Sawyer County, Wisconsin · Hayward
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Sawyer County averages 99 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to April, and 23% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 5.5 times a year here, most often in June. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Sawyer County gets about 5.5 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 95 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
65% of occupied homes in Sawyer County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Wisconsin county median of 32.9%.
About 2 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
Sawyer County covers 1,258 square miles of northwest Wisconsin, with about 18,476 residents and 16,250 homes. Hayward is the county seat; Little Round Lake, Chief Lake and New Post are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1985.
41/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Sawyer County ranks 57 of 72 Wisconsin counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Sawyer County ranks highest compared with other Wisconsin counties.
Sawyer is on the colder side of Wisconsin for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 99 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 177 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 7th of 72 counties.
On February 15, 2021 the low fell to about -35°F, and in the stretch ending March 2015 the county went 40 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November to April. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 5 and the last spring freeze around May 15.
Sawyer gets fewer downpours than most Wisconsin counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 34.4 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 August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.05 inches on July 12, 2016. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.18 inches (through June 18, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 95 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
Roughly 44% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Sawyer among the newer housing stocks of Wisconsin's 72 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 28% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
About 29% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
The Census counted 46% 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 2 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Sawyer County homes break down as 23% utility gas, 9% electric, 57% propane and 8% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than in most Wisconsin counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Sawyer County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Ashland gets more pipe-freeze nights than Sawyer. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Ashland County has the oldest housing nearby, with 62% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Sawyer | Wisconsin median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 23% | 31% | 61 of 72 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 44% | 54% | 69 of 72 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 28% | 21% | 5 of 72 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 5.2% | 4.8% | 33 of 72 |
| Vacant homes | 46% | 12% | 5 of 72 |
| Wood or propane heat | 65% | 33% | 2 of 72 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 99/yr | 73/yr | 7 of 72 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.5/yr | 6.3/yr | 49 of 72 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 95/yr | 94/yr | 27 of 72 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 2/yr | 11/yr | 61 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 Sawyer 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