Furnace replacement cost: what owners paid
When owners hired someone for a furnace or other heating equipment, the middle half paid $3,000 to $7,500 and the typical job cost $5,000. Counting do-it-yourself jobs, the typical job was $4,700.
What owners paid
$5,000
The typical job when owners hired it out. The middle half paid $3,000 to $7,500.
Every job, do-it-yourself included: $4,700 typical.
Hired out, by home size: the typical job and the middle half
- Under 1,500 sq ft$4,000$2,200 to $6,300
- 1,500 to 2,499 sq ft$5,000$3,100 to $7,600
- 2,500 sq ft or more$5,900$3,500 to $9,000
Lowest big metro, $3,200: Dallas. Highest, $8,000: Boston and Phoenix.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey 2023, the latest release: work owners did in about 2021–2023. Our percentiles from the survey’s public use file, checked October 11, 2026.
When owners hired the work out
86% of these jobs were hired out. Each bar runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile of what those owners paid, so half of the jobs sit inside it; the tick is the median.
- United States$5,000$3,000–$7,500
- Boston$8,000$5,000–$14,000
- Phoenix$8,000$3,500–$12,000
- San Francisco$6,400$3,500–$10,200
- Seattle$6,400$3,800–$14,000
- Los Angeles$6,000$3,500–$8,000
- Washington DC$6,000$2,500–$10,000
- Riverside$5,900$3,200–$10,000
- Philadelphia$5,200$2,500–$8,000
- Houston$5,100$3,100–$6,500
- Atlanta$4,500$3,000–$5,700
- New York City$4,500$2,000–$8,000
- Chicago$4,000$3,000–$6,000
- Detroit$4,000$2,200–$6,000
- Dallas$3,200$2,000–$6,000
A metro is shown when at least 30 hired-out jobs in the survey sample stand behind it.
The hired-out figures as a table, with margins of error
Scroll the table sideways to see every column on a small screen.
| Homes | Sample jobs | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Every home size | 1,591 | $3,000 ±$0* | $5,000 ±$0* | $7,500 ±$678 |
| Under 1,500 sq ft | 408 | $2,200 ±$550 | $4,000 ±$448 | $6,300 ±$600 |
| 1,500 to 2,499 sq ft | 665 | $3,100 ±$331 | $5,000 ±$113 | $7,600 ±$599 |
| 2,500 sq ft or more | 461 | $3,500 ±$868 | $5,900 ±$831 | $9,000 ±$1,736 |
| Boston | 88 | $5,000 ±$1,154 | $8,000 ±$1,783 | $14,000 ±$5,910 |
| Phoenix | 58 | $3,500 ±$1,637 | $8,000 ±$1,840 | $12,000 ±$1,216 |
| San Francisco | 61 | $3,500 ±$1,663 | $6,400 ±$752 | $10,200 ±$2,192 |
| Seattle | 81 | $3,800 ±$1,023 | $6,400 ±$1,585 | $14,000 ±$3,433 |
| Los Angeles | 33 | $3,500 ±$1,699 | $6,000 ±$1,406 | $8,000 ±$976 |
| Washington DC | 97 | $2,500 ±$1,893 | $6,000 ±$752 | $10,000 ±$2,382 |
| Riverside | 42 | $3,200 ±$2,047 | $5,900 ±$2,056 | $10,000 ±$5,216 |
| Philadelphia | 78 | $2,500 ±$1,049 | $5,200 ±$1,146 | $8,000 ±$1,567 |
| Houston | 55 | $3,100 ±$1,421 | $5,100 ±$326 | $6,500 ±$1,107 |
| Atlanta | 48 | $3,000 ±$805 | $4,500 ±$999 | $5,700 ±$1,037 |
| New York City | 65 | $2,000 ±$875 | $4,500 ±$1,564 | $8,000 ±$3,721 |
| Chicago | 98 | $3,000 ±$173 | $4,000 ±$0* | $6,000 ±$991 |
| Detroit | 75 | $2,200 ±$679 | $4,000 ±$707 | $6,000 ±$686 |
| Dallas | 45 | $2,000 ±$747 | $3,200 ±$1,787 | $6,000 ±$936 |
* A margin of $0 means every replicate estimate landed on the same round figure: owners tend to report round amounts such as $10,000.
What these figures cover: Built-in heating equipment added or replaced, such as a furnace or boiler, as the Census survey asks it: every house size and fuel together. Central air conditioning is counted on its own.
How these figures are made: from the Census Bureau's 2023 American Housing Survey public use file, each job counted with its survey weight and a 90% margin of error from the survey's replicate weights. A job is hired out when the owners said someone outside the household did most of the work. The public file rounds costs.
What moves the price
- Fuel and type: a gas, electric or oil furnace, or a boiler.
- The heating capacity (BTU) sized to the house, and the efficiency rating (AFUE).
- Venting: a high-efficiency gas furnace vents through plastic pipe and needs a condensate drain, so replacing an older furnace can change the venting.
- Gas line, electrical and thermostat changes, and the duct connections that fit the new cabinet.
- Removing the old unit, the permit and the start-up check.
Before you compare quotes
Ask every contractor to price the same scope, in writing. Do the quotes name the same equipment (fuel, BTU, AFUE, model), the same venting and gas line work, and include removal and the permit?
Put the quotes side by side in the quote worksheet, or keep every price for the project in a budget worksheet.