Vilas County, Wisconsin · Eagle River
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With 21% of homes built before 1960 and about 110 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
June brings the most downpours to Vilas County, part of 5.6 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Vilas County spike on heavy-rain days, about 5.6 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Vilas County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.01 inches, and about 103 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
40% of occupied homes in Vilas County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Wisconsin county median of 32.9%.
With 0 muggy nights a year, mold in Vilas County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 24,876 homes and around 23,647 residents, Vilas County is 858 square miles of northern Wisconsin. The county seat is Eagle River, and Lac du Flambeau, Sayner and Boulder Junction round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1981.
41/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Vilas County ranks 58 of 72 Wisconsin counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Vilas County ranks highest compared with other Wisconsin counties.
Vilas is on the colder side of Wisconsin for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 110 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 193 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 1st of 72 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 41 days below freezing (ending March 2015), and the low bottomed out near -30°F on January 31, 2019.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs October 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 3 and the last spring freeze around May 25.
Rainfall is about average for Wisconsin. Of roughly 36.1 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 5.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 48th of 72. April, June and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.01 inches, June 12, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.07 inches (through June 18, 2018).
About 103 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
Wisconsin's 72 counties range widely in housing age; Vilas ranks 54th, with 49% of its homes built before 1980.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 21% predate 1960 and 24% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
About 27% 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.
With 55% 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
Vilas County averages 0 warm, muggy nights 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 expectMain heating fuel in Vilas County's occupied homes: 49% utility gas, 10% electric, 35% propane and 5% 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 Vilas 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 any of its neighbors. Iron County has the oldest housing nearby, with 61% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Vilas | Wisconsin median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 21% | 31% | 65 of 72 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 49% | 54% | 54 of 72 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 24% | 21% | 21 of 72 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 6.9% | 4.8% | 19 of 72 |
| Vacant homes | 55% | 12% | 1 of 72 |
| Wood or propane heat | 40% | 33% | 26 of 72 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 110/yr | 73/yr | 1 of 72 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.6/yr | 6.3/yr | 48 of 72 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 103/yr | 94/yr | 5 of 72 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 0/yr | 11/yr | 72 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 Vilas County: freezing from October to April, heavy rain in April, 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