Pinellas County has 520,107 housing units, and the 1970s built more of them than any other decade: 25.4%, 132,191 homes. The 1960s added 13.3%, so 38.7% of the county comes from the 1960s and 70s, and the median year built is 1977. 58.8% was built before 1980, 3.5% before 1940 and 12.5% since 2000, and 17.6% of units are vacant or seasonal.
48.0% of the county’s units are detached houses, 6.0% attached villas and townhouses, 11.0% sit in buildings of fifty units or more and 9.0% are manufactured homes, 46,813 of them. 69.5% of the 428,473 occupied homes are owner-occupied.
Pinellas is a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay, the most densely populated county in Florida and mostly built out. It separated from Hillsborough in 1912, but most of its housing came with the growth after World War II; by 1957 Clearwater was America’s fastest growing city. Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor and Dunedin lie toward the north end and St. Petersburg toward the south. Five of the nine towns below have a page of their own that carries the detail; the other four are covered here.
The Pinellas County towns we work in
The towns with a page of their own are linked; each of those pages carries that town’s own figures and its electric company.
- Clearwater — the county seat, where 18.2% of units are in buildings of fifty or more and only 38.1% are detached.
- Dunedin — 29.9% of homes date from the 1970s, 11.0% are manufactured, and the median owner-occupied home is worth $396,000.
- Largo — 26.1% of its units are manufactured homes, 12,198 of them, and only 29.5% are detached houses.
- Palm Harbor — an unincorporated community where 46.4% of homes date from the 1980s and the median year is 1985.
- Pinellas Park — 31.7% of homes date from the 1970s, 15.3% are manufactured, and 52.4% are detached houses.
- Safety Harbor — 48.8% of homes date from the 1980s, 65.9% are detached houses and 83.9% of occupied homes are owner-occupied.
- Seminole — 45.1% of homes date from the 1960s and 70s, only 41.0% are detached, and 13.0% are manufactured homes.
- St. Petersburg — the largest city: a 1969 median year, 28.0% of homes from the 1940s and 50s and 70.1% built before 1980.
- Tarpon Springs — the county’s first incorporated city, with 5.5% of homes from 1939 or earlier and 43.2% from the 1980s and 90s.
Our estimate also reaches nearby Bardmoor, Bay Pines, Belleair, East Lake, Feather Sound, Greenbriar, Gulfport, Harbor Bluffs, Kenneth City, Lealman, Oldsmar, Ridgecrest and South Highpoint, and the beaches, where St. Pete Beach is mostly condos whose associations own the roof and the walls.
The houses across Pinellas County
Among the oldest houses are wood-frame cottages and bungalows standing on piers, with a vented crawl space underneath, no insulation in the walls and a low attic over a ceiling that may hold little or nothing. St. Petersburg is 9.0% pre-1940 and Tarpon Springs 5.5%. Central air arrived decades later, with the air handler in a closet and flex ducts through the attic. The work starts at the attic floor: seal it, then blow it. The crawl space stays vented and dry, and foam never goes against soil.
The 1960s and 70s make the largest era, 38.7% of the county, and its house is the block ranch. Those decades are 47.6% of Largo, 46.2% of Pinellas Park, 45.7% of Dunedin, 45.1% of Seminole and 39.8% of Clearwater, and the 1950s built 22.6% of St. Petersburg. The pattern repeats: a slab, stucco over block, a shallow attic with a thin layer of settled fill and flex ducts lying across it. These houses leak through the open cores at the top of the block wall, the kitchen soffit chase, bath fans, recessed lights and the hatch. We seal those and blow the attic to R-38 or more; block walls take interior rigid foam only in a remodel with the drywall off.
The 1980s and 90s built 61.3% of Safety Harbor, 60.6% of Palm Harbor and 43.2% of Tarpon Springs, against 28.7% for the county, and their subdivision houses set the pattern. Truss roofs give them taller attics, and the fiberglass is R-19 to R-30. The air handler is in the garage or, often, in the attic with the ducts. Their leaks are recessed lights, pull-down stairs, vaulted ceilings and bonus rooms over garages. Seal the ceiling plane and the equipment platform, then top up toward ENERGY STAR’s R-49, or consider a sealed attic where the equipment lives in the attic.
Pinellas is also a county of buildings. 11.0% of its units are in buildings of fifty or more, 18.2% in Clearwater, 11.8% in St. Petersburg and 11.6% in Seminole, and where one roof covers several units, an association or a landlord decides. Manufactured homes are 9.0% of the county, 26.1% of Largo, 15.3% of Pinellas Park and 13.0% of Seminole; they follow the federal HUD code, not the Florida Building Code, carry their insulation in the belly and the roof cavity and are closed to Duke’s attic rebate. In a manufactured home the decision belongs to the owner or, where the land is leased, to the park; ask us at the estimate.
