AC replacement
$7,100
Typical for a 1,500–2,500 sq ft home. Most jobs run $4,750–$10,650.
All of California
California
HVAC prices in Riverside
$7,100
AC replacement typical, 1,500–2,500 sq ft
1987
Median home built Census ACS
Most AC replacement quotes here land between $4,750 and $10,650. Every figure is local: wages, prices, climate and permits for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro area.
The median home here was built in 1987; 70% heat with gas and 22% with electricity (Census ACS). Photo: Boris Hamer on Pexels.
Check a quote hereThe numbers here
What HVAC costs in Riverside, in four figures
Prices, wages and weather for this metro, against the other metros in the state.
HVAC technician wage
$31/hr
Median hourly pay here against $29.33 for the US (BLS OEWS). Labor is a third of a typical install.
Hot days a year
97≥90°F
1,710 cooling and 1,722 heating degree days in a normal year, 1991–2020 (NOAA).
HVAC companies
1,442
9.9 for every 10,000 homes (Census County Business Patterns). More competition tends to mean tighter quotes.
Where Riverside sits among California's metros
- AC replacement, typical
- $7,100
- HVAC wage, median
- $31/hr
- Days at 90°F or hotter
- 97 days
- Electricity
- 32.4¢
HVAC technician pay
Half the 4,820 HVAC techs in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro earn more than $30.92 an hour ($64,300 a year), 11% below the California median. Shops here bill that hour at about $119 in our price model.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025; billable rate from the HVACFIND price model.
HVAC technician salary in Riverside$30.92
Median hourly pay for HVAC technicians in Riverside
Replace or install
New systems in Riverside
Typical installed prices for a 1,500–2,500 sq ft home, with the range most quotes fall in.
- 3-ton home
- 1–2 days
- Permit
$4,750–$10,650 typical $7,100
- 3-ton home
- 1–2 days
- Permit
$7,000–$13,900 typical $9,900
- 3-ton home
- 1–2 days
- Permit
$3,700–$8,100 typical $5,500
- 3-ton home
- 1–2 days
- Permit
$8,650–$16,100 typical $11,800
- 3-ton home
- 1–2 days
- Permit
$4,100–$7,400 typical $5,500
Local factors
What moves the price in Riverside
The same four facts on every place page, so two places read side by side compare the same rows.
Climate
Zone 3B
Cooling degree days per year, 1991–2020 normals. More means longer AC runtime and wear.
1,710
Hot days
Days at 90°F or hotter
Including 20 days at 100°F or more, on average.
97
Electricity
Southern California Edison Co
Residential rate. It sets what an efficient system saves you each year.
32.4¢
Permit
Required for a replacement
Homeowners may pull it; contractors usually do.
—
Repair and service
Repairs and tune-ups
Visit, diagnosis and the common repair, at local rates.
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$330–$510 typical $410
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$230–$590 typical $370
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$350–$540 typical $430
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$110–$260 typical $170
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$380–$600 typical $470
Nearby
California's other metros
Prices move with local wages, weather and permit fees. Press a metro for its own page.
97
Days a year at 90°F or hotter in Riverside, on 1991–2020 normals.
$7,450Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim · 12,974,487 people
$7,600San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont · 4,645,029 people
$7,500San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad · 3,288,774 people
$7,250Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom · 2,426,388 people
$7,650San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara · 1,969,337 people
$7,100Fresno · 1,177,665 people
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