Polk County, Texas · Livingston
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Polk County averages 1 night a year at 20°F or colder, mostly midwinter, and 8% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 16.5 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Polk County gets about 16.5 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Polk County, 7.43 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
10% of occupied homes in Polk County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
With 152 muggy nights a year, mold in Polk County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 26,469 homes and around 52,800 residents, Polk County is 1,057 square miles of eastern Texas. Besides Livingston, the county seat, the biggest communities are West Livingston, Onalaska and Corrigan. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1989.
45/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Polk County ranks 163 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Polk 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 1 night a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 13 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 159th of 232 counties.
Hard freezes are uncommon here, about 13 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 7°F on February 16, 2021.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Texas. About 16.5 days a year bring an inch or more (14th of 232), most often in May, out of 58.8 inches of total precipitation. On August 28, 2017, 7.43 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 17.1 inches, ending August 29, 2017, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Housing
Texas's 232 counties range widely in housing age; Polk ranks 178th, with 34% of its homes built before 1980.
Growth since 2000 added 33% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
About 33% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 24% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
With 26% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 152 times a year here, above the Texas county median of 129. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Polk County homes break down as 12% utility gas, 77% electric, 9% propane and 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 Polk County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Polk gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Tyler County has the oldest housing nearby, with 42% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Polk | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 7.9% | 20% | 203 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 34% | 46% | 178 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 33% | 26% | 70 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 24% | 13% | 24 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 26% | 17% | 32 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 10% | 6.5% | 69 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 1/yr | 3/yr | 159 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 17/yr | 7.8/yr | 14 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 13/yr | 27/yr | 171 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 152/yr | 129/yr | 64 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 Polk County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in April, May and December.
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