Data report · 2026

Texas Water Damage Risk Index

Where in Texas is a house most likely to take on water? We combined Census housing age with ten years of daily weather for 232 of Texas's 232 counties to rank them.

Highest index

Eastland

Score 71 of 100

Most pipe-freeze nights

Dallam

37 nights ≤ 20°F a year

Oldest housing

Runnels

56% built before 1960

Most heavy-rain days

Hardin

19.5 days ≥ 1 inch a year

< 4141–4848–5353–60≥ 60 index (0–100)

Key findings

The five highest-scoring counties are Eastland, Delta, Hardeman, Haskell, Baylor. Each combines old housing with harsher-than-average winters or frequent downpours.
Runnels County has the oldest housing in the state, with 56% of homes built before 1960, against a county median of 20%.
Dallam County averaged 37 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the most of any county in the data. The county median is 3.
Rockwall County has the newest housing, with 67% of homes built since 2000, which pulls its index down even where winters are cold.

Weather: NOAA nClimGrid-Daily county averages, 2015–2024. Housing: ACS 2020-2024.

All counties

Select a column header to sort.

Rank	County	Index	Freeze nights	Pre-1960 homes	Heavy-rain days	Muggy nights
1	Eastland	71	5	46%	9.4	114
2	Delta	69	4	28%	14.8	123
3	Hardeman	68	8	49%	6.3	105
4	Haskell	68	6	44%	7.5	112
5	Baylor	67	7	34%	7.5	114
6	Childress	67	10	46%	6.2	100
7	Hamilton	67	4	44%	7.5	128
8	Shackelford	67	5	40%	8.1	115
9	Wichita	67	7	31%	8.8	112
10	Wilbarger	67	7	44%	6.9	110
11	Collingsworth	66	14	48%	5.8	86
12	Gray	65	18	49%	5.2	69
13	Hall	65	10	51%	4.9	95
14	Jack	65	6	28%	9.8	113
15	Jones	65	6	40%	6.8	113
16	Wheeler	65	17	43%	5.5	77
17	Young	65	6	27%	9.7	113
18	Carson	64	20	51%	4.2	63
19	Grayson	64	5	20%	12.9	127
20	Clay	63	7	24%	9.4	114
21	Comanche	63	4	33%	7.6	123
22	Fisher	63	6	45%	5	112
23	Knox	63	7	37%	6	110
24	Montague	63	6	23%	11.2	117
25	Runnels	63	5	56%	5.3	112
26	Callahan	62	5	31%	7.8	112
27	Coleman	62	4	43%	6.2	116
28	Fannin	62	4	20%	14.2	126
29	Hemphill	62	21	34%	5.5	71
30	Hill	62	3	24%	13	138
31	Palo Pinto	62	5	24%	8.8	123
32	Potter	62	21	45%	3.3	62
33	Swisher	62	18	47%	3.8	59
34	Cass	61	3	19%	16.1	127
35	Cooke	61	5	20%	12.2	122
36	Floyd	61	15	45%	3.6	71
37	Mills	61	4	31%	7.3	123
38	Mitchell	61	5	49%	4.2	114
39	Morris	61	3	24%	14.5	123
40	Stephens	61	6	23%	9.3	114
41	Archer	60	6	23%	8.9	113
42	Colorado	60	1	28%	12.3	178
43	Crosby	60	11	42%	3.9	85
44	Donley	60	15	35%	4.7	78
45	Rusk	60	2	23%	16	131
46	Scurry	60	6	43%	4.5	109
47	Taylor	60	5	33%	6.3	110
48	Bosque	59	3	23%	10.2	136
49	Castro	59	24	38%	3.3	43
50	Falls	59	2	28%	9.6	142
51	Harrison	59	2	21%	17.5	129
52	Hopkins	59	4	17%	13.6	123
53	Hutchinson	59	19	35%	3.6	72
54	Lavaca	59	1	31%	9.9	178
55	Lipscomb	59	26	29%	4.7	62
56	Navarro	59	3	20%	12.6	140
57	Nolan	59	5	40%	4.9	111
58	Red River	59	4	17%	15.4	117
59	Dawson	58	7	42%	3	92
60	Houston	58	2	18%	16.1	142
61	Lynn	58	9	38%	3.9	83
62	Sherman	58	28	39%	1.9	41
63	Smith	58	3	18%	14.7	128
64	Cherokee	57	2	18%	16	136
