Collingsworth County, TX Insulation Payback
Collingsworth County attic insulation, by the numbers
Collingsworth County, Texas is zone 3 under DOE's climate map (Hot-Dry), which means desert-dry heat for much of the year, with the attic taking the brunt of it. An uninsulated attic there should be built up to R-49. For an attic around 1,000 square feet, closing the gap from R-2 to R-49 costs around $2,820 and saves an estimated $1,165 a year — payback in roughly 2.4 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Where the savings come from
Split it out and it's roughly $783 a year on the heating side, $382 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Collingsworth County lands in the 29th percentile nationally. Zone 3 alone covers 690 counties in this dataset, and Collingsworth County comes in 136th by savings. Texas averages $1,035/year across the counties tracked here; Collingsworth County comes in 13% higher.
The climate data behind this
Collingsworth County's climate figures — 2,950 heating and 2,399 cooling degree days a year — are read from WELLINGTON, TX US, 9.1 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. Combined heating and cooling load puts Collingsworth County in the 36th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Collingsworth County sits in moisture regime B (dry), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
The smaller top-up scenario
Already have a few inches up there? Topping R-11 up to R-38 runs about $1,620 for about $157/year saved — roughly 10.3 years to break even. Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Quotes and materials for this job
Actual quotes will vary by attic access, existing debris, and whether the job needs air sealing first. Treat the $2,820 figure above as a planning number for Collingsworth County, not a bid - contractors typically charge a $600 minimum regardless of job size.
Where these figures come from
Collingsworth County's R-49 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-49 is the target here specifically.