Data report · 2026

Kentucky Water Damage Risk Index

Where in Kentucky is a house most likely to take on water? We combined Census housing age with ten years of daily weather for 120 of Kentucky's 120 counties to rank them.

Highest index

Henry

Score 76 of 100

Most pipe-freeze nights

Lewis

26 nights ≤ 20°F a year

Oldest housing

Campbell

41% built before 1960

Most heavy-rain days

Grayson

15.6 days ≥ 1 inch a year

< 3838–4848–5555–61≥ 61 index (0–100)

Key findings

The five highest-scoring counties are Henry, Jefferson, Hart, Fulton, Green. Each combines old housing with harsher-than-average winters or frequent downpours.
Campbell County has the oldest housing in the state, with 41% of homes built before 1960, against a county median of 18%.
Lewis County averaged 26 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the most of any county in the data. The county median is 20.
Spencer County has the newest housing, with 49% of homes built since 2000, which pulls its index down even where winters are cold.

Weather: NOAA nClimGrid-Daily county averages, 2015–2024. Housing: ACS 2020-2024.

All counties

Select a column header to sort.

Rank	County	Index	Freeze nights	Pre-1960 homes	Heavy-rain days	Muggy nights
1	Henry	76	23	28%	12.1	61
2	Jefferson	73	19	35%	13.3	73
3	Hart	67	20	23%	14.5	59
4	Fulton	66	13	29%	14.8	91
5	Green	66	19	29%	12.9	62
6	Kenton	65	23	34%	8.2	58
7	Larue	65	21	21%	13.3	60
8	Nicholas	65	24	38%	9.3	45
9	Hancock	64	21	18%	13.8	61
10	Bourbon	63	23	29%	9.3	49
11	Bracken	63	24	28%	9.6	45
12	Campbell	63	22	41%	8.7	56
13	Crittenden	63	17	27%	13.2	81
14	Franklin	63	21	24%	11.5	62
15	Mason	63	25	31%	9.1	37
16	McCracken	63	15	26%	13.9	89
17	Mercer	63	21	24%	11.8	60
18	Robertson	63	24	29%	9.4	45
19	Webster	63	16	27%	13.4	83
20	Henderson	62	17	28%	12.4	84
21	Boyle	61	22	24%	10.9	54
22	Carlisle	61	14	24%	14.8	89
23	Clark	61	22	24%	11.2	51
24	Harlan	61	22	30%	10.9	23
25	Hickman	61	14	24%	14.7	90
26	Hopkins	61	15	28%	13.3	83
27	Pendleton	61	22	30%	8.7	55
28	Union	61	18	27%	11.8	83
29	Washington	61	20	27%	12	58
30	Barren	60	18	18%	14.9	62
31	Graves	60	15	23%	13.8	91
32	Shelby	60	23	16%	12.3	57
33	Caldwell	59	16	27%	12.7	81
34	Daviess	59	18	25%	12	73
35	Simpson	59	15	25%	13.6	75
36	Ballard	58	15	23%	14.1	89
37	Estill	58	20	24%	12.3	56
38	Trimble	58	22	19%	10.6	63
39	Breckinridge	57	22	11%	14.6	55
40	Harrison	57	22	25%	9.5	52
41	Livingston	57	16	21%	13.5	85
42	Meade	57	22	15%	13.1	58
43	Owen	57	22	17%	10.9	64
44	Woodford	57	21	20%	11.7	61
45	Calloway	56	15	18%	14.7	94
46	Monroe	56	17	22%	14.5	58
47	Ohio	56	18	17%	13.9	70
48	Clinton	55	14	22%	14.8	64
49	Fleming	55	25	23%	8.9	38
50	Lincoln	55	22	18%	11.4	54
51	Marion	55	20	21%	12.4	57
52	McLean	55	16	24%	12.3	80
53	Carroll	54	20	23%	9.8	69
54	Adair	53	18	16%	14.3	61
55	Bath	53	22	23%	10.4	42
56	Grayson	53	20	11%	15.6	58
57	Hardin	53	21	15%	13	60
58	Montgomery	53	23	17%	11.1	45
59	Boyd	52	21	30%	8.1	49
60	Lewis	52	26	23%	8.3	36
61	Muhlenberg	52	15	20%	13.4	76
