Charlevoix County, Michigan · Charlevoix
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With 23% of homes built before 1960 and about 62 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in October. Charlevoix County averages 3.6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Charlevoix County spike on heavy-rain days, about 3.6 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Charlevoix County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.67 inches, and about 92 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
31% of occupied homes in Charlevoix County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Michigan county median of 29%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 8 times a year in Charlevoix County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 26,108 people live in Charlevoix County, 416 square miles in northern Lower Michigan, in roughly 17,640 homes. Charlevoix is the county seat; Boyne City, East Jordan and Bay Shore are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1982.
38/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Charlevoix County ranks 66 of 83 Michigan counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Charlevoix County ranks highest compared with other Michigan counties.
For frozen pipes, Charlevoix County is a typical Michigan county, which is still plenty. It averaged 152 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 62 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 83 Michigan counties that's 31st.
On February 20, 2015 the low fell to about -24°F, and in the stretch ending March 2015 the county went 41 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November to April. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 16 and the last spring freeze around May 13.
Rainfall is about average for Michigan. The county gets about 35.7 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 3.6 days of an inch or more (55th of 83). Those downpours cluster in May, June and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.67 inches on October 23, 2020. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.59 inches (through October 25, 2017).
About 92 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
Michigan's 83 counties range widely in housing age; Charlevoix ranks 75th, with 47% of its homes built before 1980.
The mix runs from 23% built before 1960 to 20% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
About 33% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 8% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
31% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
About 8 nights a year in Charlevoix County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (44th of 83 counties). October is the wettest month. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Charlevoix County homes break down as 54% utility gas, 11% electric, 23% propane and 8% 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 Charlevoix County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cheboygan, Emmet, Mackinac, Otsego and Schoolcraft get more pipe-freeze nights than Charlevoix. Schoolcraft County has the oldest housing nearby, with 57% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Charlevoix | Michigan median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 23% | 32% | 71 of 83 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 47% | 58% | 75 of 83 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 20% | 16% | 20 of 83 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.1% | 7.3% | 31 of 83 |
| Vacant homes | 31% | 20% | 32 of 83 |
| Wood or propane heat | 31% | 29% | 38 of 83 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 62/yr | 54/yr | 31 of 83 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.6/yr | 3.9/yr | 55 of 83 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 92/yr | 95/yr | 50 of 83 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 8/yr | 10/yr | 44 of 83 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Michigan county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Charlevoix County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in May, June and October.
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