Winter Home Emergency Index · 2026 edition
St. Louis, MO: 5th of 100 for winter heat and burst-pipe searches
St. Louis has 35.7 typical December–February searches for furnace, frozen-pipe and emergency plumber help per 1,000 households, 2.9x the median city (12.3). That's 2.21x what its normal winter cold predicts, 6th of 99 cities on this measure.
Ranking check: Not confirmed. St. Louis ranks 5th on households inside city limits but 37th on metro population. Its city limits hold 10% of the metro's people, so the city-limits figure may overstate it. How the check works
Winter in St. Louis
- Search demand typically peaks in January, when it runs 2.28x the city's yearly average.
- 11% of winter searches are for urgent problems: burst or frozen pipes, no heat, emergency furnace repair.
- Emergency plumber searches add up to about 22.7 per 1,000 households a year.
- A normal December–February brings 2,698 heating degree days at Cahokia St. Louis Downtown Airport.
Homes in St. Louis
- The median home was built in 1938.
- 86% of homes were built before 1980.
- 68% of households heat with gas and 30% with electricity.
- 45% of households own their home.
- 144,450 households in city limits (ACS 2023).
St. Louis ranks 15th in the Summer AC Emergency Index. See St. Louis's summer page.
About these numbers
Search demand from Google Ads, Oct 2022 to Sep 2026, for 30 heating and plumbing terms. Each month uses the median of that calendar month across four years. "St. Louis" is the location as Google Ads defines it; households are city limits. This measures searches, not breakdowns or claims. Full methodology.
Cite: Home Stats Data, "St. Louis, MO ranks 5th of 100 for winter heat and burst-pipe searches," October 24, 2026, https://homestatsdata.com/plumbing/frozen-pipe-statistics/st-louis-mo/