62	Taylor	52	19	18%	12.8	59
63	Butler	51	16	16%	14.6	72
64	Logan	51	14	21%	13.6	75
65	Nelson	51	20	13%	13.3	64
66	Rockcastle	51	21	17%	12.2	54
67	Anderson	50	22	13%	11.5	60
68	Bell	50	20	22%	12.5	35
69	Greenup	49	23	23%	6.9	43
70	Metcalfe	49	20	16%	13.1	55
71	Spencer	49	21	10%	13.1	63
72	Allen	48	15	16%	14.3	68
73	Fayette	48	21	18%	10.5	56
74	Gallatin	48	20	17%	10.6	68
75	Marshall	48	15	16%	13.6	94
76	Oldham	48	22	8%	12.6	60
77	Casey	47	20	15%	12.7	56
78	Cumberland	47	15	16%	14.2	66
79	Garrard	47	21	15%	11	60
80	Letcher	47	20	29%	8.9	28
81	Edmonson	46	17	10%	15.4	63
82	Grant	45	22	11%	9.9	61
83	Russell	45	16	10%	15.6	64
84	Wayne	45	16	14%	14.4	60
85	McCreary	44	17	16%	13.7	51
86	Warren	44	15	13%	14.2	75
87	Todd	43	14	18%	12.6	78
88	Bullitt	42	19	6%	13.2	71
89	Jessamine	42	21	11%	11	61
90	Pulaski	42	18	13%	13.1	59
91	Christian	41	14	19%	11.6	82
92	Elliott	41	23	16%	8.3	36
93	Carter	40	24	15%	8.1	38
94	Johnson	40	21	19%	8.1	45
95	Scott	40	22	10%	10	57
96	Rowan	38	24	10%	9.6	35
97	Trigg	38	14	12%	13.2	87
98	Lee	37	18	17%	10.5	53
99	Leslie	37	18	20%	10.2	43
100	Boone	36	22	9%	8.5	61
101	Jackson	36	21	10%	11.2	49
102	Knox	36	18	14%	12.4	48
103	Lyon	36	16	10%	12.4	86
104	Madison	36	20	10%	11.5	59
105	Morgan	35	22	13%	8.7	39
106	Menifee	34	22	7%	10.6	41
107	Powell	34	20	9%	12.2	50
108	Floyd	32	18	20%	7.8	51
109	Knott	31	18	19%	8.6	42
110	Laurel	31	19	10%	12	52
111	Owsley	31	18	15%	9.7	53
112	Whitley	31	16	13%	12.8	49
113	Lawrence	30	21	14%	7.6	43
114	Wolfe	28	20	11%	9.7	45
115	Clay	26	18	10%	10.6	50
116	Magoffin	25	20	12%	8.3	44
117	Perry	25	17	15%	9.8	45
118	Breathitt	24	18	11%	9.3	51
119	Pike	21	17	14%	8.6	47
120	Martin	19	18	10%	8.6	47

Methodology

For each county with weather data, we convert four factors to a percentile rank among those counties (0 = lowest, 100 = highest), then take a weighted average:

Pipe-freeze nights (nights ≤ 20°F / yr), weight 30%
Homes built before 1960 (% of homes), weight 30%
Heavy-rain days (days ≥ 1 in / yr), weight 25%
Muggy nights (nights ≥ 65°F / yr), weight 15%

Freezing weather and old plumbing get the most weight because burst and failing supply lines are among the most common causes of household water damage. Heavy rain drives basement flooding and sewer backups, and warm, muggy nights mark the humid air that lets mold follow. The index is relative: a low score means lower risk than other Kentucky counties, not no risk.

Limits: weather values are county-wide averages, so hollows, ridges and lakeshores can differ; ACS housing figures are survey estimates; the index doesn't account for floodplains, soil, or local sewer systems. Full details on our data sources page.

Cite this data

You're welcome to use these figures with attribution. Suggested citation:

Local Water & Mold, "Kentucky Water Damage Risk Index 2026," https://localwatermold.com/kentucky/kentucky-water-damage-risk/. Data: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024; NOAA nClimGrid-Daily 2015–2024.