year in Ellsworth County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (50th of 105 counties). May is the wettest month. 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 Ellsworth County's occupied homes: 63% utility gas, 18% electric, 16% 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 Ellsworth County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Barton, Lincoln, Rice and Russell get more pipe-freeze nights than Ellsworth. Lincoln County has the oldest housing nearby, with 86% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Ellsworth | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 51% | 48% | 42 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 76% | 74% | 40 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 9.8% | 11% | 61 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.6% | 5.6% | 28 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 22% | 15% | 19 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 18% | 17% | 53 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 36/yr | 39/yr | 59 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.3/yr | 6.8/yr | 59 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 97/yr | 97/yr | 53 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 60/yr | 59/yr | 50 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 Ellsworth 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