AC replacement
$6,850
Typical for a 1,500–2,500 sq ft home. Most jobs run $4,600–$10,250.
All of Virginia
Virginia
HVAC prices in Richmond
$6,850
AC replacement typical, 1,500–2,500 sq ft
1984
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 Richmond, VA metro area.
The median home here was built in 1984; 27% heat with gas and 65% with electricity (Census ACS). Photo: K on Pexels.
Check a quote hereThe numbers here
What HVAC costs in Richmond, 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
44≥90°F
1,501 cooling and 3,828 heating degree days in a normal year, 1991–2020 (NOAA).
HVAC companies
462
8.7 for every 10,000 homes (Census County Business Patterns). More competition tends to mean tighter quotes.
HVAC technician pay
Half the 2,700 HVAC techs in the Richmond metro earn more than $28.43 an hour ($59,130 a year), in line with the Virginia median. Shops here bill that hour at about $110 in our price model.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025; billable rate from the HVACFIND price model.
HVAC technician salary in Richmond$28.43
Median hourly pay for HVAC technicians in Richmond
Replace or install
New systems in Richmond
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–$13,500 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
$4,000–$7,050 typical $5,300
Local factors
What moves the price in Richmond
The same four facts on every place page, so two places read side by side compare the same rows.
Climate
Zone 4A, 3A
Heating degree days per year, 1991–2020 normals. More means a bigger heating load.
3,828
Freezing nights
Nights at 32°F or colder
A cold climate changes which heat pump you need.
80
Electricity
Virginia Electric & Power Co
Residential rate. It sets what an efficient system saves you each year.
14.1¢
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
$330–$510 typical $410
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$100–$240 typical $160
- Typical home
- Same day
- No permit
$350–$550 typical $440
Nearby
Virginia's other metros
Prices move with local wages, weather and permit fees. Press a metro for its own page.
44
Days a year at 90°F or hotter in Richmond, on 1991–2020 normals.
$6,900Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk · 1,787,235 people
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