Insulation in York County

Every jurisdiction we cover in York County

Click a city for its full code, permit and rebate detail.

25 of the 29 publish an energy code edition we could name and 25 of the 29 a required R-value we could read; a blank in this table means the jurisdiction publishes nothing, not that we guessed.

Why the city matters

Maine writes one residential energy code for the whole state, and no town may adopt a different building code (10 M.R.S. 9724), so the attic figure for new work is R-60 in every one of the 29 places we cover in York County. What changes from town to town is the permit desk.

Here, Kittery and Wells require a permit for insulation work. The town pages carry each department's number.

Town by town across York County

• Acton — 2,298 homes, median built 1974, 16% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Alfred — 1,400 homes, median built 1983, 19% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Arundel — 1,803 homes, median built 1992, 6% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Berwick — 3,413 homes, median built 1989, 16% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Biddeford — 10,502 homes, median built 1952, 41% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Buxton — 3,943 homes, median built 1981, 19% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Cornish — 863 homes, median built 1976, 18% before 1940; energy code: not published; permit to insulate: not published.
• Dayton — 872 homes, median built 1990, 14% before 1940; energy code: not published; permit to insulate: not published.
• Eliot — 3,201 homes, median built 1979, 24% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Hollis — 1,944 homes, median built 1977, 20% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Kennebunk — 6,403 homes, median built 1983, 19% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Kennebunkport — 2,907 homes, median built 1982, 13% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Kittery — 5,534 homes, median built 1965, 25% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: yes.
• Lebanon — 2,693 homes, median built 1989, 14% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Limerick — 1,597 homes, median built 1994, 4% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Limington — 1,742 homes, median built 1986, 7% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Lyman — 2,268 homes, median built 1979, 8% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Newfield — 1,170 homes, median built 1977, 10% before 1940; energy code: not published; permit to insulate: not published.
• North Berwick — 2,238 homes, median built 1983, 24% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Ogunquit — 2,093 homes, median built 1978, 20% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Old Orchard Beach — 7,796 homes, median built 1982, 23% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Parsonsfield — 1,081 homes, median built 1977, 25% before 1940; energy code: not published; permit to insulate: not published.
• Saco — 9,869 homes, median built 1982, 22% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Sanford — 10,246 homes, median built 1975, 23% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Shapleigh — 2,060 homes, median built 1980, 11% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• South Berwick — 3,172 homes, median built 1982, 22% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Waterboro — 3,544 homes, median built 1983, 6% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.
• Wells — 9,644 homes, median built 1989, 8% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: yes.
• York — 8,795 homes, median built 1977, 22% before 1940; energy code: Maine code, 2021 IECC; attic R-60 for new work; permit to insulate: not published.

What the towns publish across York County

• Contractor registration: none publish a requirement for contractors to register.
• Existing houses: the energy code reaches work on an existing house in 25 of the 29 (Acton, Alfred, Arundel, Berwick, Biddeford, Buxton, Eliot, Hollis, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport).
• A permit rule for insulation: 2 of the 29 publish one (Kittery and Wells); the rest leave it to a call to the building department.
• Historic districts on record in 15 of the 29: Acton (Great Falls Manufacturing Company Newichawannock Canal Historic District); Alfred (Alfred Historic District and Alfred Shaker Historic District); Biddeford (Biddeford Main Street Historic District, Biddeford-Saco Mills Historic District, Downtown Historic District (local) and Mill Area Historic District (local)); Buxton (Salmon Falls (East) Historic District); Hollis (Salmon Falls (West) Historic District); Kennebunk (Kennebunk Historic District, Lower Alewive Historic District and Kennebunk Historic Preservation Overlay District (local)).

The 29 places here with their own Census row hold 115,091 of York County's 115,091 homes (100%); the rest are in other municipalities or unincorporated areas.

Homes across York County: the Census numbers

York County has 115,091 homes in the Census count, with a median year built of 1980. 50% were built before 1980 and 24% in 2000 or later; the single biggest decade was the years before 1940, with 22,926 homes (20%). Of 91,413 occupied homes, 4% heat with utility gas and 10% with electricity.

Across the 29 places we cover here, Biddeford has the oldest housing (41% before 1940) and Wells the newest (39% built in 2000 or later). Biddeford is the largest, at 10,502 homes, and Kennebunkport has the most electric heat (20%).

Against the three-county metro on this site (287,616 homes), York County's pre-1940 share of 20% compares with 22%, and its electric-heat share of 10% with 13%. 15,118 occupied homes (17%) burn propane or other tank gas and 5,248 (6%) heat with wood, which matters because neither fuel comes with a gas utility's program attached. 77% of occupied homes are owner-occupied and 70% of all homes are single-family detached houses.

In York County that adds up to 22,926 pre-1940 homes, where walls were usually built empty (wall insulation) and a vermiculite check comes first; 29,459 homes from the 1950s to the 1970s, the usual candidates for an attic top-up; 27,337 built since 2000, where air sealing tends to matter more than extra depth.

Figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates (tables B25001, B25003, B25024, B25034, B25035, B25040). Survey estimates carry margins of error, widest in the smallest places. Census table.

What the rebate picture looks like in York County

In York County, 60% of occupied homes heat with fuel oil or kerosene, 17% with propane or other tank gas and 10% with electricity, and 4% utility gas (Census ACS 2020–2024). For York County homeowners the rebate is Efficiency Maine's: $2,000 for each attic, wall or basement zone of 500 square feet or more at any income ($3,000 moderate, $4,000 low income), with $150 to $300 for attic air sealing on top. Only a Residential Registered Vendor can do rebated work, the claim goes in within six months, and a lifetime limit of $8,600 per home applies. Income-qualified households in York County can apply to York County Community Action Corp (207-324-5762) for free weatherization through MaineHousing instead. Every condition is in the rebate guide.

Common questions across York County

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