Oconto County, Wisconsin · Oconto
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Pipes freeze in Oconto County on about 78 nights a year, mostly November to April. Older homes, 26% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Oconto County averages 5.5 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
26% 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.
Oconto County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.33 inches, and about 103 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
39% of occupied homes in Oconto County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Wisconsin county median of 32.9%.
About 5 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
Oconto County covers 997 square miles of eastern Wisconsin, with about 39,589 residents and 24,072 homes. The county seat is Oconto, and Oconto Falls, Gillett and Lena round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1981, half after.
37/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Oconto County ranks 65 of 72 Wisconsin counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Oconto County ranks highest compared with other Wisconsin counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Oconto County sits near the middle of the state. It averaged 164 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 78 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 29th.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 25 days below freezing (ending February 2015), and the low bottomed out near -24°F on January 31, 2019.
Most freezing nights fall from November to April, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 11 and end around May 11.
Oconto gets fewer downpours than most Wisconsin counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 35.3 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 5.5 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 49th of 72. April, May and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.33 inches, June 26, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3.32 inches, ending June 18, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 103 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
49% of homes in Oconto County predate 1980, below the Wisconsin county median of 54.1%, which ranks 56th of Wisconsin's 72 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 26% of homes are pre-1960 and 25% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
26% 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.
11% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the Wisconsin county median of 4.8%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
The Census counted 30% of homes as vacant, above the Wisconsin county median of 12%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
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. Keep indoor humidity under 60%, as the EPA advises, and dry any leak within 24 to 48 hours; in a humid month a wet basement left alone won't dry by itself.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Oconto County it's 46% utility gas, 11% electric, 32% propane and 7% wood. Propane heat is above the Wisconsin norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Oconto County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Forest, Langlade, Marinette and Menominee get more pipe-freeze nights than Oconto. Langlade County has the oldest housing nearby, with 60% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Oconto | Wisconsin median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 26% | 31% | 53 of 72 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 49% | 54% | 56 of 72 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 25% | 21% | 15 of 72 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 11% | 4.8% | 6 of 72 |
| Vacant homes | 30% | 12% | 15 of 72 |
| Wood or propane heat | 39% | 33% | 28 of 72 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 78/yr | 73/yr | 29 of 72 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.5/yr | 6.3/yr | 49 of 72 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 103/yr | 94/yr | 5 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 Oconto County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in April, May 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