Furnace replacement
$5,850
Typical for a 1,500–2,500 sq ft home. Most jobs run $3,900–$8,800.
All of California
California
HVAC prices in San Francisco
$5,850
Furnace replacement typical, 1,500–2,500 sq ft
1968
Median home built Census ACS
Most furnace replacement quotes here land between $3,900 and $8,800. Every figure is local: wages, prices, climate and permits for the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area.
The median home here was built in 1968; 63% heat with gas and 31% with electricity (Census ACS). Photo: Griffin Wooldridge on Pexels.
Check a quote hereThe numbers here
What HVAC costs in San Francisco, in four figures
Prices, wages and weather for this metro, against the other metros in the state.
HVAC technician wage
$38/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
17≥90°F
445 cooling and 2,426 heating degree days in a normal year, 1991–2020 (NOAA).
HVAC companies
1,192
6.8 for every 10,000 homes (Census County Business Patterns). More competition tends to mean tighter quotes.
Where San Francisco sits among California's metros
- Furnace replacement, typical
- $5,850
- HVAC wage, median
- $38/hr
- Days at 90°F or hotter
- 17 days
- Electricity
- 39.6¢
HVAC technician pay
Half the 3,980 HVAC techs in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro earn more than $37.73 an hour ($78,490 a year), 8% above the California median. Shops here bill that hour at about $145 in our price model.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025; billable rate from the HVACFIND price model.
HVAC technician salary in San Francisco$37.73
Median hourly pay for HVAC technicians in San Francisco
Replace or install
New systems in San Francisco
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
$5,000–$11,550 typical $7,600
- 3-ton home
- 1–2 days
- Permit
$7,350–$14,950 typical $10,500
- 3-ton home
- 1–2 days
- Permit
$3,900–$8,800 typical $5,850
- 3-ton home
- 1–2 days
- Permit
$9,150–$17,200 typical $12,550
- 3-ton home
- 1–2 days
- Permit
$4,350–$8,150 typical $5,950
Local factors
What moves the price in San Francisco
The same four facts on every place page, so two places read side by side compare the same rows.
Climate
Zone 3C, 3B
Heating degree days per year, 1991–2020 normals. More means a bigger heating load.
2,426
Freezing nights
Nights at 32°F or colder
A cold climate changes which heat pump you need.
2
Electricity
Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
Residential rate. It sets what an efficient system saves you each year.
39.6¢
Permit
Required for a replacement
The contractor pulls it and books the inspection.
—
Repair and service
Repairs and tune-ups
Visit, diagnosis and the common repair, at local rates.
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$390–$590 typical $480
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$280–$680 typical $440
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$410–$620 typical $500
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$140–$310 typical $210
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$460–$730 typical $580
Nearby
California's other metros
Prices move with local wages, weather and permit fees. Press a metro for its own page.
17
Days a year at 90°F or hotter in San Francisco, on 1991–2020 normals.
$5,750Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim · 12,974,487 people
$5,500Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario · 4,675,704 people
$5,800San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad · 3,288,774 people
$5,600Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom · 2,426,388 people
$5,900San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara · 1,969,337 people
$5,500Fresno · 1,177,665 people
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