Live Oak County, Texas · George West
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Live Oak County averages 0 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly midwinter, and 12% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 7.5 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 Live Oak County spike on heavy-rain days, about 7.5 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.
5% of occupied homes in Live Oak County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Texas county median of 6.5%.
About 185 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 11,620 people live in Live Oak County, 1,040 square miles in southern Texas, in roughly 5,996 homes. Besides George West, the county seat, the biggest community is Three Rivers. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1985.
34/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Live Oak County ranks 215 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Live Oak 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 0 nights a year at or below 20°F (205th of 232) and 4 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
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 15°F on February 15, 2021.
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 27.3 inches of total precipitation. On June 20, 2024, 3.95 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.57 inches, ending June 21, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Housing
41% of homes in Live Oak County predate 1980, below the Texas county median of 45.8%, which ranks 147th of Texas's 232 counties.
The mix runs from 12% built before 1960 to 28% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
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.
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.
The Census counted 27% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 185 times a year here, above 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 Live Oak County it's 9% utility gas, 85% electric, 4% 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 Live Oak County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Bee and Karnes get more pipe-freeze nights than Live Oak. Bee County has the oldest housing nearby, with 54% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Live Oak | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 12% | 20% | 182 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 41% | 46% | 147 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 28% | 26% | 102 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 24% | 13% | 27 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 27% | 17% | 28 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 5.2% | 6.5% | 141 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 0/yr | 3/yr | 205 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.5/yr | 7.8/yr | 120 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 4/yr | 27/yr | 212 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 185/yr | 129/yr | 22 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 Live Oak County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in March, May 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