Jim Wells County, Texas · Alice
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Pipes freeze in Jim Wells County on about 0 nights a year, mostly midwinter. Older homes, 19% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in September. Jim Wells County averages 6.2 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
19% 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.
Jim Wells County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 5.51 inches.
4% of occupied homes in Jim Wells County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Texas county median of 6.5%.
With 197 muggy nights a year, mold in Jim Wells County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 16,229 homes and around 38,850 residents, Jim Wells County is 865 square miles of southern Texas. Alice is the county seat; Premont, Ben Bolt and Rancho Alegre are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1981, half after.
40/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Jim Wells County ranks 191 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Jim Wells County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Texas, and pipes still freeze. It averaged 4 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 0 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 232 Texas counties that's 205th.
Hard freezes are uncommon here, about 4 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 18°F on February 15, 2021.
Rainfall is about average for Texas. About 6.2 days a year bring an inch or more (142nd of 232), most often in September, out of 25.2 inches of total precipitation. On June 20, 2024, 5.51 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.62 inches, ending June 21, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Housing
Roughly 49% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Jim Wells near the middle of Texas's 232 counties.
The mix runs from 19% built before 1960 to 26% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
About 26% 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.
Here 15% 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.
Beyond water
About 197 nights a year in Jim Wells County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (14th of 232 counties). May is the wettest month. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Jim Wells County it's 15% utility gas, 79% electric, 3% 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 Jim Wells County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Jim Wells gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Brooks County has the oldest housing nearby, with 60% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Jim Wells | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 19% | 20% | 121 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 49% | 46% | 104 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 26% | 122 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 15% | 13% | 98 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 18% | 17% | 94 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 3.7% | 6.5% | 177 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 0/yr | 3/yr | 205 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.2/yr | 7.8/yr | 142 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 4/yr | 27/yr | 212 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 197/yr | 129/yr | 14 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 Jim Wells County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in May, June and September.
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