AC replacement
$6,850
Typical for a 1,500–2,500 sq ft home. Most jobs run $4,600–$10,250.
All of North Carolina
North Carolina
HVAC prices in Raleigh
$6,850
AC replacement typical, 1,500–2,500 sq ft
2000
Median home built Census ACS
Most AC replacement quotes here land between $4,600 and $10,250. Every figure is local: wages, prices, climate and permits for the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area.
The median home here was built in 2000; 36% heat with gas and 59% with electricity (Census ACS). Photo: Andretti Brown on Pexels.
Check a quote hereThe numbers here
What HVAC costs in Raleigh, in four figures
Prices, wages and weather for this metro, against the other metros in the state.
HVAC technician wage
$28/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
52≥90°F
1,775 cooling and 3,192 heating degree days in a normal year, 1991–2020 (NOAA).
HVAC companies
566
9.9 for every 10,000 homes (Census County Business Patterns). More competition tends to mean tighter quotes.
HVAC technician pay
Half the 2,550 HVAC techs in the Raleigh-Cary metro earn more than $28.32 an hour ($58,900 a year), 3% above the North Carolina median. Shops here bill that hour at about $109 in our price model.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025; billable rate from the HVACFIND price model.
HVAC technician salary in Raleigh$28.32
Median hourly pay for HVAC technicians in Raleigh
Replace or install
New systems in Raleigh
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
$4,600–$10,250 typical $6,850
- 3-ton home
- 1–2 days
- Permit
$6,850–$13,450 typical $9,600
- 3-ton home
- 1–2 days
- Permit
$3,650–$7,800 typical $5,350
- 3-ton home
- 1–2 days
- Permit
$8,450–$15,600 typical $11,450
- 3-ton home
- 1–2 days
- Permit
$3,950–$7,000 typical $5,250
Local factors
What moves the price in Raleigh
The same four facts on every place page, so two places read side by side compare the same rows.
Climate
Zone 3A
Cooling degree days per year, 1991–2020 normals. More means longer AC runtime and wear.
1,775
Hot days
Days at 90°F or hotter
Including 2 days at 100°F or more, on average.
52
Electricity
Duke Energy Progress - (NC)
Residential rate. It sets what an efficient system saves you each year.
15.5¢
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
$310–$480 typical $390
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$210–$550 typical $340
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$320–$510 typical $400
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$100–$230 typical $150
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$350–$550 typical $430
Nearby
North Carolina's other metros
Prices move with local wages, weather and permit fees. Press a metro for its own page.
52
Days a year at 90°F or hotter in Raleigh, on 1991–2020 normals.
$6,900Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia · 2,768,407 people
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