Clark County, WI Insulation Payback
Clark County attic insulation, by the numbers
Clark County, Wisconsin is zone 6 under DOE's climate map (Cold), which means cold enough that heating, not cooling, is what decides the bill. An uninsulated attic there should be built up to R-60. Topping up a typical 1,000-square-foot attic from bare joists (R-2) to R-60 runs an estimated $3,480, and saves about $2,241 a year in heating and cooling — a payback around 1.6 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Heating vs. cooling in Clark County
Split it out and it's roughly $2,177 a year on the heating side, $64 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Clark County lands in the 91th percentile nationally. Zone 6 alone covers 459 counties in this dataset, and Clark County comes in 150th by savings. Wisconsin averages $2,200/year across the counties tracked here; Clark County comes in 2% higher.
The climate data behind this
Clark County's climate figures — 8,143 heating and 396 cooling degree days a year — are read from NEILLSVILLE 3ESE, WI US, 14.4 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. By total degree days, Clark County sits at the 91th percentile nationally. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Clark County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
The smaller top-up scenario
A shallower starting point changes the math: with R-11 already down, only the gap to R-49 needs filling, at roughly $2,280 for an estimated $327/year saved (~7-year payback). Worth doing on the numbers alone.
Getting it done in Clark County
Get more than one quote before committing. Attic access and any needed air sealing move the price around, and most contractors won't take a job below roughly $600 regardless of size - worth asking upfront given Clark County's estimated $2,241/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Clark County's R-60 target and its degree-day figures both come from named federal sources - see the methodology guide for exactly which ones. The guide to what R-value actually means explains why R-60 is the target here specifically.