Chisago County, Minnesota · Center City
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Chisago County averages 85 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to April, and 16% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in July. Chisago County averages 5 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Chisago County spike on heavy-rain days, about 5 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 89 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
19% of occupied homes in Chisago County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Minnesota county median of 30%.
With 13 muggy nights a year, mold in Chisago County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 57,991 people live in Chisago County, 415 square miles in central Minnesota, in roughly 22,998 homes. Besides Center City, the county seat, the biggest communities are North Branch, Wyoming and Chisago City. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1992.
33/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Chisago County ranks 81 of 87 Minnesota counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Chisago County ranks highest compared with other Minnesota counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Chisago County sits near the middle of the state. From 2015–2024 it averaged 85 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 159 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 52nd of 87 counties.
On January 31, 2019 the low fell to about -33°F, and in the stretch ending March 2019 the county went 32 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 15 and end around May 3.
Rainfall is about average for Minnesota. The county gets about 31.4 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 5 days of an inch or more (51st of 87). Those downpours cluster in April, July and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.57 inches on October 3, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3.2 inches, ending October 3, 2017, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
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
35% of homes in Chisago County predate 1980, below the Minnesota county median of 58.4%, which ranks 82nd of Minnesota's 87 counties.
31% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Minnesota. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
34% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 13 times a year here, close to the Minnesota county median of 13. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Chisago County it's 67% utility gas, 12% electric, 16% propane and 3% 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 Chisago County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Isanti and Pine get more pipe-freeze nights than Chisago. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Pine County has the oldest housing nearby, with 45% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Chisago | Minnesota median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 16% | 34% | 79 of 87 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 35% | 58% | 82 of 87 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 31% | 21% | 13 of 87 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.7% | 3.8% | 35 of 87 |
| Vacant homes | 7.1% | 11% | 64 of 87 |
| Wood or propane heat | 19% | 30% | 67 of 87 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 85/yr | 89/yr | 52 of 87 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5/yr | 5.3/yr | 51 of 87 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 89/yr | 86/yr | 23 of 87 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 13/yr | 13/yr | 41 of 87 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Minnesota county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Chisago County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in April, 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