Monroe County, IN Insulation Payback
Monroe County attic insulation, by the numbers
Monroe County, Indiana is zone 4 under DOE's climate map (Mixed-Humid), which means real heating and real cooling seasons both, roughly balanced across the year. An uninsulated attic there should be built 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 $1,584 a year — payback in roughly 2.2 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Where the savings come from
Split it out and it's roughly $1,412 a year on the heating side, $172 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Monroe County lands in the 59th percentile nationally. Zone 4 alone covers 825 counties in this dataset, and Monroe County comes in 65th by savings. Indiana averages $1,634/year across the counties tracked here; Monroe County comes in 3% lower.
Monroe County's actual weather, not a national average
NOAA's BLOOMINGTON INDIANA UNIV, IN US station, 0.9 miles from Monroe County, supplies the 5,281 HDD and 1,069 CDD this estimate runs on. Combined heating and cooling load puts Monroe County in the 59th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Monroe 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 $231/year saved (~9.9-year payback). Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Next steps for a Monroe County attic
Actual quotes will vary by attic access, existing debris, and whether the job needs air sealing first. Treat the $3,480 figure above as a planning number for Monroe County, not a bid - contractors typically charge a $600 minimum regardless of job size.
Where these figures come from
Monroe 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.