Since 2000 the county has added 12.5% of its housing; the share is 18.0% in Seminole and 17.2% in Tarpon Springs. The houses among them are not old: their ceilings hold fiberglass at builder depth under ducts that often run through the attic, and the work is sealing that ceiling plane and topping it up.
We seal before we insulate
Across Pinellas the same rule holds in every house: insulation slows heat passing through a material, and it does nothing about air moving through a gap. The gaps let attic air and humidity into houses that run air conditioning most of the year.
The order of work starts at the top of the wall and the ceiling plane: the open cores in the top course of a block wall, the kitchen soffit chase, bath fans, recessed lights, the hatch or pull-down stair, the plumbing walls, the duct-boot seams and the closet or platform around the air handler. In a bungalow it starts at the attic floor. The depth goes in once the leaks are closed. We seal any duct leaks we see in the attic; replacing ducts and other duct repairs go to an air-conditioning contractor.
If a quote specifies a depth of insulation and never mentions air sealing, it is half a job.
What insulation costs in Pinellas County
Most of our projects run between $3,500 and $12,500. Quotes across Pinellas follow the attic’s size and pitch, how shallow it is, how much old fill is in the way, whether the air handler and ducts sit in the attic and whether the answer is a blanket on the ceiling or a sealed attic at the roof deck, plus the oddities: a bungalow’s low attic, a Florida room with no attic, block walls open for a remodel. The insulation cost guide gives the general picture across these house types.
Open-cell spray foam runs R-3.9 to R-4.2 per inch and is vapor permeable, so moisture can move through it. Closed-cell spray foam runs R-6.9 to R-7.1 per inch, passes much less vapor, and costs more per inch because it uses more material. Neither foam is required to be a vapor retarder in Florida; the code’s Class II vapor-retarder rule for sealed attics applies only in Climate Zones 5 through 8.
Across the county, ENERGY STAR’s Zone 2 modeled averages put the savings from sealing and insulating at 6% of total energy costs and 9% of heating and cooling costs.
Insulation rebates in Pinellas County
Most Pinellas homes are on Duke Energy Florida; some, including Oldsmar, are on Tampa Electric. The bill settles it. Duke’s own filing names St. Petersburg and Clearwater; for the other seven towns no utility publishes a street list, so the electric bill is how you tell. Gas has no insulation rebate anywhere in the county.
If your bill says Duke Energy, the attic insulation rebate is Duke’s, for single-family homes only, and it starts with a free Home Energy Check within the last 24 months. The tiers are “$0.25 per square foot (up to $600)” for bringing insulation from R-19 or less to a minimum of R-38, “$0.27 per square foot (up to $700)” from R-12 or less and “$0.31 per square foot (up to $800)” for attics starting at R-2 or less. The conditions: existing insulation averaging R-19 or less, whole-house cooling or electric heat, no earlier use of the program, and no manufactured homes. Duke requires “one of our pre-qualified contractors,” the instant rebate is applied directly to the invoice, and a free compliance inspection follows.
If your bill says Tampa Electric, the program is its ceiling insulation rebate: “Rebate Amount: $0.16 per square foot per R-11 insulation installed.” A Tampa Electric energy analyst inspects the attic before anything is done, and the homeowner gets “a rebate certificate that is valid for one year and a list of approved contractors that can perform the installation.” Where a contractor installs, the rule reads: “The contractor will deduct the rebate from the total amount of the invoice.” The application is due within 90 days after installation. Tampa Electric’s program rules filed with the state add three conditions: electric whole-house air conditioning or heat, at least R-11 added in R-11 steps with a finished attic of R-30 or more (R-20 or more with spray foam), and no earlier use of the program.
Contractor rules differ between the utilities: Duke requires one of its pre-qualified contractors for the rebate, and Tampa Electric’s rebate comes off the invoice of a contractor on its list or is applied to insulation the owner installs. Ask any installer, including us, whether they are on the list before you sign. No federal homeowner tax credit applies to insulation installed in 2026; the 25C credit ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, and a contractor still advertising it is wrong. HEEHR and HOMES, the federally funded home energy rebates in Florida, are not available. The Florida rebate guide goes through each program in detail.
Code and climate in Pinellas County
58.8% of Pinellas County’s housing was built before 1980, from 70.1% in St. Petersburg to 28.6% in Palm Harbor, and 87.5% before 2000. The county is in Climate Zone 2A, warm-humid, like Hillsborough and Pasco. It follows the Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation, 8th Edition (2023), in force statewide since December 31, 2023. Counties write no energy code of their own, so every Pinellas city and the unincorporated areas share it.
