Outagamie County, Wisconsin · Appleton
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With 28% of homes built before 1960 and about 67 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
June brings the most downpours to Outagamie County, part of 7.9 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Outagamie County gets about 7.9 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Outagamie County, 2.94 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
10% of occupied homes in Outagamie County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Wisconsin county median of 32.9%.
About 12 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
With 80,915 homes and around 192,826 residents, Outagamie County is 638 square miles of eastern Wisconsin. Appleton is the county seat; Kaukauna, Greenville and Little Chute are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1980, half after.
51/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Outagamie County ranks 37 of 72 Wisconsin counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Outagamie County ranks highest compared with other Wisconsin counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Outagamie County sits near the middle of the state. It averaged 148 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 67 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 43rd.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 19 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -25°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 18 and end around May 8.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Wisconsin. Of roughly 37 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 7.9 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 15th of 72. May, June and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.94 inches, October 23, 2020. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.88 inches, ending August 29, 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 92 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
Wisconsin's 72 counties range widely in housing age; Outagamie ranks 51st, with 50% of its homes built before 1980.
Housing age is mixed: 28% 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.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 25% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 12 times a year here, close to 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 expectMain heating fuel in Outagamie County's occupied homes: 71% utility gas, 16% electric, 8% propane and 1% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Outagamie County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Shawano and Waupaca get more pipe-freeze nights than Outagamie. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Shawano County has the oldest housing nearby, with 58% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Outagamie | Wisconsin median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 28% | 31% | 48 of 72 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 50% | 54% | 51 of 72 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 25% | 21% | 17 of 72 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1% | 4.8% | 67 of 72 |
| Vacant homes | 3.1% | 12% | 72 of 72 |
| Wood or propane heat | 9.6% | 33% | 60 of 72 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 67/yr | 73/yr | 43 of 72 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.9/yr | 6.3/yr | 15 of 72 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 92/yr | 94/yr | 44 of 72 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 12/yr | 11/yr | 31 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 Outagamie County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in May, June and August.
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