Leavenworth County, Kansas · Leavenworth
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With 27% of homes built before 1960 and about 33 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Leavenworth County, part of 9.2 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
27% 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 Leavenworth County, 4.93 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
14% of occupied homes in Leavenworth 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 71 times a year in Leavenworth County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 31,865 homes and around 83,123 residents, Leavenworth County is 463 square miles of northeast Kansas. Besides Leavenworth, the county seat, the biggest communities are Lansing, Basehor and Tonganoxie. The county's median home was built in 1982.
42/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Leavenworth County ranks 79 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Leavenworth County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Leavenworth County is milder than most of Kansas, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 33 nights a year at or below 20°F (74th of 105) and 102 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -16°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 15 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Most freezing nights fall from November to February, 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 25 and the last spring freeze around Apr 11.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kansas. The county gets about 38.4 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 9.2 days of an inch or more (23rd of 105). Those downpours cluster in May, June and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.93 inches on August 22, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.58 inches (through October 9, 2018).
About 84 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
Kansas's 105 counties range widely in housing age; Leavenworth ranks 97th, with 47% of its homes built before 1980.
Growth since 2000 added 28% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 25% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
Renters occupy 31% 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
About 71 nights a year in Leavenworth County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (29th of 105 counties). May is the wettest month. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Leavenworth County's occupied homes: 60% utility gas, 24% electric, 13% propane and under 1% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Leavenworth County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Atchison and Jefferson get more pipe-freeze nights than Leavenworth. Wyandotte County has the oldest housing nearby, with 74% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Leavenworth | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 27% | 48% | 94 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 47% | 74% | 97 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 28% | 11% | 8 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.7% | 5.6% | 102 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 5.3% | 15% | 102 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 14% | 17% | 69 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 33/yr | 39/yr | 74 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.2/yr | 6.8/yr | 23 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 84/yr | 97/yr | 79 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 71/yr | 59/yr | 29 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 Leavenworth County: freezing from November to February, 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