Jackson County, Kansas · Holton
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Pipes freeze in Jackson County on about 41 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 32% of the stock here, are most at risk.
May brings the most downpours to Jackson County, part of 9.1 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Jackson County spike on heavy-rain days, about 9.1 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Jackson County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.32 inches, and about 96 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
53% of occupied homes in Jackson County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
With 59 muggy nights a year, mold in Jackson County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 5,638 homes and around 13,341 residents, Jackson County is 656 square miles of northeast Kansas. Besides Holton, the county seat, the biggest communities are Hoyt, Mayetta and Whiting. The county's median home was built in 1976.
49/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Jackson County ranks 63 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Jackson County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
For frozen pipes, Jackson County is a typical Kansas county, which is still plenty. It averaged 118 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 41 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 44th.
The longest cold spell was straight 14 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -19°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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 13.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kansas. About 9.1 days a year bring an inch or more (25th of 105), most often in May, out of 34.8 inches of total precipitation. On September 14, 2016, 3.32 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.43 inches (through June 6, 2015).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 96 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
56% of homes in Jackson County predate 1980, below the Kansas county median of 73.7%, which ranks 93rd of Kansas's 105 counties.
19% 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.
26% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Beyond water
Jackson County averages 59 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Jackson County homes break down as 27% utility gas, 19% electric, 46% propane and 7% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than in most Kansas counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Jackson County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Brown and Nemaha get more pipe-freeze nights than Jackson. Brown County has the oldest housing nearby, with 74% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Jackson | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 32% | 48% | 86 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 56% | 74% | 93 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 19% | 11% | 17 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 6.5% | 5.6% | 45 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 15% | 73 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 53% | 17% | 1 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 41/yr | 39/yr | 44 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.1/yr | 6.8/yr | 25 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 96/yr | 97/yr | 54 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 59/yr | 59/yr | 52 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 Jackson County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, 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