Data report · 2026

West Virginia Water Damage Risk Index

Where in West Virginia is a house most likely to take on water? We combined Census housing age with ten years of daily weather for 55 of West Virginia's 55 counties to rank them.

Highest index

Marshall

Score 77 of 100

Most pipe-freeze nights

Pocahontas

44 nights ≤ 20°F a year

Oldest housing

Ohio

55% built before 1960

Most heavy-rain days

Webster

9.2 days ≥ 1 inch a year

< 3737–4747–5353–63≥ 63 index (0–100)

Key findings

The five highest-scoring counties are Marshall, Tyler, Webster, Randolph, Wetzel. Each combines old housing with harsher-than-average winters or frequent downpours.
Ohio County has the oldest housing in the state, with 55% of homes built before 1960, against a county median of 31%.
Pocahontas County averaged 44 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the most of any county in the data. The county median is 25.
Berkeley County has the newest housing, with 44% 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	Marshall	77	29	50%	7.2	28
2	Tyler	73	25	41%	8.3	32
3	Webster	72	33	34%	9.2	5
4	Randolph	71	42	33%	8.4	1
5	Wetzel	70	27	47%	7.2	26
6	Hancock	66	30	53%	6.3	24
7	Ohio	65	29	55%	5.7	26
8	Tucker	65	42	26%	8.7	2
9	Doddridge	64	25	37%	7.2	30
10	Kanawha	63	20	43%	7.5	46
11	Wood	63	22	38%	7.6	41
12	Greenbrier	62	34	28%	8.1	4
13	Pocahontas	61	44	23%	8.3	0
14	Harrison	59	24	45%	6.8	30
15	Pleasants	59	24	31%	7.9	36
16	Summers	58	25	36%	7.2	17
17	Ritchie	57	24	32%	7.4	33
18	Barbour	56	27	34%	6.9	19
19	Brooke	55	28	43%	5.1	27
20	Fayette	54	26	40%	6.6	19
21	Cabell	53	19	36%	6.9	53
22	Gilmer	53	24	36%	6.7	33
23	Preston	53	36	24%	6.9	10
24	Calhoun	52	24	35%	6.7	32
25	Marion	52	25	49%	5.5	26
26	Monroe	51	26	26%	7.9	13
27	Nicholas	51	29	24%	7.1	13
28	Wayne	50	18	28%	8.1	51
29	Boone	49	20	30%	7.3	42
30	McDowell	49	22	52%	6.6	20
31	Pendleton	49	36	31%	6	3
32	Lewis	47	23	32%	6.9	30
33	Mercer	47	28	32%	6.4	8
34	Upshur	47	28	25%	6.7	20
35	Braxton	45	22	34%	6.7	32
36	Logan	44	18	27%	7.4	44
37	Morgan	44	26	18%	7.1	27
38	Raleigh	44	27	29%	6.6	14
39	Taylor	44	24	37%	6	24
40	Mason	43	24	30%	6.4	37
41	Roane	43	24	30%	6.4	34
42	Mingo	41	18	20%	7.9	47
43	Wyoming	41	22	35%	6.6	23
44	Grant	37	35	22%	5.5	8
45	Mineral	37	28	23%	5.6	22
46	Wirt	37	25	17%	6.6	34
47	Hampshire	34	28	21%	5.5	20
48	Lincoln	34	18	16%	7.2	50
49	Monongalia	34	27	22%	5.5	25
50	Hardy	33	32	19%	5.4	13
51	Jackson	32	24	18%	6.3	37
52	Clay	31	21	16%	6.8	35
53	Jefferson	29	21	14%	6.7	44
54	Berkeley	28	23	14%	6.5	36
55	Putnam	20	20	14%	5.5	46

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 West Virginia 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, "West Virginia Water Damage Risk Index 2026," https://localwatermold.com/west-virginia/west-virginia-water-damage-risk/. Data: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024; NOAA nClimGrid-Daily 2015–2024.