Sedgwick County, Kansas · Wichita
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Sedgwick County averages 28 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 32% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 7.5 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Sedgwick County gets about 7.5 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 84 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
4% of occupied homes in Sedgwick County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
With 79 muggy nights a year, mold in Sedgwick County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 227,638 homes and around 528,226 residents, Sedgwick County is 997 square miles of southern Kansas. Besides Wichita, the county seat, the biggest communities are Derby, Haysville and Bel Aire. The county's median home was built in 1978.
39/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Sedgwick County ranks 94 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Sedgwick County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Sedgwick County is milder than most of Kansas, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 28 nights a year at or below 20°F (84th of 105) and 97 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 February 2021 the county went 13 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Most freezing nights fall from December 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 29 and the last spring freeze around Apr 10.
Rainfall is about average for Kansas. Of roughly 33.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 7.5 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 46th of 105. May, June and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.98 inches, May 21, 2019. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.4 inches (through September 10, 2016).
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; Sedgwick ranks 95th, with 53% of its homes built before 1980.
22% 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.
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 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
About 79 nights a year in Sedgwick County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (7th 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 Sedgwick County's occupied homes: 67% utility gas, 29% electric, 4% propane and under 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Sedgwick County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Butler, Harvey, Kingman and Reno get more pipe-freeze nights than Sedgwick. Kingman County has the oldest housing nearby, with 77% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Sedgwick | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 32% | 48% | 88 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 53% | 74% | 95 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 22% | 11% | 11 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.1% | 5.6% | 87 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 9.2% | 15% | 87 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 3.8% | 17% | 101 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 28/yr | 39/yr | 84 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.5/yr | 6.8/yr | 46 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 84/yr | 97/yr | 79 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 79/yr | 59/yr | 7 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 Sedgwick County: freezing from December 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