San Miguel County, NM Insulation Payback
San Miguel County attic insulation, by the numbers
San Miguel County, New Mexico is zone 5 under DOE's climate map (Cold), which means winters that dominate the energy bill, with cooling a minor factor. An uninsulated attic there should be built up to R-60. Going from R-2 to the recommended R-60 costs roughly $3,480 installed for a typical attic (about 1,000 sq ft), and pays for itself in about 2.2 years at an estimated $1,579/year saved. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
The breakdown behind the number
Split it out and it's roughly $1,528 a year on the heating side, $51 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, San Miguel County lands in the 58th percentile nationally. Zone 5 alone covers 745 counties in this dataset, and San Miguel County comes in 665th by savings. New Mexico averages $1,423/year across the counties tracked here; San Miguel County comes in 11% higher.
The climate data behind this
NOAA's LAS VEGAS MUNI AP, NM US station, 22.6 miles from San Miguel County, supplies the 5,713 HDD and 318 CDD this estimate runs on. Combined heating and cooling load puts San Miguel County in the 52th percentile of this 3,162-county dataset. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: San Miguel County sits in moisture regime B (dry), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
If the attic isn't bare
If San Miguel County's attic already has 3-4 inches of old insulation (about R-11) rather than bare joists, the recommended target drops to R-49. That smaller top-up costs around $2,280 and saves an estimated $230/year — payback about 9.9 years. Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Next steps for a San Miguel County attic
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 San Miguel County's estimated $1,579/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
San Miguel 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.