Last reviewed: September 2026 · By the HVAC Brief Editorial Team · Our sourcing and editorial standards
Every HVAC statistic on this page names the federal series it comes from and the period it describes. HVAC equipment prices are 60% above 2019; there are 122,326 contractor establishments employing 1,287,056; 89% of homes have air conditioning.
This is the index to The HVAC Brief’s research: each figure links to the analysis that produced it. Ten numbers that circulate widely and do not survive a check against the primary data are corrected below.
Most HVAC statistics pages are written by software and lead-generation companies, and the figures on them contradict each other on the same search results page. None names a data series. This page does, for every number, and links each to the analysis behind it.
The headline numbers
| Measure | Value | Series | Period | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC equipment producer prices, change since 2019 | +60.0% | BLS PCU333415333415 | August 2026 (preliminary) | Price index |
| Consumer prices, same period | +31.0% | BLS CPI-U | August 2026 | Price index |
| HVAC equipment, change in real terms | +22.1% | Derived: PPI / CPI-U | August 2026 | Price index |
| Plumbing, heating and AC contractor establishments | 122,326 | BLS QCEW, NAICS 23822, private | 2024 | Business count |
| Employment at those establishments | 1,287,056 | BLS QCEW, NAICS 23822, private | 2024 | Employment index |
| Average annual pay at those establishments | $78,290 | BLS QCEW, NAICS 23822, private | 2024 | Employment index |
| HVAC and refrigeration mechanics employed | 409,670 | BLS OEWS, SOC 49-9021 | May 2025 | Technician pay |
| Median wage, HVAC mechanics | $29.33 an hour ($61,010 a year) | BLS OEWS, SOC 49-9021 | May 2025 | Technician pay |
| HVAC credentials awarded | 23,251 | NCES IPEDS, CIP 47.0201 | 2023-24 | Training gap |
| Credentials per projected annual opening | 0.58 | Derived: IPEDS / BLS projections | 2023-24 | Training gap |
| US homes using air conditioning | 109.51M (88.7%) | EIA RECS 2020 | 2020 | AC by state |
| Heated homes using a heat pump as main heat (central or ductless) | 17.19M (13.9%) | EIA RECS 2020 | 2020 | AC by state |
| Space heating equipment 20 years old or more | 20.0% | EIA RECS 2020 | 2020 | Equipment age |
| Median summer thermostat setting, someone home | 72°F | EIA RECS 2020 | 2020 | Thermostat settings |
| Households unable to use air conditioning | 8.16M | EIA RECS 2024 HC11.1 | 2024 | Energy insecurity |
| Residential electricity price | 18.31¢/kWh | EIA Electric Power Monthly 5.6.A | July 2026 | Electricity tracker |
| Cooling degree days vs normal, 2026 to 26 Sep | +25% | NOAA CPC | 2026 | Cooling index |
| Heating demand change, first ten seasons to last ten | -7.2% | NOAA CPC | 1985-86 to 2025-26 | Heating index |
| Certified heat pump combinations using R-454B | 80.4% | ENERGY STAR certified list | Oct 2026 | A2L transition |
| Median certified heat pump capacity kept at 5°F | 77% | ENERGY STAR certified list | Oct 2026 | Cold climate |
| New single-family homes heated by a heat pump / furnace | 48% / 49% | Census Survey of Construction | 2025 | New homes |
| Median annual cooling cost, at 2026 prices | $303 | EIA RECS 2020, repriced | 2026 | AC running cost |
| Median annual heating spend, at 2025/26 prices | $630 | EIA RECS 2020, repriced | 2025/26 | Heating bill |
| Homes poorly insulated or not insulated | 20.1% | EIA RECS 2020 (self-reported) | 2020 | Insulation |
| Residential natural gas, heating-season average | $15.60/Mcf | EIA | 2025/26 | Gas tracker |
| HVAC equipment recalls since 2015 | 95 recalls, 18.1M units | CPSC recall database | 2015 to Sep 2026 | Recall registry |
Businesses and workforce
BLS counted 122,326 private plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractor establishments in 2024, up 22.4% since 2014, employing 1,287,056 at an average annual pay of $78,290. Average establishment size rose from 9.1 to 10.5 employees. The first quarter of 2026 reached 125,652 establishments.
