Insulation cost in Washington DC: what owners paid (2023 survey)
Washington DC owners paid a median $2,857 for insulation: $1,357 above the U.S. median, tied for the highest of 6 big metros (Census Bureau, 2023). When owners hired it out, the middle half paid $1,500 to $5,000.
What Washington DC owners paid
$2,857
This is historical spending: work done in about 2021 to 2023 on owner-occupied homes, reported in the 2023 survey.
Margin of error ±$870: at 90% confidence the Washington DC median lies between $1,987 and $3,727.
Hired out: $2,900 typical, from 34 hired-out jobs in the survey sample.
How Washington DC compares
- U.S. median, same work
- $1,500
- Rank, highest first
- Tied at 1 of 6
Washington DC: $2,857. The highest of the big metros.
9 of the 15 metros have no published figure for this work, so the rank counts the other 6.
- New York City$2,857
- Washington DC$2,857
- Houston$2,000
- Boston$1,800
- Dallas$1,800
- Philadelphia$1,000
No published figure: Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, Riverside, San Francisco, Seattle.
- 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.
What it covers
Adding or replacing insulation anywhere in the house: attic, walls or floors.
The Census category is “Insulation” within “Interior Additions and Replacements”: what Washington DC-area homeowners told the Census Bureau they paid, every size of job together.
Before you compare quotes
Ask every contractor to price the same scope, in writing. A quote outside the hired-out range above is a reason to ask what it covers, not proof that it is wrong. Which surfaces, removal, access and air-sealing tasks are included?
Then put the quotes in your project budget worksheet to see each one's scope beside its price.