Brunswick County, North Carolina · Bolivia
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Pipes freeze in Brunswick County on about 2 nights a year, mostly January. Older homes, 3% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in September. Brunswick County averages 15.5 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Brunswick County spike on heavy-rain days, about 15.5 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 33 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
7% of occupied homes in Brunswick County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the North Carolina county median of 11.7%.
With 122 muggy nights a year, mold in Brunswick County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 152,568 people live in Brunswick County, 850 square miles in southeast North Carolina, in roughly 99,077 homes. The county seat is Bolivia, and Leland, Oak Island and St. James round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 2002.
39/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Brunswick County ranks 81 of 100 North Carolina counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Brunswick County ranks highest compared with other North Carolina counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for North Carolina, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 2 nights a year at or below 20°F (91st of 100) and 33 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 24 and end around Mar 18.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of North Carolina. The county gets about 58 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 15.5 days of an inch or more (9th of 100). Those downpours cluster in July, August and September, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 7.7 inches on September 3, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 11.83 inches, ending September 17, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 33 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
North Carolina's 100 counties range widely in housing age; Brunswick ranks 100th, with 14% of its homes built before 1980.
Growth since 2000 added 56% 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.
About 30% 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 17% 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.
With 30% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
About 122 nights a year in Brunswick County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (4th of 100 counties). August 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, Brunswick County homes break down as 4% utility gas, 87% electric, 7% propane and under 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 Brunswick County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Pender gets more pipe-freeze nights than Brunswick. Columbus County has the oldest housing nearby, with 47% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Brunswick | North Carolina median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 3.3% | 18% | 100 of 100 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 14% | 41% | 100 of 100 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 56% | 26% | 1 of 100 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 17% | 17% | 52 of 100 |
| Vacant homes | 30% | 13% | 15 of 100 |
| Wood or propane heat | 7.4% | 12% | 76 of 100 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 5/yr | 91 of 100 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 16/yr | 12/yr | 9 of 100 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 33/yr | 57/yr | 92 of 100 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 122/yr | 89/yr | 4 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 Brunswick County: freezing from January, heavy rain in July, August and September.
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