Anson County, North Carolina · Wadesboro
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Anson County averages 3 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 28% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in December. Anson County averages 10.9 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Anson County gets about 10.9 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 42 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
25% of occupied homes in Anson County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the North Carolina county median of 11.7%.
About 103 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
About 22,289 people live in Anson County, 531 square miles in central North Carolina, in roughly 9,954 homes. The county seat is Wadesboro, and Polkton, Lilesville and Ansonville round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1974.
54/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Anson County ranks 43 of 100 North Carolina counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Anson County ranks highest compared with other North Carolina counties.
Anson County is milder than most of North Carolina, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. 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 43 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 74th of 100 counties.
The freeze season here runs January, 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 Nov 14 and the last spring freeze around Mar 18.
Anson gets fewer downpours than most North Carolina counties, but they still fill basements. About 10.9 days a year bring an inch or more (67th of 100), most often in December, out of 49.5 inches of total precipitation. On September 16, 2018, 6.24 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 13.06 inches (through September 17, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 42 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
62% of homes in Anson County predate 1980, above the North Carolina county median of 41.2%, which ranks 2nd of North Carolina's 100 counties.
In Anson County 28% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
27% 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.
26% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the North Carolina county median of 17.4%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
Beyond water
About 103 nights a year in Anson County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (22nd of 100 counties). July is the wettest month. 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 Anson County it's 7% utility gas, 58% electric, 22% propane and 2% wood. Propane heat is above the North Carolina norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Anson County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Stanly and Union get more pipe-freeze nights than Anson. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Anson | North Carolina median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 28% | 18% | 4 of 100 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 62% | 41% | 2 of 100 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 11% | 26% | 100 of 100 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 26% | 17% | 15 of 100 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 13% | 45 of 100 |
| Wood or propane heat | 25% | 12% | 15 of 100 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 3/yr | 5/yr | 74 of 100 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 11/yr | 12/yr | 67 of 100 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 42/yr | 57/yr | 74 of 100 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 103/yr | 89/yr | 22 of 100 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest North Carolina county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Anson County: freezing from January, heavy rain in September, October and December.
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