Waller County, Texas · Hempstead
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Pipes freeze in Waller County on about 1 night a year, mostly midwinter. Older homes, 6% of the stock here, are most at risk.
May brings the most downpours to Waller County, part of 13.9 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Waller County spike on heavy-rain days, about 13.9 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Waller County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 9.78 inches.
12% of occupied homes in Waller County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
With 169 muggy nights a year, mold in Waller County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 20,345 homes and around 61,552 residents, Waller County is 513 square miles of eastern Texas. Besides Hempstead, the county seat, the biggest communities are Katy, Prairie View and Brookshire. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1998.
41/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Waller County ranks 187 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Waller County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Waller County is milder than most of Texas, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. It averaged 8 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 1 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 159th.
With only about 8 freezing nights a year, many homes here aren't built for cold, so a single arctic outbreak can burst pipes across the county. The record low in this data was about 10°F, on February 16, 2021.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Texas. About 13.9 days a year bring an inch or more (47th of 232), most often in May, out of 49.5 inches of total precipitation. On August 27, 2017, 9.78 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 21.45 inches (through August 28, 2017).
Housing
20% of homes in Waller County predate 1980, below the Texas county median of 45.8%, which ranks 217th of Texas's 232 counties.
47% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Texas. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
33% 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.
Here 19% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 169 times a year here, above the Texas county median of 129. 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 Waller County's occupied homes: 19% utility gas, 68% electric, 11% propane and under 1% wood. Propane heat is more common here than in most Texas counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Waller County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Waller gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Washington County has the oldest housing nearby, with 37% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Waller | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 5.7% | 20% | 221 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 20% | 46% | 217 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 47% | 26% | 21 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 19% | 13% | 54 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 9.8% | 17% | 194 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 6.5% | 61 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 1/yr | 3/yr | 159 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 7.8/yr | 47 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 8/yr | 27/yr | 192 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 169/yr | 129/yr | 39 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 Waller County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in April, May and June.
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