Cerro Gordo, NC
12 miles north
144 people, under a tenth of Tabor City's population
Attic insulation in Cerro GordoAttic Insulation in Tabor City, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Tabor City, NC, in Columbus County, plus removal and air sealing.
About Tabor City and Its Homes
Tabor City grew from a logging settlement on the South Carolina line: a lumber company tram road arrived in 1883, and trains ran through to Conway by 1887. Incorporated as Tabor in 1905 and renamed in 1935, it became a market for tobacco, strawberries and sweet potatoes.
Tabor City, in Columbus County, grew from 3,877 people in 2020 to 3,886 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 3.36 square miles. That makes Tabor City the second-largest town in Columbus County.
Tabor City has about 1,330 housing units, 6 percent of Columbus County's; about 60 percent of the town's households own their home.
Tabor City at a Glance
- County: Columbus County
- Population: 3,886 (2025), 3,877 (2020), up 0.2%
- Land area: 3.36 square miles (1,157 people each)
- Housing units: about 1,330 (±151)
- Owner-occupied: 60% (±10); Columbus County: 71%
- Detached houses: 67% (±10); Columbus County: 62%
- Attached houses: 5% (±4)
- Apartments: 18% (±7)
- Mobile homes: 11% (±6)
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for Tabor City attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Tabor City, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Tabor City Homes and Their Attics
Electric Lights Came Late to Columbus County
The 2015 nomination for the Tabor City Commercial Historic District notes that in 1896 not one house in Columbus County had running water or electric lights. By 1945 both reached even the most rural corners of the county. So a house from the town's early decades was probably wired after it was built, and the first wiring may date from before 1930, the knob-and-tube years. ENERGY STAR names that wiring as a fire risk when insulation is packed against it. An electrician looks it over before we add insulation, and any circuit still in use stays uncovered.
Attic Insulation in Tabor City
If the joists show above the insulation in a Tabor City attic, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
Built from 1940 to 1969, before the state's 1978 insulation rule, about 45 percent of Tabor City homes often have little insulation.
The Local Climate
Tabor City's center sits about 100 feet above sea level, 18 miles from NOAA's Lumber River State Park station, the best match for Tabor City. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 2,930 heating and 1,720 cooling degree days a year, so at Tabor City's station, heating needs outweigh cooling.
The state energy code marks Columbus County warm and humid.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
About 67 percent of Tabor City housing units are detached single-family houses, about 11 percent mobile homes.
Built from 1970 to 1989, about 20 percent of Tabor City homes may hold settled fiberglass; check its depth against the joists.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: 12% (±7), about 155 units
- 1940s: 18% (±7), about 240 units
- 1950s: 11% (±5), about 145 units
- 1960s: 14% (±7), about 185 units
- 1970s: 16% (±7), about 205 units
- 1980s: 6% (±4), about 75 units
- 1990s: 6% (±4), about 80 units
- 2000s: 14% (±6), about 180 units
- 2010s: 5% (±4), about 65 units
- 2020 or later: under 1%
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Tabor City
In Tabor City, 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% (±6), about 800 households; Columbus County: 76%
- Bottled or tank gas: 24% (±11), about 265 households
Power, Gas and Rebates
Duke Energy Progress serves most of Tabor City, Brunswick Electric its edges; your bill says which. For gas, Tabor City is in the Columbus County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, whose mains may not reach every street in Tabor City. Duke's free House Call fits many Tabor City homes: about 74 percent heat with electricity. Bottled or tank gas, bought by the delivery, heats about 24 percent of homes in Tabor City.
Rebate to check in Tabor City: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in Tabor City, check its current terms; the Columbus County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Tabor City
In a Tabor City attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Tabor City attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Tabor City
Nearest to Tabor City first.
Chadbourn, NC
12 miles north
1,539 people, about a third of Tabor City's population
Attic insulation in ChadbournBrunswick, NC
12 miles northeast
921 people, about a quarter of Tabor City's population
Attic insulation in BrunswickFair Bluff, NC
14 miles northwest
737 people, about a fifth of Tabor City's population
Attic insulation in Fair Bluff
Tabor City Insulation FAQs
Does the Tabor City historic district take in my house?
No. The Tabor City Commercial Historic District, listed in 2015, covers parts of five blocks along the railroad, and its nomination includes only commercial buildings and warehouses. Houses lie outside it. Even inside a district, a National Register listing puts no limits on a private owner working with private money, the state preservation office explains. Nor does Columbus County appear in the state's 2023 list of local commissions.
Is a radiant barrier worth adding to an attic in Tabor City?
Sometimes, and it depends on the attic. The town sits on the level coastal plain, its district nomination notes. Building America research finds a radiant barrier matters most where the attic floor is thinly insulated, and that it spares any ducts up there some summer heat. Once the floor is thickly insulated, there is little heat left for a barrier to stop. The insulation comes first, and that is where we start.
Could the old insulation in a Tabor City attic be vermiculite?
It could: about 40 percent of Tabor City's homes predate 1960. If a Tabor City 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 Tabor City need a permit?
Tabor City Town Hall can say whether Columbus County Building Inspections, the town itself or another office handles permits in Tabor City; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Columbus County is warm and humid by the state energy code: attic condensation and mold and attic ventilation
- Power from Duke Energy Progress: high summer electric bills and home energy audits
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Tabor City, NOAA normals for the Lumber River State Park station, Duke Energy Progress (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Tabor City notes and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- Tabor City, in The North Carolina Gazetteer (William S. Powell, 2nd ed., UNC Press 2010), NCpedia
- Tabor City Commercial Historic District, National Register nomination (NC HPO)
- NC Listings in the National Register of Historic Places, NC State Historic Preservation Office
- What Is 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
- Attic Radiant Barriers, Building America Solution Center (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)
Tabor City, NC
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Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Tabor City and the rest of Columbus County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Tabor City attic, or call (336) 870-3893.