Rankin County, Mississippi · Brandon
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With 6% of homes built before 1960 and about 3 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
April brings the most downpours to Rankin County, part of 16.9 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Rankin County spike on heavy-rain days, about 16.9 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Rankin County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 6.21 inches, and about 33 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
9% of occupied homes in Rankin County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Mississippi county median of 15.1%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 127 times a year in Rankin County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Rankin County covers 775 square miles of central Mississippi, with about 158,854 residents and 64,415 homes. Besides Brandon, the county seat, the biggest communities are Pearl, Flowood and Richland. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1995.
43/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Rankin County ranks 61 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Rankin County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
Rankin is on the colder side of Mississippi for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 3 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 33 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 28th of 82 counties.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs January. 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 Nov 16 and the last spring freeze around Mar 10.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Mississippi. About 16.9 days a year bring an inch or more (26th of 82), most often in April, out of 62.8 inches of total precipitation. On April 3, 2017, 6.21 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 7.88 inches (through August 25, 2022).
About 33 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
27% of homes in Rankin County predate 1980, below the Mississippi county median of 45.1%, which ranks 76th of Mississippi's 82 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 40% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 33% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
Here 12% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 127 times a year here, close to the Mississippi county median of 125. 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, Rankin County homes break down as 44% utility gas, 47% electric, 8% 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 Rankin County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Rankin gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Hinds County has the oldest housing nearby, with 62% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Rankin | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 5.8% | 15% | 79 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 27% | 45% | 76 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 40% | 23% | 8 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 12% | 20% | 64 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 6.6% | 17% | 80 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 8.8% | 15% | 63 of 82 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 3/yr | 3/yr | 28 of 82 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 17/yr | 16/yr | 26 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 33/yr | 32/yr | 39 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 127/yr | 125/yr | 40 of 82 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Mississippi county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Rankin County: freezing from January, heavy rain in January, February and April.
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