Knox County, Texas · Benjamin
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Knox County averages 7 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 37% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Knox County averages 6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Knox County spike on heavy-rain days, about 6 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 43 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
6% of occupied homes in Knox County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Texas county median of 6.5%.
About 110 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
Knox County covers 851 square miles of northern Texas, with about 3,307 residents and 1,804 homes. The county seat is Benjamin, and Munday, Knox City and Goree round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1966, half after.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Knox County ranks 23 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Knox County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Knox County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Texas. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 7 nights a year at or below 20°F (38th of 232) and 47 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
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 February 16, 2021.
Most freezing nights fall from January, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 14 and end around Mar 11.
Rainfall is about average for Texas. Of roughly 25.9 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 149th of 232. May, June and October see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.67 inches, September 22, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.78 inches, ending June 12, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 43 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
Texas's 232 counties range widely in housing age; Knox ranks 18th, with 74% of its homes built before 1980.
In Knox County 37% 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.
31% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 110 times a year here, below the Texas county median of 129. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Knox County it's 59% utility gas, 33% electric, 6% 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 Knox County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Knox gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Baylor County has the oldest housing nearby, with 74% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Knox | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 37% | 20% | 32 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 74% | 46% | 18 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 5.8% | 26% | 229 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4% | 13% | 213 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 31% | 17% | 16 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 6% | 6.5% | 128 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 7/yr | 3/yr | 38 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6/yr | 7.8/yr | 149 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 43/yr | 27/yr | 49 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 110/yr | 129/yr | 180 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 Knox County: freezing from January, heavy rain in May, June 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