Jackson County, Ohio · Jackson
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Pipes freeze in Jackson County on about 26 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 31% of the stock here, are most at risk.
June brings the most downpours to Jackson County, part of 6.9 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Jackson County spike on heavy-rain days, about 6.9 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Jackson County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.04 inches, and about 85 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
15% of occupied homes in Jackson County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Ohio county median of 15.9%.
With 35 muggy nights a year, mold in Jackson County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 14,548 homes and around 32,650 residents, Jackson County is 420 square miles of southern Ohio. Besides Jackson, the county seat, the biggest communities are Wellston, Oak Hill and Coalton. The county's median home was built in 1979.
39/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Jackson County ranks 70 of 88 Ohio counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Jackson County ranks highest compared with other Ohio counties.
Jackson County is milder than most of Ohio, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. It averaged 101 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 26 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 88 Ohio counties that's 75th.
The longest cold spell was straight 13 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -14°F on February 21, 2015. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs November to March, 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 25 and the last spring freeze around Apr 20.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Ohio. About 6.9 days a year bring an inch or more (17th of 88), most often in June, out of 45.1 inches of total precipitation. On September 9, 2018, 3.04 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.01 inches (through September 10, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 85 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
52% of homes in Jackson County predate 1980, below the Ohio county median of 61.1%, which ranks 70th of Ohio's 88 counties.
22% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Ohio. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
26% 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.
Here 19% 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.
The Census counted 11% of homes as vacant, above the Ohio county median of 8.4%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Jackson County averages 35 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in July. 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, Jackson County homes break down as 33% utility gas, 50% electric, 11% propane and 4% wood. Wood heat is more common here than in most Ohio counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Jackson County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Jackson gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Scioto County has the oldest housing nearby, with 66% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Jackson | Ohio median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 31% | 37% | 65 of 88 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 52% | 61% | 70 of 88 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 22% | 17% | 20 of 88 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 19% | 5.9% | 6 of 88 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 8.4% | 21 of 88 |
| Wood or propane heat | 15% | 16% | 50 of 88 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 26/yr | 31/yr | 75 of 88 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.9/yr | 5.7/yr | 17 of 88 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 85/yr | 82/yr | 28 of 88 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 35/yr | 35/yr | 42 of 88 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Ohio county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Jackson County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in February, June 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