Washington, NC
4 miles northeast
Median home built 1972 (Chocowinity: 1976); 9,910 people, about 13 times Chocowinity's population
Attic insulation in WashingtonAttic Insulation in Chocowinity, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Chocowinity, NC, 4 miles from Washington, plus removal and air sealing.
About Chocowinity and Its Homes
Chocowinity grew at the crossing of the old New Bern and Greenville highways, where Trinity School stood from about 1877 until 1908, near a railroad station later named Marsden. The town was incorporated in 1917, lost its charter in 1947 and was reincorporated in 1959.
Chocowinity, in Beaufort County, fell from 752 people in 2020 to 751 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 1 square mile. That makes Chocowinity the third-largest town in Beaufort County.
Chocowinity has about 450 housing units, 2 percent of Beaufort County's; about 46 percent of the town's households own their home.
Chocowinity at a Glance
- County: Beaufort County
- Population: 751 (2025), 752 (2020), down 0.1%
- Land area: 1 square mile (751 people each)
- Housing units: about 450 (±123)
- Median year built: 1976 (±4); Beaufort County: 1980
- Owner-occupied: 46% (±7); Beaufort County: 70%
- Detached houses: 55% (±7); Beaufort County: 68%
- Apartments: 35% (±11)
- Mobile homes: 10% (±9)
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for Chocowinity attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Chocowinity, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Chocowinity Homes and Their Attics
From School Crossroads to Highway Town
After Trinity School closed in 1908, Chocowinity stayed small, with a few stores, a cotton gin and the railroad. US 17 was paved in 1919, and filling stations went up for its traffic. The first industry, a hardwood lumber company east of the tracks, came in the 1940s and later made furniture until the plant closed in 1997. By the Census counts printed here, homes built before 1970 make up less than half of Chocowinity's housing. In a kitchen from the 1950s through the 1980s, the boxed soffit over the cabinets may be open to the attic. ENERGY STAR advises pushing the insulation back from it, sealing the top and covering it again.
Attic Insulation in Chocowinity
About 35 percent of Chocowinity's homes predate 1970; if your joists show above the insulation, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
The Local Climate
Chocowinity's center sits about 40 feet above sea level, 3 miles from NOAA's Washington Wastewater Plant 4 W station, the best match for Chocowinity. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 2,910 heating and 1,810 cooling degree days a year, so at Chocowinity's station, heating needs outweigh cooling.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
About 55 percent of Chocowinity housing units are detached single-family houses. With about 450 housing units in Chocowinity, read the figures as rough proportions.
Built from 1970 to 1989, about 25 percent of Chocowinity homes may hold settled fiberglass; check its depth against the joists. From 1990 to 2009, about 30 percent of Chocowinity homes were built to codes below ENERGY STAR's target; check their eaves, where ENERGY STAR says insulation is often thinnest.
About 60 percent of Chocowinity's housing units predate 1980; nearly all predate the state's 1978 insulation rule too. About 35 percent of Chocowinity units sit in buildings of two or more homes, where the attic is often shared.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: 8% (±5), about 35 units
- 1940s: 4% (±3), about 20 units
- 1950s: 13% (±12), about 55 units
- 1960s: 12% (±6), about 55 units
- 1970s: 23% (±11), about 105 units
- 1980s: 4% (±4), about 20 units
- 1990s: 13% (±8), about 60 units
- 2000s: 15% (±10), about 65 units
- 2010s: 8% (±5), about 35 units
- 2020 or later: under 3%
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Chocowinity
In Chocowinity, about 76 percent of homes heat with electricity; where that heat is forced air, ducts often run through the attic.
Air sealing comes first, as the EPA advises: wire and pipe holes, wall tops and soffits.
How Homes Here Are Heated
- Electricity: 76% (±10), about 310 households; Beaufort County: 61%
- Bottled or tank gas: 23% (±11), about 95 households
Power, Gas and Rebates
Power in and around Chocowinity comes from Duke Energy Progress and Tideland EMC; your bill says which. For gas, Chocowinity is in the Beaufort County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, whose mains may not reach every street in Chocowinity. Duke's free House Call fits many Chocowinity homes: about 76 percent heat with electricity. Bottled or tank gas, bought by the delivery, heats about 23 percent of homes in Chocowinity.
Rebate to check if Duke Energy Progress serves your Chocowinity home: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in Chocowinity, check its current terms; the Beaufort County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Chocowinity
In a Chocowinity attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Chocowinity attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Chocowinity
Nearest to Chocowinity first.
Washington Park, NC
4 miles east
Median home built 1957 (Chocowinity: 1976); 383 people to Chocowinity's 751
Attic insulation in Washington ParkSimpson, NC
11 miles northwest
Median home built 1983 (Chocowinity: 1976); 409 people to Chocowinity's 751
Attic insulation in SimpsonVanceboro, NC
15 miles south
Its NOAA station logs about 220 fewer heating degree days than Chocowinity's; 877 people to Chocowinity's 751
Attic insulation in Vanceboro
Chocowinity Insulation FAQs
Is my Chocowinity house on the National Register?
No, as the state's records stand. Nothing inside the town is listed, and Trinity Cemetery, listed in 2011, lies just outside it. A short row of houses and two churches along NC 33, west of US 17, was found eligible in 2001. The 2009 county survey still counted that stretch eligible, though no nomination has followed. Nor does the 2023 state roster show a preservation commission for the town.
Our newer house in Chocowinity has recessed ceiling lights. Can insulation cover them?
Only if they are rated IC, for insulation contact. ENERGY STAR says insulation stays at least 3 inches away from recessed cans that are not IC-rated. We check the label or housing on each fixture before blowing insulation across the ceiling. We also keep the soffit vents at the eaves clear, so outside air can still move through the attic.
Could the old insulation in a Chocowinity attic be vermiculite?
It could: about 25 percent of Chocowinity's homes predate 1960. If a Chocowinity attic holds a pebble-like gray-brown or silver-gold fill, leave it undisturbed: the EPA says vermiculite may contain asbestos.
Does attic insulation in Chocowinity need a permit?
Chocowinity Town Hall can say whether Beaufort County Permitting, the town itself or another office handles permits in Chocowinity; ask before work starts.
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Chocowinity, NOAA normals for the Washington Wastewater Plant 4 W station (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Chocowinity notes and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- Chocowinity, in The North Carolina Gazetteer (William S. Powell, 2nd ed., UNC Press 2010), NCpedia
- Phase I Beaufort County Architectural Survey: Municipalities (Circa, Inc., September 2009), listed by the NC HPO as the Beaufort County Municipalities Survey, 2009
- Year Structure Built (table B25034), Chocowinity town, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau via Census Reporter
- Sealing Air Leaks in the Attic, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- NC Listings in the National Register of Historic Places, NC State Historic Preservation Office
- Historic Preservation Commission Staff in North Carolina, listed by county, as of 2/20/2023 (NC HPO)
- Attic Insulation Project, ENERGY STAR
- About Attic Ventilation, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
Chocowinity, NC
Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)Serving Chocowinity, NC
Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Chocowinity and the rest of Beaufort County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Chocowinity attic, or call (336) 870-3893.