Greenwood County, South Carolina · Greenwood
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With 25% of homes built before 1960 and about 2 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in December. Greenwood County averages 12.4 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
25% 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.
Greenwood County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 5.04 inches, and about 39 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
2% of occupied homes in Greenwood 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 105 times a year in Greenwood County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 69,489 people live in Greenwood County, 456 square miles in northwest South Carolina, in roughly 31,702 homes. The county seat is Greenwood, and Ninety Six, Ware Shoals and Cokesbury round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1977, half after.
58/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Greenwood County ranks 15 of 46 South Carolina counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Greenwood County ranks highest compared with other South Carolina counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Greenwood County sits near the middle of the state. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 2 nights a year at or below 20°F (20th of 46) and 39 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 17 and end around Mar 17.
Rainfall is about average for South Carolina. About 12.4 days a year bring an inch or more (19th of 46), most often in December, out of 48.2 inches of total precipitation. On October 4, 2015, 5.04 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.5 inches, ending October 5, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 39 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
South Carolina's 46 counties range widely in housing age; Greenwood ranks 3rd, with 56% of its homes built before 1980.
25% 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.
About 26% 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 10% 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.
Renters occupy 33% 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 105 times a year here, close to the South Carolina county median of 113.5. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Greenwood County it's 30% utility gas, 68% electric, 1% 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 Greenwood County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Laurens and Newberry get more pipe-freeze nights than Greenwood. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Greenwood | South Carolina median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 25% | 15% | 5 of 46 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 56% | 40% | 3 of 46 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 18% | 25% | 36 of 46 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 10% | 22% | 41 of 46 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 16% | 33 of 46 |
| Wood or propane heat | 1.5% | 5.1% | 45 of 46 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 2/yr | 20 of 46 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 12/yr | 19 of 46 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 39/yr | 35/yr | 17 of 46 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 105/yr | 114/yr | 31 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 Greenwood County: freezing from January, heavy rain in January, June 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