Clatsop County, OR Insulation Payback
Clatsop County attic insulation, by the numbers
Clatsop County sits in IECC climate zone 4 (Marine) — temperate and damp most of the year, with neither heating nor cooling asking for much. For a currently uninsulated attic, DOE and ENERGY STAR recommend building up to R-60. For an attic around 1,000 square feet, closing the gap from R-2 to R-60 costs around $3,480 and saves an estimated $1,301 a year — payback in roughly 2.7 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Where the savings come from
Split it out and it's roughly $1,299 a year on the heating side, $2 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Clatsop County lands in the 39th percentile nationally. Zone 4 alone covers 825 counties in this dataset, and Clatsop County comes in 577th by savings. Oregon averages $1,557/year across the counties tracked here; Clatsop County comes in 16% lower.
Where these numbers come from
The heating and cooling degree days behind this estimate — 4,858 HDD and 12 CDD (base 65°F, 1991-2020 normals) — come from SEASIDE, OR US, the nearest NOAA station with published normals, 10.8 miles from Clatsop County's center. That combined heating-and-cooling load ranks Clatsop County 2468th nationally by total degree days — the 22th percentile. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Clatsop County sits in moisture regime C (marine), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
If the attic isn't bare
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 $190/year saved (~12-year payback). Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Getting it done in Clatsop 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 Clatsop County's estimated $1,301/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Clatsop 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.