The technician occupation is a narrower count: 409,670 HVAC and refrigeration mechanics in May 2025 at a median $29.33 an hour. Training programmes produced 23,251 credentials in 2023-24 against about 40,100 projected annual openings.
Deep dives: how many HVAC businesses there are, employment and wages by state, contractors by metro, the training gap, training programs by school, technician pay by state. New research: technicians per capita by state, the job outlook to 2034, workforce demographics, wage theft cases, home heating fire statistics and carbon monoxide deaths.
Prices and running costs
HVAC equipment producer prices are 60.0% above their 2019 average against 31.0% for consumer prices, 22.1% higher in real terms. Residential electricity averaged 18.31 cents per kilowatt hour in July 2026, up in 45 of 51 jurisdictions.
Deep dives: the equipment price index, electricity prices, natural gas prices, heating oil prices, what AC costs to run, the average heating bill, heat pump vs gas by state.
Homes and equipment
88.7% of US households use air conditioning and 13.9% of heated homes use a heat pump as their main heating equipment. Counting central heat pumps only, against all homes, EIA’s published table gives 16.13 million, 13.1%. 20% of installed heating equipment is 20 years old or more, against 10% of air conditioning. The median household sets the air conditioning to 72°F.
Deep dives: air conditioning and heat pumps by state, heat pumps in new homes, the age of installed equipment, insulation and drafts, renters and owners, secondary heating, thermostat settings.
Weather, demand and hardship
Heating demand has fallen 7.2% across 41 seasons of NOAA records while cooling demand has risen 11.2%. Summer 2026 ran 25% above normal. In 2024, 8.16 million households could not use their air conditioning and 6.83 million could not use their heating at some point in the year.
Deep dives: heating degree days, cooling degree days, household energy insecurity.
Products, refrigerants and safety
80% of ENERGY STAR certified heat pump combinations use R-454B, though only 43% of outdoor models do. The median certified heat pump keeps 77% of its heating capacity at 5°F. CPSC has announced 95 recalls covering 18,094,672 units of HVAC and water heating equipment since 2015, fire being the hazard in 58 of them.
Deep dives: the A2L transition, cold-climate heat pump performance, the HVAC recall registry, the compliance deadline registry.
Ten widely repeated HVAC statistics that do not hold up
Each of these appears across many HVAC statistics pages. Each fails a check against the primary source: the number is stale, the attribution names the wrong agency, the vintage is missing, or the claim does not say what it counts.
| Commonly published claim | What the primary data shows |
|---|---|
| “Equipment prices increased about 40% since 2020,” usually credited to trade press | BLS PCU333415333415 puts the increase at 60.0% against the 2019 average. The circulating figure understates it. |
| “There are 120,000 (or 125,000) HVAC businesses in the US” | No source is given. BLS QCEW counts 122,326 private establishments in 2024, which are locations rather than firms, and the industry code includes plumbing contractors. |
| “441,000 HVAC technicians employed,” credited to BLS with no year | OEWS May 2025 reports 409,670 for SOC 49-9021. A larger figure is an older vintage or a broader grouping. |
| “Median technician wage $27.55 per hour” | An earlier OEWS vintage. The May 2025 median is $29.33. |
| “70% of new HVAC businesses fail in the first year,” credited to Energy.gov | Misattributed. DOE does not publish business survival statistics. We could not verify any figure at the NAICS 238220 level and do not substitute one. |
| “99.5% of homes in Florida, Oklahoma and Delaware have air conditioning” | EIA’s published state table gives 96%, 96% and 97%. The 99.5% figure does not appear in EIA’s release. |
| “The Department of Energy recommends 78°F in summer” | DOE’s Energy Saver gives 68°F to 70°F for winter and no summer figure. The median American household sets 72°F, and 12.8% set 78°F or warmer. |
| “An HVAC system lasts 15 to 20 years” | No federal survey records age at failure, so there is no measured lifespan. What is measured: 20% of installed heating equipment is already 20 years old or more. |
| “R-410A equipment must be installed by January 1, 2026” | Removed. EPA’s final rule at 91 FR 31284, effective 27 July 2026, allows pre-2025 inventory to be installed with no end date. |
| “Most new heat pumps use R-454B” or “R-32”, with no unit stated | True by certified combinations (80% R-454B) and much less so by outdoor models (43%). The answer depends on what is counted. |
The pattern behind all ten is the same. A figure gets published without a vintage or a unit, a second page copies it without checking, and within a few cycles it is detached from any document that could confirm it. Naming the series, the period and the unit is what stops that.
