Hamilton County, Texas · Hamilton
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With 44% of homes built before 1960 and about 4 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Hamilton County, part of 7.5 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
44% 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.
Hamilton County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 5.89 inches, and about 30 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
17% of occupied homes in Hamilton County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 128 times a year in Hamilton County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 8,406 people live in Hamilton County, 836 square miles in central Texas, in roughly 4,372 homes. The county seat is Hamilton, and Hico and Carlton round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1965, half after.
67/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Hamilton County ranks 7 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Hamilton County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Hamilton County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Texas. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 4 nights a year at or below 20°F (68th of 232) and 32 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -2°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 7 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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 21 and end around Mar 1.
Rainfall is about average for Texas. About 7.5 days a year bring an inch or more (120th of 232), most often in May, out of 31.7 inches of total precipitation. On October 24, 2015, 5.89 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 8.17 inches, ending October 25, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 30 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
69% of homes in Hamilton County predate 1980, above the Texas county median of 45.8%, which ranks 33rd of Texas's 232 counties.
In Hamilton County 44% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
8% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, below 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.
The Census counted 29% of homes as vacant, above the Texas county median of 16.6%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Hamilton County averages 128 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Hamilton County homes break down as 29% utility gas, 54% electric, 13% propane and 4% wood. Wood and propane heat are above the Texas 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 Hamilton County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Hamilton gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Hamilton | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 44% | 20% | 15 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 69% | 46% | 33 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 18% | 26% | 174 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 7.8% | 13% | 178 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 29% | 17% | 22 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 17% | 6.5% | 20 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 3/yr | 68 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.5/yr | 7.8/yr | 120 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 30/yr | 27/yr | 100 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 128/yr | 129/yr | 119 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 Hamilton County: freezing from January, heavy rain in March, May 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