Clark County, Wisconsin · Neillsville
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With 39% of homes built before 1960 and about 83 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 5.5 times a year here, most often in September. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
39% 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.
In Clark County, 3.34 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
47% of occupied homes in Clark County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Wisconsin county median of 32.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 5 times a year in Clark County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 34,739 people live in Clark County, 1,210 square miles in central Wisconsin, in roughly 14,961 homes. The county seat is Neillsville, and Abbotsford, Colby and Thorp round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1972.
57/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Clark County ranks 18 of 72 Wisconsin counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Clark County ranks highest compared with other Wisconsin counties.
Clark is on the colder side of Wisconsin for pipes. It averaged 162 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 83 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 72 Wisconsin counties that's 22nd.
The longest cold spell was straight 26 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in March 2015. The coldest night reached about -32°F on January 31, 2019. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs November to April, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 11 and the last spring freeze around May 7.
Clark gets fewer downpours than most Wisconsin counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 35.3 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 5.5 days of an inch or more (49th of 72). Those downpours cluster in May, June and September, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.34 inches on September 22, 2016. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.93 inches (through September 22, 2016).
About 94 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
Roughly 63% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Clark among the oldest housing stocks of Wisconsin's 72 counties.
Before 1960 is when 39% of these homes went up. Galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains were standard then, and after 60-plus years both corrode and crack, often out of sight inside a wall or under a slab.
14% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 5 times a year here, below the Wisconsin county median of 11. 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 Clark County's occupied homes: 36% utility gas, 11% electric, 32% propane and 15% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Clark County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Chippewa, Marathon and Taylor get more pipe-freeze nights than Clark. Wood County has the oldest housing nearby, with 64% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Clark | Wisconsin median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 39% | 31% | 13 of 72 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 63% | 54% | 13 of 72 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 19% | 21% | 49 of 72 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 6.6% | 4.8% | 23 of 72 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 12% | 34 of 72 |
| Wood or propane heat | 47% | 33% | 20 of 72 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 83/yr | 73/yr | 22 of 72 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.5/yr | 6.3/yr | 49 of 72 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 94/yr | 94/yr | 31 of 72 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 5/yr | 11/yr | 52 of 72 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Wisconsin county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Clark County: freezing from November to April, 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