Matagorda County, Texas · Bay City
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Pipes freeze in Matagorda County on about 0 nights a year, mostly midwinter. Older homes, 20% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Matagorda County averages 11.9 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
20% 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.
Matagorda County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 6.23 inches.
8% of occupied homes in Matagorda County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
About 193 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 36,329 people live in Matagorda County, 1,093 square miles in southeast Texas, in roughly 19,058 homes. Besides Bay City, the county seat, the biggest communities are Palacios, Van Vleck and Sargent. Half the homes here were built before 1979, half after.
49/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Matagorda County ranks 129 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Matagorda County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Texas, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 0 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 4 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 205th of 232 counties.
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 16°F on February 16, 2021.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Texas. The county gets about 45.8 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 11.9 days of an inch or more (72nd of 232). Those downpours cluster in May, June and September, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 6.23 inches on August 26, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 12.44 inches, ending August 28, 2017, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Housing
Roughly 52% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Matagorda near the middle of Texas's 232 counties.
The mix runs from 20% built before 1960 to 24% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
About 24% 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 12% 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.
19% 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
Matagorda County averages 193 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in September. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Matagorda County's occupied homes: 25% utility gas, 64% electric, 7% propane and under 1% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Matagorda County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Wharton gets more pipe-freeze nights than Matagorda. Jackson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 53% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Matagorda | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 20% | 20% | 111 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 52% | 46% | 89 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 24% | 26% | 130 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 12% | 13% | 138 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 19% | 17% | 89 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 7.9% | 6.5% | 94 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 0/yr | 3/yr | 205 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 7.8/yr | 72 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 4/yr | 27/yr | 212 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 193/yr | 129/yr | 16 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 Matagorda 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