Davidson County, Tennessee · Nashville
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With 18% of homes built before 1960 and about 10 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
February brings the most downpours to Davidson County, part of 11.7 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Davidson County gets about 11.7 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Davidson County, 3.91 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
1% of occupied homes in Davidson County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Tennessee county median of 7.8%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 87 times a year in Davidson County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Davidson County covers 503 square miles of northern Tennessee, with about 715,388 residents and 357,113 homes. The county seat is Nashville, and Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), Forest Hills and Oak Hill round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1986.
45/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Davidson County ranks 66 of 95 Tennessee counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Davidson County ranks highest compared with other Tennessee counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Davidson County sits near the middle of the state. From 2015–2024 it averaged 10 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 60 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 56th of 95 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 7 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -3°F on January 17, 2024.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs December to February. 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 7 and end around Mar 27.
Davidson gets fewer downpours than most Tennessee counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 52.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 11.7 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 78th of 95. February, March and April see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.91 inches, September 1, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.6 inches, ending September 29, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 55 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
41% of homes in Davidson County predate 1980, close to the Tennessee county median of 41.2%, which ranks 49th of Tennessee's 95 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 35% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
24% 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.
Renters occupy 47% 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
Davidson County averages 87 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in February. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Davidson County homes break down as 31% utility gas, 67% electric, 1% propane and under 1% 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 Davidson County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cheatham, Robertson, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson get more pipe-freeze nights than Davidson. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Davidson | Tennessee median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 18% | 16% | 36 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 41% | 41% | 49 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 35% | 27% | 18 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.4% | 16% | 94 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 9% | 12% | 69 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 1.3% | 7.8% | 94 of 95 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 10/yr | 11/yr | 56 of 95 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 14/yr | 78 of 95 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 55/yr | 60/yr | 82 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 Davidson County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, March and April.
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