Bastrop County, Texas · Bastrop
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With 10% of homes built before 1960 and about 1 hard-freeze night a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Bastrop County averages 11 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Bastrop County spike on heavy-rain days, about 11 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Bastrop County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 9.1 inches.
10% of occupied homes in Bastrop County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
About 159 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
About 106,582 people live in Bastrop County, 888 square miles in eastern Texas, in roughly 39,706 homes. Bastrop is the county seat; Elgin, Camp Swift and Wyldwood are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1999.
40/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Bastrop County ranks 188 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Bastrop County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Bastrop County is milder than most of Texas, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 1 night a year at or below 20°F (159th of 232) and 13 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 3 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about 9°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
With only about 13 freezing nights a year, many homes here aren't built for cold, so a single arctic outbreak can burst pipes across the county. The record low in this data was about 9°F, on February 16, 2021.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Texas. The county gets about 39.5 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 11 days of an inch or more (77th of 232). Those downpours cluster in April, May and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 9.1 inches on August 27, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 17.64 inches (through August 28, 2017).
Housing
Texas's 232 counties range widely in housing age; Bastrop ranks 213th, with 22% of its homes built before 1980.
49% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Texas. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
About 29% 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.
24% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the Texas county median of 13.4%. 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.
Beyond water
Bastrop County averages 159 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Bastrop County's occupied homes: 16% utility gas, 73% electric, 9% propane and 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 Bastrop County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Williamson gets more pipe-freeze nights than Bastrop. Fayette County has the oldest housing nearby, with 45% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Bastrop | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 9.6% | 20% | 194 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 22% | 46% | 213 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 49% | 26% | 17 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 24% | 13% | 25 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 7.1% | 17% | 215 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 10% | 6.5% | 68 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 1/yr | 3/yr | 159 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 11/yr | 7.8/yr | 77 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 12/yr | 27/yr | 177 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 159/yr | 129/yr | 52 of 232 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Texas county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Bastrop County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in April, May and August.
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