Richland County, Ohio · Mansfield
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Richland County averages 38 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 43% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 5.2 times a year here, most often in June. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Richland County gets about 5.2 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 89 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
12% of occupied homes in Richland County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Ohio county median of 15.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 24 times a year in Richland County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 54,668 homes and around 125,099 residents, Richland County is 495 square miles of central Ohio. Besides Mansfield, the county seat, the biggest communities are Shelby, Ontario and Lexington. The county's median home was built in 1965.
62/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Richland County ranks 14 of 88 Ohio counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Richland County ranks highest compared with other Ohio counties.
Richland is on the colder side of Ohio for pipes. It averaged 119 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 38 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 1st.
The longest cold spell was straight 19 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in March 2015. The coldest night reached about -12°F on February 20, 2015. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November to March. 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 Oct 25 and the last spring freeze around Apr 27.
Rainfall is about average for Ohio. About 5.2 days a year bring an inch or more (58th of 88), most often in June, out of 41.3 inches of total precipitation. On August 24, 2023, 3.35 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.19 inches (through August 26, 2023).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 89 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
Ohio's 88 counties range widely in housing age; Richland ranks 11th, with 74% of its homes built before 1980.
43% were built before 1960. Homes from that era often still have galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside until it pinholes, and cast iron drains that crack with age. Slow leaks behind walls are a common start to water damage in these houses.
Renters occupy 32% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 24 times a year here, below the Ohio county median of 35. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Richland County's occupied homes: 62% utility gas, 23% electric, 8% propane and 3% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Richland County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Richland gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Crawford County has the oldest housing nearby, with 80% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Richland | Ohio median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 43% | 37% | 24 of 88 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 74% | 61% | 11 of 88 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 9.9% | 17% | 79 of 88 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4% | 5.9% | 59 of 88 |
| Vacant homes | 8.3% | 8.4% | 46 of 88 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 16% | 55 of 88 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 38/yr | 31/yr | 1 of 88 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.2/yr | 5.7/yr | 58 of 88 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 89/yr | 82/yr | 9 of 88 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 24/yr | 35/yr | 80 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 Richland County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, June and July.
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