Replacing 150 linear feet of residential duct costs $4,532 in Arkansas and $6,311 in the District of Columbia. The national figure is $5,250, and the spread is 39%.
Ductwork is about 65% labour, and HVAC mechanic pay is published by state, so the table below is built from those two facts rather than from a regional multiplier somebody invented.
Every state
| State | Heating mean pay | Labor factor | Typical total | Bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $51,320 | 0.792 | $4,541 | $2,854 – $7,525 |
| Alaska | $80,150 | 1.237 | $6,060 | $3,809 – $10,042 |
| Arizona | $60,900 | 0.94 | $5,046 | $3,172 – $8,361 |
| Arkansas | $51,150 | 0.79 | $4,532 | $2,849 – $7,510 |
| California | $75,370 | 1.163 | $5,808 | $3,651 – $9,624 |
| Colorado | $71,330 | 1.101 | $5,595 | $3,517 – $9,272 |
| Connecticut | $73,590 | 1.136 | $5,714 | $3,592 – $9,469 |
| Delaware | $66,140 | 1.021 | $5,322 | $3,345 – $8,819 |
| District of Columbia | $84,920 | 1.311 | $6,311 | $3,967 – $10,458 |
| Florida | $57,310 | 0.885 | $4,856 | $3,053 – $8,048 |
| Georgia | $57,080 | 0.881 | $4,844 | $3,045 – $8,028 |
| Hawaii | $67,070 | 1.035 | $5,371 | $3,376 – $8,900 |
| Idaho | $60,010 | 0.926 | $4,999 | $3,142 – $8,284 |
| Illinois | $77,570 | 1.197 | $5,924 | $3,724 – $9,817 |
| Indiana | $65,110 | 1.005 | $5,267 | $3,311 – $8,729 |
| Iowa | $63,120 | 0.974 | $5,163 | $3,245 – $8,555 |
| Kansas | $61,470 | 0.949 | $5,076 | $3,190 – $8,411 |
| Kentucky | $58,870 | 0.909 | $4,939 | $3,104 – $8,184 |
| Louisiana | $56,880 | 0.878 | $4,834 | $3,038 – $8,010 |
| Maine | $65,300 | 1.008 | $5,277 | $3,317 – $8,745 |
| Maryland | $73,820 | 1.14 | $5,726 | $3,599 – $9,489 |
| Massachusetts | $77,760 | 1.2 | $5,934 | $3,730 – $9,833 |
| Michigan | $64,490 | 0.996 | $5,235 | $3,290 – $8,675 |
| Minnesota | $73,990 | 1.142 | $5,735 | $3,605 – $9,504 |
| Mississippi | $53,020 | 0.818 | $4,631 | $2,911 – $7,673 |
| Missouri | $62,410 | 0.963 | $5,125 | $3,222 – $8,493 |
| Montana | $62,260 | 0.961 | $5,117 | $3,217 – $8,480 |
| Nebraska | $61,050 | 0.942 | $5,054 | $3,176 – $8,374 |
| Nevada | $63,350 | 0.978 | $5,175 | $3,253 – $8,575 |
| New Hampshire | $71,490 | 1.104 | $5,603 | $3,522 – $9,286 |
| New Jersey | $77,580 | 1.198 | $5,924 | $3,724 – $9,817 |
| New Mexico | $55,330 | 0.854 | $4,752 | $2,987 – $7,875 |
| New York | $74,760 | 1.154 | $5,776 | $3,630 – $9,571 |
| North Carolina | $57,400 | 0.886 | $4,861 | $3,056 – $8,056 |
| North Dakota | $70,010 | 1.081 | $5,526 | $3,473 – $9,157 |
| Ohio | $66,000 | 1.019 | $5,314 | $3,340 – $8,807 |
| Oklahoma | $57,640 | 0.89 | $4,874 | $3,064 – $8,077 |
| Oregon | $68,430 | 1.056 | $5,442 | $3,421 – $9,019 |
| Pennsylvania | $64,880 | 1.002 | $5,255 | $3,303 – $8,709 |
| Rhode Island | $69,780 | 1.077 | $5,513 | $3,466 – $9,136 |
| South Carolina | $56,460 | 0.872 | $4,812 | $3,025 – $7,974 |
| South Dakota | $61,100 | 0.943 | $5,056 | $3,178 – $8,379 |
| Tennessee | $57,810 | 0.892 | $4,883 | $3,069 – $8,092 |
| Texas | $59,130 | 0.913 | $4,952 | $3,113 – $8,207 |
| Utah | $60,000 | 0.926 | $4,998 | $3,142 – $8,283 |
| Vermont | $67,070 | 1.035 | $5,371 | $3,376 – $8,900 |
| Virginia | $61,190 | 0.945 | $5,061 | $3,181 – $8,387 |
| Washington | $78,860 | 1.217 | $5,992 | $3,766 – $9,929 |
| West Virginia | $51,700 | 0.798 | $4,561 | $2,867 – $7,558 |
| Wisconsin | $67,410 | 1.041 | $5,389 | $3,387 – $8,930 |
| Wyoming | $55,760 | 0.861 | $4,775 | $3,001 – $7,913 |
Measure the run properly
A typical single-storey house carries 150 to 250 linear feet of supply and return duct once every branch is counted. A two-storey with a second zone can pass 350.
Count the trunk, every branch to a register, and the returns. The returns are the half people forget, and they are also the half most often undersized to begin with — which is worth knowing before you pay to reproduce them.
What moves a quote inside the range
Flexible duct in an open attic is the cheap case and sits near the bottom. Sheet metal trunk, sealed and hung in a tight crawlspace, sits near the top: the material costs more and the hours cost far more, because the binding constraint is a body in a space that will not accept one.
That is the honest reason two bids on the same house differ — not wages, and not mark-up.
Do this before you spend anything
Have total external static pressure measured. Two test ports either side of the air handler and a manometer, ten minutes.
A residential blower is designed for about 0.5 inches of water column, shared between the filter, the coil, the ducts, the registers and the grilles. Over budget, airflow falls below design, the coil can freeze, and the equipment runs outside its intended range — while every component still measures correct on its own.
The reason this matters here: if the static problem is a 1-inch MERV 13 filter costing 0.45 in w.c. on its own, or a return that was always undersized, replacing the supply duct fixes nothing and you will have spent five thousand dollars to keep the same complaint.
A contractor who has never measured static on your system does not know whether it is working.
And do the load calculation
Replacing duct to the same layout that failed is the most expensive way to keep a comfort problem. If a room was never right, the branch serving it was probably sized for a system that no longer exists.
A Manual J load calculation and a Manual D duct design cost a few hundred dollars against a $5,000 job, and they are the only way to know the new duct is right rather than merely new.
What the price excludes
The air handler or furnace. A new return path where none exists. Asbestos abatement on old duct wrap, which is a real possibility on anything pre-1980 and is not a line any contractor can absorb. And drywall work where ceilings have to be opened.