Shawnee County, Kansas · Topeka
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With 32% of homes built before 1960 and about 35 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Shawnee County, part of 8.6 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
32% 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 Shawnee County, 3.53 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 Shawnee County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
About 68 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
With 81,075 homes and around 178,025 residents, Shawnee County is 544 square miles of northeast Kansas. Besides Topeka, the county seat, the biggest communities are Silver Lake, Auburn and Rossville. The county's median home was built in 1972.
43/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Shawnee County ranks 75 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Shawnee County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
For frozen pipes, Shawnee County is a typical Kansas county, which is still plenty. It averaged 107 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 35 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 63rd.
On February 17, 2021 the low fell to about -17°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 26 and the last spring freeze around Apr 11.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kansas. The county gets about 36.4 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 8.6 days of an inch or more (35th of 105). Those downpours cluster in May, July and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.53 inches on August 22, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.35 inches (through May 27, 2016).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 89 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
63% of homes in Shawnee County predate 1980, below the Kansas county median of 73.7%, which ranks 77th of Kansas's 105 counties.
15% 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.
22% 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.
Renters occupy 33% 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 68 nights a year in Shawnee County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (37th 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Shawnee County homes break down as 68% utility gas, 24% electric, 6% 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 Shawnee County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Jackson, Jefferson and Pottawatomie get more pipe-freeze nights than Shawnee. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Wabaunsee County has the oldest housing nearby, with 64% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Shawnee | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 32% | 48% | 86 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 63% | 74% | 77 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 15% | 11% | 29 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.2% | 5.6% | 85 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 6.9% | 15% | 98 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 6.9% | 17% | 95 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 35/yr | 39/yr | 63 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.6/yr | 6.8/yr | 35 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 89/yr | 97/yr | 70 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 68/yr | 59/yr | 37 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 Shawnee County: freezing from November to February, heavy rain in May, July 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