Texas County, MO Insulation Payback
Texas County attic insulation, by the numbers
Texas County, Missouri 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. 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 2.5 years at an estimated $1,414/year saved. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
The breakdown behind the number
Split it out and it's roughly $1,212 a year on the heating side, $202 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Texas County lands in the 47th percentile nationally. Zone 4 alone covers 825 counties in this dataset, and Texas County comes in 359th by savings. Missouri averages $1,534/year across the counties tracked here; Texas County comes in 8% lower.
Where these numbers come from
Texas County's climate figures — 4,532 heating and 1,256 cooling degree days a year — are read from HOUSTON, MO US, 0.3 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. By total degree days, Texas County sits at the 47th percentile nationally. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Texas County sits in moisture regime A (humid), which can affect the vapor-barrier choice.
If the attic isn't bare
If Texas 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 $206/year — payback about 11.1 years. Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Next steps for a Texas 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 Texas County's estimated $1,414/year on the line.
Where these figures come from
Texas 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.