Belville, NC
3 miles east
Median home built 2005 (Leland: 2010); 3,199 people, under a tenth of Leland's population
Attic insulation in BelvilleAttic Insulation in Leland, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Leland, NC, in Brunswick County, plus removal and air sealing.
About Leland and Its Homes
Leland grew from an unnamed 1890s settlement where Village Road crossed the railroad, got its post office in 1898 and became a town only in 1989. The county survey found a few houses left from its railroad decades, the oldest from the 1870s.
Leland, in Brunswick County, grew from 25,145 people in 2020 to 35,731 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 22.3 square miles. No town in Brunswick County has more people than Leland.
Leland has about 14,000 housing units, 14 percent of Brunswick County's; 81 percent of the town's households own their home.
Leland at a Glance
- County: Brunswick County
- Population: 35,731 (2025), 25,145 (2020), up 42.1%
- Land area: 22.3 square miles (1,600 people each)
- Housing units: about 14,000 (±538)
- Median year built: 2010 (±1); Brunswick County: 2002
- Owner-occupied: 81% (±3); Brunswick County: 85%
- Detached houses: 72% (±3); Brunswick County: 69%
- Attached houses: 11% (±2)
- Apartments: 12% (±3)
- Mobile homes: 4% (±2)
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for Leland attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Leland, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Leland Homes and Their Attics
Railroad-Era Houses on Lincoln Road
Rails reached the Leland area early. Work on the Wilmington and Manchester line began in 1849 near the Brunswick River ferry. The 2010 county survey recorded two Gothic Revival houses side by side on Lincoln Road. One is thought built in 1874, its neighbor probably in the 1870s, close to a rail line laid by 1882. In a house that old, the wiring gets checked before any insulation goes down. ENERGY STAR names knob-and-tube wiring, used before about 1930, as a fire hazard when insulation is in contact with it. Have an electrician inspect it first. Insulation stays off any run still in use.
Recessed Lights in the Newer Neighborhoods
Leland voted to incorporate in 1989, after turning the idea down ten years before, and the new town took in land between the Brunswick River and Sturgeon Creek. As this page's housing figures show, most of Leland's homes date from 1970 on. If your ceilings have recessed can lights, each one gets a look from the attic before insulation is blown in. ENERGY STAR warns that insulation against an ordinary can light can cause a fire hazard, while a fixture marked IC, for insulation contact, may be covered. We read the label on every can and set a sheet-metal or mesh barrier around any that are not rated.
Attic Insulation in Leland
If the joists show above the insulation in a Leland attic, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
In 2010 or later, 49 percent of Leland homes went up; check their air sealing as well as the depth.
The Local Climate
Leland's center sits about 20 feet above sea level, 8 miles from NOAA's Wilmington International Airport station, the best match for Leland. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 2,330 heating and 2,130 cooling degree days a year, so Leland attics work in both seasons.
Readings change over short distances around Leland: NOAA's Wilmington 7 N station, 8 miles away, averages about 2,750 heating degree days. The state energy code marks Brunswick County warm and humid.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
Some 72 percent of Leland housing units are detached single-family houses.
From 1990 to 2009, 43 percent of Leland homes were built to codes below ENERGY STAR's target; check their eaves, where ENERGY STAR says insulation is often thinnest.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: 1% (±1), about 80 units
- 1940s: under 1%, about 30 units
- 1950s: 1% (±1), about 100 units
- 1960s: 2% (±1), about 220 units
- 1970s: 3% (±1), about 370 units
- 1980s: 3% (±1), about 350 units
- 1990s: 4% (±1), about 520 units
- 2000s: 39% (±3), about 5,400 units
- 2010s: 37% (±3), about 5,200 units
- 2020 or later: 12% (±3), about 1,750 units
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Leland
In Leland, 88 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: 88% (±2), about 11,600 households; Brunswick County: 87%
- Piped gas: 10% (±2), about 1,270 households
Power, Gas and Rebates
Duke Energy Progress serves most of Leland, Brunswick Electric its edges; your bill says which. For gas, Leland is in the Brunswick County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, and 10 percent of the town's homes heat with piped gas. Duke's free House Call fits many Leland homes: 88 percent heat with electricity.
Rebate to check in Leland: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in Leland, check its current terms; the Brunswick County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Leland
In a Leland attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Leland attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Leland
Nearest to Leland first.
Navassa, NC
4 miles north
1,889 people, under a tenth of Leland's population
Attic insulation in NavassaSandy Creek, NC
8 miles northwest
280 people, under a tenth of Leland's population
Attic insulation in Sandy CreekNorthwest, NC
9 miles northwest
Median home built 1997 (Leland: 2010); 1,096 people, under a tenth of Leland's population
Attic insulation in NorthwestWilmington, NC
9 miles east
Median home built 1989 (Leland: 2010); 126,809 people, about 4 times Leland's population
Insulation contractor serving Wilmington
Leland Insulation FAQs
Why is the bonus room over my Leland garage hard to keep comfortable?
Often because attic surrounds it on several sides. A room over a garage sits partly under the roof, with short knee walls and small side attics around it and the garage beneath. Building America advises air sealing the floor of any living space above a garage and keeping its insulation in full contact with the subfloor. ENERGY STAR counts the cavities under and behind knee walls as frequent sources of attic air leaks. We seal and insulate both. We also insulate garages.
Are any of Leland's old houses on the National Register?
No. Leland has no entry on the state's National Register roster, kept by the Historic Preservation Office. The 2010 county survey recorded several older houses in town, but a survey record is not a listing. Nor does Brunswick County appear on the 2023 state roster of local preservation commissions. So insulating an older Leland house is your own decision, though its wiring and any chimney still get checked first.
Hurricane Florence hit Leland hard in 2018. What should I check in the attic?
Look at the underside of the roof and the insulation just below it. The Weather Service's Florence report lists a 70 mph gust at Leland and flooding that washed out part of Highway 133 south of town. Wind that lifts shingles lets rain in, and the insulation under a leak stays damp. ENERGY STAR says insulation that is wet points to a leaking roof, so that repair comes before anything else. Then we vacuum the soaked layer out of the attic and replace it.
Does attic insulation in Leland need a permit?
Leland Town Hall can say whether Brunswick County Permits & Development, the town itself or another office handles permits in Leland; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Brunswick County is warm and humid by the state energy code: attic condensation and mold and attic ventilation
- Median home built 2010: bonus rooms over garages
- Power from Duke Energy Progress: high summer electric bills
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Leland, NOAA normals for the Wilmington International Airport station, Duke Energy Progress (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Leland notes and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- History, Town of Leland
- Comprehensive Historical/Architectural Site Survey of Brunswick County, North Carolina (Landmark Preservation Associates, September 2010), NC HPO
- Attic Insulation Project, ENERGY STAR
- Year Structure Built (table B25034), Leland town, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau via Census Reporter
- Floor Above Garage, Building America Solution Center (PNNL, U.S. Department of Energy)
- Attic Air Sealing Project, ENERGY STAR
- 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)
- Hurricane Florence, September 14, 2018, event summary, National Weather Service Wilmington
Leland, NC
Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)Serving Leland, NC
Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Leland and the rest of Brunswick County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Leland attic, or call (336) 870-3893.