Beaufort County, South Carolina · Beaufort
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Pipes freeze in Beaufort County on about 0 nights a year, mostly midwinter. Older homes, 4% of the stock here, are most at risk.
September brings the most downpours to Beaufort County, part of 11.9 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
4% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
Beaufort County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 13.02 inches.
3% of occupied homes in Beaufort County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the South Carolina county median of 5.1%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 152 times a year in Beaufort County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 195,289 people live in Beaufort County, 576 square miles in southern South Carolina, in roughly 103,177 homes. Besides Beaufort, the county seat, the biggest communities are Hilton Head Island, Bluffton and Port Royal. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1999.
26/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Beaufort County ranks 46 of 46 South Carolina counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Beaufort County ranks highest compared with other South Carolina counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for South Carolina, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 0 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 8 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 45th of 46 counties.
Hard freezes are uncommon here, about 8 nights a year at or below 32°F, and that's exactly why they do damage: pipes in attics, exterior walls and slab-edge plumbing are rarely insulated. The coldest night in the record was about 18°F on December 25, 2022.
Rainfall is about average for South Carolina. The county gets about 50.7 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 11.9 days of an inch or more (26th of 46). Those downpours cluster in July, August and September, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 13.02 inches on October 8, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 13.35 inches, ending October 9, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Housing
Roughly 16% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Beaufort among the newer housing stocks of South Carolina's 46 counties.
48% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of South Carolina. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
About 36% 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.
Here 9% 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.
20% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
Beaufort County averages 152 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in August. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Beaufort County it's 16% utility gas, 80% electric, 3% 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 Beaufort County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Every neighboring county gets more pipe-freeze nights than Beaufort. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Hampton County has the oldest housing nearby, with 44% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Beaufort | South Carolina median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 3.6% | 15% | 46 of 46 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 16% | 40% | 45 of 46 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 48% | 25% | 7 of 46 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 9% | 22% | 42 of 46 |
| Vacant homes | 20% | 16% | 7 of 46 |
| Wood or propane heat | 3.1% | 5.1% | 37 of 46 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 0/yr | 2/yr | 45 of 46 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 12/yr | 26 of 46 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 8/yr | 35/yr | 46 of 46 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 152/yr | 114/yr | 1 of 46 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest South Carolina county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Beaufort County: freezing from midwinter, 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