Florida’s energy code sets minimums for new homes and major renovations. Adding insulation to an existing attic is your choice; the code does not require it. Reroofing alone generally does not trigger a new insulation requirement under Florida’s energy code; your building department has the final word. For attics already in service, ENERGY STAR recommends R-49 in an uninsulated Zone 2 attic and R-38 on top of 3-4 inches; the code’s R-38 minimum belongs to new homes only. Florida’s 9th Edition (2026) code is scheduled to take effect December 31, 2026.
What the code does spell out is new work. On the prescriptive path, a new home or addition needs R-38 in the ceiling, R-13 in wood-frame walls and raised floors, R-0 under a slab, R-4 or R-6 in concrete-block walls (R-4 when most of the insulation is outside the block, R-6 when most is inside), windows at U-0.40 and SHGC 0.25, and R-8 on ducts in an unconditioned attic. A blower-door test at no more than 7 ACH50 is part of every new home, with the report going to the building official before the certificate of occupancy, and a home that tests under 3 ACH50 needs whole-house mechanical ventilation. The prescriptive form’s line “Air handling units are not allowed in attics” applies only to new work on the prescriptive path, not to existing attics.
On the roof side, the Florida residential code (R806.5) allows an unvented attic; among its conditions, the attic has to sit wholly inside the thermal envelope, with no Class I vapor retarder on the ceiling side. A 2025 state statute gives new construction a route of its own that is never a retrofit rule. A December 2024 Florida Solar Energy Center review for the state found mixed results on moisture and energy use in sealed attics. The Florida research it found covered open-cell foam only, and the hot-humid studies agreed roof-wood moisture stayed at acceptable levels with open-cell foam on the roof sheathing; that is a finding about studies, and it promises nothing for any one house. Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas all sit outside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, which covers only Miami-Dade and Broward.
Permit rules vary by county and city; ask your building department, or ask us when we quote. Florida requires termite protection on new homes, and foam should not touch the soil outside.
Checked against the Florida Building Commission and the code text on October 28, 2026.
Common questions about insulation in Pinellas County
Do you install insulation in Pinellas County, FL?
Yes. We insulate houses across Pinellas County: bungalows in St. Petersburg and Tarpon Springs, the block ranches of Largo, Pinellas Park, Dunedin and Seminole, and the 1980s subdivision houses of Palm Harbor and Safety Harbor, sealing the air leaks first. Condo, villa and apartment buildings belong to their associations and owners, and manufactured homes to their owners or parks, so that work starts with them. Ask us at the estimate.
How much does insulation cost in Pinellas County?
Most of our projects run between $3,500 and $12,500. In a bungalow the number follows how low and tight the attic is; in a block ranch, the shallow attic, the old fill and the flex ducts across it; in a house of the 1980s, the decade that built 46.4% of Palm Harbor and 48.8% of Safety Harbor, how much attic sits over the bonus room and whether the air handler up there calls for a sealed attic. A flat-roof Florida room with no attic gets its own line on the quote. Prices come in writing after a free walk-through that no utility program is part of.
Are there insulation rebates in Pinellas County?
Yes, and the electric company on the bill sets which program applies. Duke Energy Florida’s attic rebate starts with its free Home Energy Check and is paid on work by a contractor on Duke’s pre-qualified list. Tampa Electric’s ceiling rebate starts with an attic inspection, pays $0.16 per square foot per R-11 insulation installed, and is taken off a listed contractor’s invoice or applied to insulation the owner installs. Ask any installer, including us, whether they are on the list before you sign. No federal homeowner tax credit covers insulation installed in 2026, and Florida’s federally funded home energy rebates are not available.
Which utility do I have in Pinellas County?
Most Pinellas homes are on Duke Energy Florida; some, including Oldsmar, are on Tampa Electric. The bill settles it. Duke’s own filing names St. Petersburg and Clearwater, and for the seven other towns no utility publishes a street list. Gas is a separate bill and has no insulation rebate: Peoples Gas names Clearwater, Largo, Pinellas Park, Seminole and St. Petersburg, and the City of Clearwater runs its own gas system.
Free estimate in Pinellas County
Our free estimate is our own walk-through, apart from any utility program and no route to a rebate. In a bungalow we start at the attic floor and the crawl vents; in a block ranch at the hatch, the tops of the block walls and the closet air handler; in a 1980s house at the recessed lights, the pull-down stair and the equipment platform; in a manufactured home we ask first who decides, the owner or the park. The scope and the price come to you in writing.
Call 914-554-2289 or use the contact form. Our Florida branch covers Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties. The Home Insulators is a family-owned company that has been insulating homes in the Northeast since 2015. Our own crew does the work and we never subcontract it.
Get my free estimateor call 914-554-2289, 8am–8pm every day