How Much Does a Insulation Worker Make? (2024)
Construction · SOC Code 47-2131 · 4-year apprenticeship
The average insulation worker earns $50,860 per year ($24/hour) as of 2024, according to BLS data. Yearly income ranges from $42,990 to $65,100 depending on city, with entry-level workers earning about $38,350 and top earners making $78,110+.
Most insulation workers don't hit $100K — top-decile pay tops out at $78,110
The 90th-percentile insulation worker in Columbus, OH earns $78,110 per year ($38/hour). Workers who hit six figures in this trade are usually overtime-heavy industrial workers, foremen, or contractor-owners — those numbers sit outside what the BLS wage survey captures for typical W-2 employment.
National Salary Range
Insulation Worker salaries range from $42,990 to $65,100 median across cities, depending on location, union membership, and experience level.
Insulation Worker Salary by City
| City | Median | Range (10th-90th) | COL-Adjusted | Grade | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus, OH | $65,100 | $38,350 – $78,110 | $70,000 | C | 480 |
| New York, NY | $64,510 | $43,120 – $145,620 | $34,497 | F | 1,950 |
| Boston, MA | $57,150 | $44,470 – $89,630 | $37,599 | D | 460 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $56,590 | $47,650 – $86,870 | $53,387 | D | 880 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $56,520 | $39,850 – $76,740 | $62,110 | C | 270 |
| New Orleans, LA | $53,460 | $30,830 – $59,130 | $56,274 | D | 90 |
| Chicago, IL | $53,350 | $39,600 – $83,190 | $49,860 | D | 830 |
| St. Louis, MO | $52,410 | $36,560 – $93,790 | $58,233 | D | 540 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $50,240 | $37,580 – $101,580 | $43,687 | D | 390 |
| Seattle, WA | $49,470 | $37,970 – $74,550 | $33,201 | F | 530 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $49,330 | $38,030 – $94,610 | $51,385 | D | 190 |
| Tampa, FL | $49,120 | $32,370 – $57,480 | $48,634 | D | 320 |
| Dallas, TX | $48,910 | $36,040 – $62,590 | $47,951 | D | 1,820 |
| Denver, CO | $48,610 | $39,370 – $65,480 | $37,977 | D | 590 |
| Kansas City, MO | $48,320 | $36,840 – $62,280 | $51,404 | D | 340 |
| San Antonio, TX | $48,140 | $30,170 – $60,300 | $53,489 | D | 370 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $47,940 | $37,900 – $66,950 | $46,544 | D | 470 |
| Houston, TX | $47,860 | $31,040 – $60,850 | $49,854 | D | 2,130 |
| Charlotte, NC | $47,800 | $33,380 – $67,710 | $48,776 | D | 350 |
| Detroit, MI | $47,560 | $38,420 – $78,330 | $53,438 | D | 280 |
| Nashville, TN | $47,210 | $34,630 – $69,000 | $45,835 | D | 640 |
| Miami, FL | $47,190 | $38,440 – $59,240 | $38,680 | D | 390 |
| Atlanta, GA | $46,830 | $32,150 – $67,910 | $44,179 | D | 490 |
| Raleigh, NC | $44,900 | $32,350 – $63,530 | $44,900 | D | 420 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $42,990 | $38,410 – $67,090 | $25,898 | F | 620 |
About Insulation Worker Pay
Insulation Workers earn a national median salary of $50,860 based on 2024 BLS occupational wage data. The highest-paying city for this trade is Columbus at $65,100 median, while Los Angeles offers the lowest at $42,990.
Becoming a insulation worker typically requires a 4-year apprenticeship program. Entry-level workers (10th percentile) can expect around $38,350, while master-level tradespeople (90th percentile) earn $78,110 or more. With 3% wage growth over the past 5 years, this trade is growing at a steady pace.
See how this compares to other trades on our highest paying trades ranking, or browse the best cities for trade workers.
Thinking about becoming a insulation worker?
Step-by-step path: 4-year apprenticeship, certifications, state licensing, and apprentice-to-master pay timeline.
Related Construction Trades
Frequently Asked Questions
The average insulation worker salary is $50,860 per year ($24/hour) based on 2024 BLS OEWS data. Average yearly income ranges from $42,990 to $65,100 depending on city, experience, and union status.
Insulation Workers earn an average hourly wage of $24/hour based on a 2,080-hour work year. Entry-level (10th percentile) hourly pay is about $18/hour, while top earners (90th percentile) make $38/hour or more.
Columbus offers the highest median pay for insulation workers at $65,100. However, cost of living matters, the COL-adjusted pay may tell a different story. Check our city-by-city breakdown above.
With a Trade Pay Score of D and 3% wage growth over 5 years, insulation worker offers steady career prospects. There are approximately 15,840 jobs nationwide across 25 metro areas.
Becoming a insulation worker typically requires a 4-year apprenticeship program combining on-the-job training with classroom instruction. Entry-level pay starts around $38,350 (10th percentile).
Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) 2024. Trade Pay Scores are a composite of median wage vs. metro income, wage growth, job demand, and COL-adjusted pay.
The this entity record above pulls directly from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. What follows is the per-entity context — how this entity sits in the broader U.S. skilled-trade wage data distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.
For readers using this page as a decision input, the related-entity pages elsewhere on the site provide the comparison set. The most useful comparison for this entity is typically a peer within U.S. trades, cities, and states with similar size, similar exposure, or similar geography — not the national-level summary alone.