65	Dallas	57	3	17%	13.3	139
66	Garza	57	8	31%	4.7	102
67	Howard	57	5	38%	4	111
68	Terry	57	11	39%	2.9	73
69	Wharton	57	1	24%	12.5	182
70	Bailey	56	26	29%	3.1	36
71	DeWitt	56	1	28%	9.4	178
72	Fayette	56	1	27%	10.7	168
73	Lamb	56	21	34%	2.9	46
74	Mason	56	3	34%	5.5	129
75	McCulloch	56	3	37%	5.4	127
76	Bowie	55	3	16%	16.1	123
77	Brown	55	4	24%	6.7	121
78	Concho	55	3	37%	5.6	118
79	Milam	55	2	21%	10.8	149
80	Oldham	55	25	33%	1.8	45
81	Shelby	55	2	16%	17.8	133
82	Anderson	54	2	17%	14.9	137
83	Cochran	54	20	30%	2.9	42
84	Dallam	54	37	29%	1.6	16
85	Hansford	54	25	27%	3.4	59
86	Lamar	54	4	12%	15.8	119
87	Marion	54	2	16%	17	127
88	McLennan	54	2	21%	10.6	140
89	Orange	54	1	16%	17.7	170
90	Robertson	54	2	20%	11.2	146
91	Schleicher	54	4	32%	4.3	114
92	Erath	53	4	16%	9.9	128
93	Gonzales	53	1	26%	8.5	168
94	Hale	53	16	27%	3.1	62
95	Jefferson	53	0	17%	17.8	178
96	Nacogdoches	53	2	14%	16.6	136
97	Panola	53	2	15%	16.5	133
98	Parmer	53	25	24%	3.7	36
99	Somervell	53	3	15%	12.7	135
100	Titus	53	4	12%	14.4	119
101	Brooks	52	0	41%	6	207
102	Coke	52	4	29%	4	115
103	Hartley	52	31	26%	2	28
104	Hunt	52	4	10%	13.8	129
105	Jackson	52	0	26%	10.5	188
106	Karnes	52	1	24%	8.5	174
107	Limestone	52	2	18%	12	140
108	Madison	52	1	19%	13.7	148
109	San Saba	52	2	31%	6.1	132
110	Sutton	52	3	32%	4.6	124
111	Upshur	52	3	14%	14.5	124
112	Gregg	51	2	15%	15.6	128
113	Moore	51	23	25%	2.4	55
114	Refugio	51	0	28%	8	195
115	Upton	51	3	44%	2.6	120
116	Austin	50	1	16%	12.7	172
117	Deaf Smith	50	26	23%	3	37
118	Freestone	50	2	16%	12.2	139
119	Harris	50	1	12%	16.2	178
120	Sabine	50	2	9%	18.7	136
121	Van Zandt	50	3	10%	14.5	130
122	Wise	50	5	11%	9.8	124
123	Wood	50	3	11%	14.8	125
124	Angelina	49	1	14%	16.1	143
125	Camp	49	3	12%	14.4	121
126	Ellis	49	3	8%	13.4	138
127	Hardin	49	1	11%	19.5	158
128	Hockley	49	16	23%	3	59
129	Matagorda	49	0	20%	11.9	193
130	Newton	49	1	12%	18.3	146
131	Rains	49	4	6%	14.2	128
132	San Augustine	49	1	15%	17.2	135
133	Tarrant	49	3	13%	10.3	138
134	Tom Green	49	4	23%	4.7	119
135	Tyler	49	1	13%	18.5	145
136	Yoakum	49	14	26%	2.4	59
137	Franklin	48	3	11%	14.5	118
138	Henderson	48	3	9%	13	134
139	Kimble	48	3	24%	5.5	122
140	Lampasas	48	2	20%	8	133
141	Calhoun	47	0	21%	9.1	207
142	Collin	47	4	2%	13.5	133
143	Crockett	47	3	29%	2.1	125
144	Denton	47	4	3%	12.6	134
145	Jasper	47	1	11%	17.6	144
146	Jim Hogg	47	0	29%	5.9	203
147	Leon	47	2	10%	14.2	141
148	Martin	47	5	24%	2.7	105
149	Washington	47	1	16%	12.1	164
150	Bee	46	1	18%	7.6	183
151	Caldwell	46	1	16%	9.6	161
152	Crane	46	3	29%	2.4	119
153	Duval	46	0	26%	6.3	193
154	Galveston	46	0	12%	15.8	201
155	Hood	46	4	4%	11.4	133
156	Lee	46	1	15%	12.1	158
157	Liberty	46	1	7%	17.2	168
158	Winkler	46	5	26%	1.4	108
159	Andrews	45	6	21%	2.4	94
160	Goliad	45	1	17%	8	182
161	Kleberg	45	0	27%	5.8	218
162	Lubbock	45	12	17%	3.6	76
163	Polk	45	1	8%	16.5	152
164	San Jacinto	45	1	8%	16.1	159
165	Trinity	45	1	11%	15.9	146
166	Victoria	45	0	20%	8.5	187
167	Blanco	44	2	16%	7	140
168	Burleson	44	1	13%	12.3	158
169	Coryell	44	3	12%	7.9	137
170	Johnson	44	3	7%	10.6	137
171	Kaufman	44	3	6%	12.5	134
