Oneida County, Wisconsin · Rhinelander
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With 24% of homes built before 1960 and about 104 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in June. Oneida County averages 6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
24% 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.
Oneida County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.56 inches, and about 102 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
29% of occupied homes in Oneida County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Wisconsin county median of 32.9%.
About 1 night a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
Oneida County covers 1,114 square miles of northern Wisconsin, with about 38,167 residents and 30,814 homes. Rhinelander is the county seat; Woodruff, Minocqua and Three Lakes are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1980, half after.
45/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Oneida County ranks 49 of 72 Wisconsin counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Oneida County ranks highest compared with other Wisconsin counties.
Oneida County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Wisconsin. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 104 nights a year at or below 20°F (3rd of 72) and 188 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On January 31, 2019 the low fell to about -30°F, and in the stretch ending March 2015 the county went 41 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
The freeze season here runs October 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 4 and end around May 19.
Rainfall is about average for Wisconsin. About 6 days a year bring an inch or more (42nd of 72), most often in June, out of 35.7 inches of total precipitation. On June 12, 2017, 3.56 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.36 inches, ending June 18, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 102 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
50% of homes in Oneida County predate 1980, close to the Wisconsin county median of 54.1%, which ranks 49th of Wisconsin's 72 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 24% of homes are pre-1960 and 21% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 29% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
With 43% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
Oneida County averages 1 warm, muggy night a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in June. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Oneida County homes break down as 60% utility gas, 10% electric, 24% propane and 6% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Oneida County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Vilas gets more pipe-freeze nights than Oneida. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Langlade County has the oldest housing nearby, with 60% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Oneida | Wisconsin median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 24% | 31% | 60 of 72 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 50% | 54% | 49 of 72 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 21% | 21% | 36 of 72 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 6.2% | 4.8% | 26 of 72 |
| Vacant homes | 43% | 12% | 9 of 72 |
| Wood or propane heat | 29% | 33% | 42 of 72 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 104/yr | 73/yr | 3 of 72 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6/yr | 6.3/yr | 42 of 72 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 102/yr | 94/yr | 8 of 72 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 1/yr | 11/yr | 65 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 Oneida County: freezing from October to April, heavy rain in April, June and July.
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