Rice County, Minnesota · Faribault
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With 30% of homes built before 1960 and about 79 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
July brings the most downpours to Rice County, part of 8.6 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Rice County spike on heavy-rain days, about 8.6 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Rice County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.09 inches, and about 88 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
16% of occupied homes in Rice County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Minnesota county median of 30%.
With 17 muggy nights a year, mold in Rice County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 25,295 homes and around 67,917 residents, Rice County is 496 square miles of southern Minnesota. The county seat is Faribault, and Northfield, Lonsdale and Dundas round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1978.
50/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Rice County ranks 45 of 87 Minnesota counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Rice County ranks highest compared with other Minnesota counties.
Rice County is milder than most of Minnesota, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. It averaged 155 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 79 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 87 Minnesota counties that's 71st.
On January 31, 2019 the low fell to about -29°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 19 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
The freeze season here runs November to April, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 13 and the last spring freeze around May 1.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Minnesota. Of roughly 36.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 8.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 3rd of 87. May, July and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.09 inches, September 22, 2016. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.45 inches (through August 13, 2016).
About 88 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
53% of homes in Rice County predate 1980, below the Minnesota county median of 58.4%, which ranks 53rd of Minnesota's 87 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 27% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 17 times a year here, above the Minnesota county median of 13. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Rice County homes break down as 65% utility gas, 18% electric, 14% propane and 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 Rice County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Dodge, Steele and Waseca get more pipe-freeze nights than Rice. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Waseca County has the oldest housing nearby, with 70% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Rice | Minnesota median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 30% | 34% | 54 of 87 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 53% | 58% | 53 of 87 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 21% | 29 of 87 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.2% | 3.8% | 38 of 87 |
| Vacant homes | 7.1% | 11% | 64 of 87 |
| Wood or propane heat | 16% | 30% | 73 of 87 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 79/yr | 89/yr | 71 of 87 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.6/yr | 5.3/yr | 3 of 87 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 88/yr | 86/yr | 32 of 87 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 17/yr | 13/yr | 29 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 Rice County: freezing from November to April, 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