Benton County, Tennessee · Camden
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With 19% of homes built before 1960 and about 12 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 12.6 times a year here, most often in February. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Benton County gets about 12.6 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Benton County, 3.85 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
14% of occupied homes in Benton County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Tennessee county median of 7.8%.
About 87 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
Benton County covers 394 square miles of northwest Tennessee, with about 16,006 residents and 8,569 homes. The county seat is Camden, and Big Sandy, Holladay and Eva round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1980, half after.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Benton County ranks 33 of 95 Tennessee counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Benton County ranks highest compared with other Tennessee counties.
Benton County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Tennessee. It averaged 63 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 12 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 95 Tennessee counties that's 31st.
The longest cold spell was straight 7 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -2°F on January 17, 2024. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs December to February, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 4 and end around Mar 28.
Benton gets fewer downpours than most Tennessee counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 53.5 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 12.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 72nd of 95. February, March and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.85 inches, September 1, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.91 inches, ending September 2, 2017, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 57 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
Roughly 50% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Benton among the oldest housing stocks of Tennessee's 95 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 19% of homes are pre-1960 and 20% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
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.
26% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the Tennessee county median of 15.9%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
The Census counted 17% of homes as vacant, above the Tennessee county median of 11.9%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 87 times a year here, above the Tennessee county median of 74. Keep indoor humidity under 60%, as the EPA advises, and dry any leak within 24 to 48 hours; in a humid month a wet basement left alone won't dry by itself.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Benton County it's 39% utility gas, 47% electric, 11% propane and 3% wood. Propane heat is above the Tennessee norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Benton County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Henry, Houston, Humphreys and Stewart get more pipe-freeze nights than Benton. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Carroll County has the oldest housing nearby, with 55% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Benton | Tennessee median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 19% | 16% | 35 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 50% | 41% | 19 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 20% | 27% | 78 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 26% | 16% | 9 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 17% | 12% | 19 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 14% | 7.8% | 26 of 95 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 12/yr | 11/yr | 31 of 95 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 13/yr | 14/yr | 72 of 95 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 57/yr | 60/yr | 76 of 95 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 87/yr | 74/yr | 18 of 95 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Tennessee county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Benton County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, March 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