Frio County, Texas · Pearsall
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Pipes freeze in Frio County on about 1 night a year, mostly midwinter. Older homes, 13% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 5.3 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Sewage backups in Frio County spike on heavy-rain days, about 5.3 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
4% of occupied homes in Frio County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Texas county median of 6.5%.
About 168 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
With 6,393 homes and around 18,582 residents, Frio County is 1,134 square miles of southern Texas. Besides Pearsall, the county seat, the biggest communities are Dilley, Bigfoot and Hilltop. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1986.
34/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Frio County ranks 212 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Frio County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Texas, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 1 night a year at or below 20°F (159th of 232) and 9 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Hard freezes are uncommon here, about 9 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 13°F on February 16, 2021.
Frio gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 22.4 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 5.3 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 165th of 232. May, September and October see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.56 inches, August 23, 2023. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.06 inches, ending September 28, 2017, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Housing
Roughly 40% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Frio near the middle of Texas's 232 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 31% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
30% 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.
Here 22% 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.
Renters occupy 41% 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 168 times a year here, above the Texas county median of 129. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Frio County's occupied homes: 13% utility gas, 79% 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 Frio County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Frio gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Zavala County has the oldest housing nearby, with 51% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Frio | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 13% | 20% | 171 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 40% | 46% | 154 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 31% | 26% | 83 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 22% | 13% | 36 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 17% | 131 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 3.7% | 6.5% | 177 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 1/yr | 3/yr | 159 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.3/yr | 7.8/yr | 165 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 9/yr | 27/yr | 186 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 168/yr | 129/yr | 41 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 Frio County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in May, September and October.
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