Tarboro, NC
2 miles northwest
Median home built 1974 (Princeville: 1998); Power from its own town system (Princeville: Duke Energy Progress)
Attic insulation in TarboroAttic Insulation in Princeville, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Princeville, NC, 2 miles from Tarboro, plus removal and air sealing.
About Princeville and Its Homes
Princeville began in 1865 as Freedom Hill, settled by freed people on low ground across the Tar River from Tarboro. Its 1885 charter made it the first incorporated, self-governing all-Black town in the United States, and floods, with the demolitions that followed, have since claimed most of the older houses recorded there.
Princeville, in Edgecombe County, grew from 1,270 people in 2020 to 1,286 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 1.51 square miles. That makes Princeville the second-largest town in Edgecombe County.
Princeville has about 720 housing units, 3 percent of Edgecombe County's.
Princeville at a Glance
- County: Edgecombe County
- Population: 1,286 (2025), 1,270 (2020), up 1.3%
- Land area: 1.51 square miles (852 people each)
- Housing units: about 720 (±129)
- Median year built: 1998 (±4); Edgecombe County: 1978
- Owner-occupied: 66% (±13); Edgecombe County: 61%
- Detached houses: 36% (±8); Edgecombe County: 65%
- Apartments: 14% (±8)
- Mobile homes: 50% (±12)
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for Princeville attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Princeville, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Princeville Homes and Their Attics
Older Houses Lost to the Tar River
The Tar River flooded Princeville in 1919, 1924, 1940 and 1958, and the dike built in 1965 failed against Hurricane Floyd's floodwater in 1999. The 2023 county survey found that 67 of the 84 houses recorded in earlier surveys were gone, and most of the 17 left had vinyl siding and replacement windows. The Census table on this page shows where things stand now: 1970 or later is when most Princeville homes were built. A newer face on an old house tells you nothing about the space above its ceilings, so that attic gets a look of its own. Stained or damp insulation there points to a roof leak, which ENERGY STAR says is fixed before any insulating.
Electric Lines Strung in 1922
After a bond vote in 1921, Princeville got electric service in 1922, with a line of lights run into the residential part of town, the county survey records. So a house left from the town's early decades was not wired before 1922, and wiring from the 1920s falls in the period before 1930 that ENERGY STAR ties to knob-and-tube. That wiring can start a fire when insulation covers it. An electrician looks at any old runs in the attic before we add insulation around them.
Attic Insulation in Princeville
About 20 percent of Princeville's homes predate 1970; if your joists show above the insulation, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
The Local Climate
Princeville's center sits about 30 feet above sea level, under a mile from NOAA's Tarboro 1 S station, the best match for Princeville. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 3,320 heating and 1,690 cooling degree days a year, so at Princeville's station, heating needs outweigh cooling.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
About 36 percent of Princeville housing units are detached single-family houses, about 50 percent mobile homes. With about 720 housing units in Princeville, read the figures as rough proportions.
Built from 1940 to 1969, about 20 percent of Princeville homes often have little insulation. Built from 1970 to 1989, 13 percent of Princeville homes may hold settled fiberglass; check its depth against the joists.
About 30 percent of Princeville's housing units predate 1980; nearly all predate the state's 1978 insulation rule too.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: under 2%
- 1940s: under 9%, about 30 units
- 1950s: 7% (±6), about 55 units
- 1960s: under 13%, about 45 units
- 1970s: 10% (±4), about 75 units
- 1980s: under 6%, about 25 units
- 1990s: 25% (±11), about 175 units
- 2000s: 42% (±9), about 300 units
- 2010s: 3% (±2), about 20 units
- 2020 or later: under 2%
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Princeville
In Princeville, about 74 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: 74% (±11), about 420 households; Edgecombe County: 60%
- Piped gas: 2% (±2), about 15 households
- Bottled or tank gas: 19% (±8), about 110 households
- Oil or kerosene: under 7%, about 15 households
Power, Gas and Rebates
Duke Energy Progress serves most of Princeville, Edgecombe-Martin County EMC its edges; your bill says which. For gas, Princeville is in the Edgecombe County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, whose mains may not reach every street in Princeville. Duke's free House Call fits many Princeville homes: about 74 percent heat with electricity. Bottled or tank gas, bought by the delivery, heats about 19 percent of homes in Princeville.
Rebate to check in Princeville: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in Princeville, check its current terms; the Edgecombe County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Princeville
In a Princeville attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Princeville attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Princeville
Nearest to Princeville first.
Conetoe, NC
6 miles southeast
201 people, about a sixth of Princeville's population
Attic insulation in ConetoeSpeed, NC
7 miles northeast
66 people, under a tenth of Princeville's population
Attic insulation in SpeedLeggett, NC
8 miles north
37 people, under a tenth of Princeville's population
Attic insulation in Leggett
Princeville Insulation FAQs
Could my Princeville house be a listed historic building?
No house here is listed, by the state's records. The town's one National Register listing is its old schoolhouse, built between 1935 and 1940 and listed in 2001. The 2023 county survey proposed the community cemetery for the state study list, not any house. Edgecombe's lone local preservation commission, on the 2023 state roster, belongs to Tarboro. So no historic rule stands in the way of attic work on a house here.
Can insulation be blown over the ceiling lights in a newer Princeville home?
Only over fixtures made for it. If your house went up after the 1999 flood, it may have recessed can lights in the ceiling. ENERGY STAR says insulation stays 3 inches back from a can unless the fixture is IC-rated, which means it is built for insulation contact. The cans are also common leak points into the attic. We read each fixture's label from the attic side before deciding what can be covered.
Does attic insulation in Princeville need a permit?
Princeville Town Hall can say whether Edgecombe County Planning & Inspections, the town itself or another office handles permits in Princeville; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Power from Duke Energy Progress: high summer electric bills and home energy audits
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Princeville, NOAA normals for the Tarboro 1 S station, Duke Energy Progress (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Princeville notes and questions (read October 2026):
- Princeville, in The North Carolina Gazetteer (William S. Powell, 2nd ed., UNC Press 2010), NCpedia
- Edgecombe County Architectural Survey Update, Final Report, MdM Historical Consultants, 2023 (NC HPO)
- Year Structure Built, Princeville town (ACS 2024 5-year, table B25034), Census Reporter
- Attic Insulation 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)
- Attic Air Sealing Project, ENERGY STAR
- Freedom Hill (E-97), North Carolina Highway Historical Marker essay (NC DNCR)
Princeville, NC
Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)Serving Princeville, NC
Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Princeville and the rest of Edgecombe County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Princeville attic, or call (336) 870-3893.