Randolph County, AR Insulation Payback
Randolph County attic insulation, by the numbers
DOE classifies Randolph County as climate zone 3, mixed-humid — heating load in winter and cooling load in summer, both worth taking seriously here. Its recommended attic R-value for bare joists is 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 $1,306 a year — payback in roughly 2.2 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
Heating vs. cooling in Randolph County
Split it out and it's roughly $1,049 a year on the heating side, $257 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Randolph County lands in the 39th percentile nationally. Zone 3 alone covers 690 counties in this dataset, and Randolph County comes in 27th by savings. Arkansas averages $1,185/year across the counties tracked here; Randolph County comes in 10% higher.
Randolph County's actual weather, not a national average
NOAA's POCAHONTAS 1, AR US station, 6.3 miles from Randolph County, supplies the 3,954 HDD and 1,611 CDD this estimate runs on. By total degree days, Randolph County sits at the 41th percentile nationally. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Randolph County sits in moisture regime A (humid), 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-38 needs filling, at roughly $1,620 for an estimated $176/year saved (~9.2-year payback). Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Getting it done in Randolph County
Real bids depend on how easy the attic is to reach and whether old insulation needs removing first, so treat $2,820 as a starting estimate for a Randolph County job, not a quote. Expect at least a $600 minimum charge from most contractors.
Where these figures come from
Randolph 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.