172	Nueces	44	0	21%	7	210
173	Ochiltree	44	24	14%	4.6	64
174	Parker	44	4	6%	9.7	127
175	La Salle	43	0	26%	5.9	180
176	Ector	42	4	22%	2.5	108
177	Fort Bend	42	1	2%	14.7	183
178	Grimes	42	1	10%	12.7	157
179	Rockwall	42	3	1%	12.2	134
180	San Patricio	42	0	17%	7.8	202
181	Ward	42	3	27%	0.8	113
182	Brazoria	41	0	8%	15.1	193
183	Montgomery	41	1	2%	15.4	166
184	Randall	41	21	13%	3.6	54
185	Reagan	41	4	19%	2.8	112
186	Reeves	41	3	27%	0.9	103
187	Waller	41	1	6%	13.9	169
188	Bastrop	40	1	10%	11	159
189	Bexar	40	1	16%	6.8	161
190	Chambers	40	0	7%	15.4	185
191	Jim Wells	40	0	19%	6.2	197
192	Uvalde	40	1	17%	6.2	156
193	Walker	40	1	5%	14.6	153
194	Zavala	40	1	19%	5	169
195	Bell	39	2	8%	8.3	145
196	Culberson	39	4	22%	0.6	74
197	Gaines	39	9	15%	2.2	80
198	Gillespie	39	2	16%	6.1	126
199	Presidio	39	2	34%	0.3	91
200	Real	39	2	15%	6.3	133
201	Willacy	39	0	18%	5.9	227
202	Bandera	38	2	10%	7.1	140
203	Midland	38	4	16%	2.7	113
204	Brazos	37	1	7%	11.6	156
205	Williamson	37	2	2%	9.2	147
206	Medina	36	1	14%	6	158
207	Burnet	35	2	6%	7.4	141
208	Dimmit	35	0	18%	4.8	176
209	Guadalupe	35	1	8%	8	161
210	Kendall	35	2	7%	7.1	139
211	Travis	35	1	7%	9.3	151
212	Frio	34	1	13%	5.3	168
213	Kerr	34	2	13%	6	122
214	Kinney	34	1	15%	5.1	156
215	Live Oak	34	0	12%	7.5	185
216	Llano	34	2	7%	6.4	138
217	Pecos	34	3	18%	1.4	109
218	Val Verde	34	2	14%	3.2	143
219	Aransas	33	0	6%	8.6	215
220	Atascosa	33	0	12%	7	173
221	Brewster	33	2	24%	0.5	103
222	Wilson	33	1	6%	8	168
223	Hays	32	1	4%	8.4	151
224	Cameron	31	0	10%	6.1	236
225	Comal	31	1	6%	7.4	154
226	Hudspeth	30	4	13%	0.8	67
227	Hidalgo	28	0	4%	6.5	220
228	Webb	27	0	10%	5.3	187
229	Zapata	27	0	9%	4.9	206
230	Starr	26	0	4%	6	211
231	Maverick	24	0	7%	4.9	168
232	El Paso	21	1	16%	0.6	96

Methodology

For each county with weather data, we convert four factors to a percentile rank among those counties (0 = lowest, 100 = highest), then take a weighted average:

Pipe-freeze nights (nights ≤ 20°F / yr), weight 30%
Homes built before 1960 (% of homes), weight 30%
Heavy-rain days (days ≥ 1 in / yr), weight 25%
Muggy nights (nights ≥ 65°F / yr), weight 15%

Freezing weather and old plumbing get the most weight because burst and failing supply lines are among the most common causes of household water damage. Heavy rain drives basement flooding and sewer backups, and warm, muggy nights mark the humid air that lets mold follow. The index is relative: a low score means lower risk than other Texas counties, not no risk.

Limits: weather values are county-wide averages, so hollows, ridges and lakeshores can differ; ACS housing figures are survey estimates; the index doesn't account for floodplains, soil, or local sewer systems. Full details on our data sources page.

Cite this data

You're welcome to use these figures with attribution. Suggested citation:

Local Water & Mold, "Texas Water Damage Risk Index 2026," https://localwatermold.com/texas/texas-water-damage-risk/. Data: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024; NOAA nClimGrid-Daily 2015–2024.