Titus County, TX Insulation Payback
Titus County attic insulation, by the numbers
DOE classifies Titus County as climate zone 3, hot-humid — long, muggy summers and mild winters, where cooling dominates the energy bill. Its recommended attic R-value for bare joists is R-49. Topping up a typical 1,000-square-foot attic from bare joists (R-2) to R-49 runs an estimated $2,820, and saves about $1,073 a year in heating and cooling — a payback around 2.6 years. Topping up the attic pays for itself fast here.
The breakdown behind the number
Split it out and it's roughly $717 a year on the heating side, $357 on cooling. By estimated insulation savings, Titus County lands in the 22th percentile nationally. Zone 3 alone covers 690 counties in this dataset, and Titus County comes in 305th by savings. Texas averages $1,035/year across the counties tracked here; Titus County comes in 4% higher.
Titus County's actual weather, not a national average
Titus County's climate figures — 2,702 heating and 2,237 cooling degree days a year — are read from MT PLEASANT, TX US, 3.9 miles away, NOAA's nearest 1991-2020 normals station. By total degree days, Titus County sits at the 24th percentile nationally. One local detail the R-value alone won't tell you: Titus 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 $145/year saved (~11.2-year payback). Call this borderline rather than a clear win.
Getting it done in Titus 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 Titus County job, not a quote. Expect at least a $600 minimum charge from most contractors.
Where these figures come from
Titus 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.