AC replacement
$7,400
Typical for a 1,500–2,500 sq ft home. Most jobs run $5,000–$11,050.
All of Texas
Texas
HVAC prices in Houston
$7,400
AC replacement typical, 1,500–2,500 sq ft
1993
Median home built Census ACS
Most AC replacement quotes here land between $5,000 and $11,050. Every figure is local: wages, prices, climate and permits for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area.
The median home here was built in 1993; 44% heat with gas and 53% with electricity (Census ACS). Photo: Trace Hudson on Pexels.
Check a quote hereThe numbers here
What HVAC costs in Houston, 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
108≥90°F
3,254 cooling and 1,270 heating degree days in a normal year, 1991–2020 (NOAA).
HVAC companies
1,909
7.2 for every 10,000 homes (Census County Business Patterns). More competition tends to mean tighter quotes.
Where Houston sits among Texas's metros
- AC replacement, typical
- $7,400
- HVAC wage, median
- $28/hr
- Days at 90°F or hotter
- 108 days
- Electricity
- 13.7¢
HVAC technician pay
Half the 7,680 HVAC techs in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro earn more than $28.34 an hour ($58,940 a year), 2% above the Texas 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 Texas$28.34
Median hourly pay for HVAC technicians in Houston
Replace or install
New systems in Houston
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–$11,050 typical $7,400
- 3-ton home
- 1–2 days
- Permit
$7,400–$14,550 typical $10,400
- 3-ton home
- 1–2 days
- Permit
$4,000–$7,100 typical $5,350
Local factors
What moves the price in Houston
The same four facts on every place page, so two places read side by side compare the same rows.
Climate
Zone 2A
Cooling degree days per year, 1991–2020 normals. More means longer AC runtime and wear.
3,254
Hot days
Days at 90°F or hotter
Including 6 days at 100°F or more, on average.
108
Electricity
Entergy Texas Inc.
Residential rate. It sets what an efficient system saves you each year.
13.7¢
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–$490 typical $390
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$330–$520 typical $410
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$100–$230 typical $150
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$400–$640 typical $510
Nearby
Texas's other metros
Prices move with local wages, weather and permit fees. Press a metro for its own page.
108
Days a year at 90°F or hotter in Houston, on 1991–2020 normals.
$7,450Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington · 7,985,590 people
$7,250San Antonio-New Braunfels · 2,662,733 people
$7,350Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos · 2,426,592 people
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