Insulation cost: what owners paid
When owners hired someone for insulation, the middle half paid $1,300 to $4,000 and the typical job cost $2,500. Counting do-it-yourself jobs, the typical U.S. job was $1,500, and across 6 big metros it ran $1,000 to $2,857.
What owners paid
$2,500
The typical job when owners hired it out. The middle half paid $1,300 to $4,000.
Every job, do-it-yourself included: $1,500 typical.
Hired out, by home size: the typical job and the middle half
- Under 1,500 sq ft$2,000$1,000 to $3,500
- 1,500 to 2,499 sq ft$2,500$1,400 to $4,000
- 2,500 sq ft or more$2,900$2,000 to $5,000
Every job by big metro, do-it-yourself included: lowest $1,000 in Philadelphia, highest $2,857 in New York City and Washington DC.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey 2023, the latest release: work owners did in about 2021–2023. Checked . Hired-out figures: our percentiles from the survey’s public use file.
What Boston insulation permits declared
Boston publishes the cost of the work each applicant declares on a building permit. For permits issued from October 2025 to September 2026, the median declared:
- Boston: $5,800 for insulation on one- and two-family houses (1,163 permits)
This is a declared value, not an invoice; the city’s page says which jobs it counts. Read .
Elsewhere, your own city’s building department may publish its permits too, often with the value of the work declared on each. Read what the city says that figure counts before you set a quote beside it.
When owners hired the work out
55% 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$2,500$1,300–$4,000
- Seattle$4,000$2,000–$6,500
- Washington DC$2,900$1,500–$5,000
- Boston$2,500$1,000–$3,000
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
| Homes | Sample jobs | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Every home size | 528 | $1,300 ±$333 | $2,500 ±$410 | $4,000 ±$813 |
| Under 1,500 sq ft | 129 | $1,000 ±$245 | $2,000 ±$231 | $3,500 ±$525 |
| 1,500 to 2,499 sq ft | 228 | $1,400 ±$527 | $2,500 ±$494 | $4,000 ±$1,415 |
| 2,500 sq ft or more | 157 | $2,000 ±$556 | $2,900 ±$167 | $5,000 ±$456 |
| Seattle | 37 | $2,000 ±$935 | $4,000 ±$1,713 | $6,500 ±$3,390 |
| Washington DC | 34 | $1,500 ±$618 | $2,900 ±$757 | $5,000 ±$2,656 |
| Boston | 43 | $1,000 ±$690 | $2,500 ±$663 | $3,000 ±$909 |
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. Leaving out do-it-yourself jobs is why these figures usually sit above the every-job medians in the Census table below. The public file also rounds costs, so its every-job median can differ a little from the published one.
Every job in each big metro, do-it-yourself included
The typical (median) job in each of the survey's 15 metro areas, highest first, from the Census Bureau's published table. The margin of error is the Census Bureau's 90% range around each median.
No published figure: Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, Riverside, San Francisco, Seattle.
What these figures cover: Adding or replacing insulation anywhere in the house: attic, walls or floors.
The figures as a table, with margins of error
Scroll the table sideways to see every column on a small screen.
| Metro area | Typical job (median) | Margin of error (90% confidence) |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | $2,857 | ±$590 |
| Washington DC | $2,857 | ±$870 |
| Houston | $2,000 | ±$778 |
| Boston | $1,800 | ±$830 |
| Dallas | $1,800 | ±$444 |
| Philadelphia | $1,000 | ±$491 |
| Atlanta | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Chicago | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Detroit | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Los Angeles | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Miami | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Phoenix | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Riverside | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| San Francisco | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Seattle | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
Source: Census Bureau and HUD, 2023 American Housing Survey, Table 16, category “Insulation” under “Interior Additions and Replacements”. Checked October 13, 2026. The metro values and margins of error use the survey's metropolitan areas, not city limits. A metro with no published figure stays blank; we never fill it in from its neighbors.
Why do cost guides disagree?
They measure different things. An estimate prices one defined job at today's rates; these figures are what owners actually paid, across every size and kind of job in the category. Do-it-yourself jobs mostly pay for materials, which is why this page keeps hired-out jobs apart. A full job on a large house can sit well above the typical figure, and a small one well below it. Your own quotes, compared line by line, are the price that counts. Seven reasons cost guides disagree, each with its figures.
Before you compare quotes
Ask every contractor to price the same scope, in writing. Which surfaces, removal, access and air-sealing tasks are included?
Keep the quotes themselves in a budget worksheet.