How to cite and reproduce these figures
Each figure is from a public federal source and can be reproduced from the series named. To cite a figure, name the series and its period, for example “BLS QCEW, NAICS 23822, 2024 annual average”. To cite this page, use its title and last-reviewed date. The analysis pages linked above each include a full methodology.
Frequently asked questions
How many HVAC companies are there in the US?
BLS counted 122,326 private plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractor establishments in 2024. Establishments are locations, not firms, and the industry code includes plumbing contractors.
How many HVAC technicians are there?
409,670 heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers were employed in May 2025, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
How much do HVAC technicians make?
The median wage was $29.33 an hour, or $61,010 a year, in May 2025.
Is the HVAC industry growing?
Yes. Private employment at plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors rose 41.6% between 2014 and 2024.
How much have HVAC prices gone up?
Equipment producer prices are 60.0% above their 2019 average, 22.1% in real terms.
What percentage of homes have air conditioning?
88.7% of US households, from EIA’s 2020 survey.
Is there an HVAC technician shortage?
Training programmes produced 23,251 credentials in 2023-24 against about 40,100 projected annual openings, a ratio of 0.58. Formal training is not the only route into the trade.
How can I cite these statistics?
Cite the federal series named in the table and its vintage, or cite this page with its last-reviewed date. Every figure links to the page that explains how it was produced.
Methodology and limitations
- Every figure is from a US federal statistical source or a federal administrative dataset: BLS (PPI, CPI, QCEW, OEWS, projections), NCES IPEDS, EIA (RECS, Electric Power Monthly), NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, ENERGY STAR and CPSC.
- No market-research estimates, vendor surveys or forecasts are used, which is why this page does not give a dollar market size.
- NAICS 238220 covers plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors together. Business and employment counts include plumbing and cannot be separated using federal data.
- Establishment and employment counts (QCEW) describe the industry; technician counts and wages (OEWS) describe the occupation across all industries. They measure different things and are not interchangeable.
- Heat pump figures differ by definition. EIA’s published table counts central heat pumps against all homes (16.13 million, 13.1%); our state analysis counts central and ductless heat pumps against homes that use heating (17.19 million, 13.9%).
- RECS 2020 is the most recent cycle with equipment detail. The 2024 cycle’s air conditioning and space heating data are scheduled for spring 2027.
- Recent BLS months are preliminary. The August 2026 producer price figure is preliminary and subject to revision.
- Each figure is refreshed when its source releases new data; the linked analysis pages carry the release schedule.
Sources
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Producer Price Index, QCEW, OEWS, Occupational Outlook Handbook.
- US Energy Information Administration: Residential Energy Consumption Survey, Electric Power Monthly.
- National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS; NOAA Climate Prediction Center; ENERGY STAR; CPSC.
The HVAC Brief is an independent trade publication. We do not sell equipment, take manufacturer advertising, or accept payment for placement in our research. Corrections welcome.
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