HVAC industry statistics 2026

1. 111,207

   plumbing, heating and air conditioning contractor locations with paid employees, up from 109,601 in 2022.

   2023Census, County Business Patterns; Census, County Business Patterns 2022 [2][5]

2. 1,214,761

   people worked at those contractors in mid-March, up from 1,176,759 a year earlier.

   2023Census, County Business Patterns; Census, County Business Patterns 2022 [2][5]

3. $89.52 billion

   in annual payroll at plumbing, heating and air conditioning contractors.

   2023Census, County Business Patterns [2]

4. 64,871

   of the 111,207 locations (58.3%) had fewer than 5 employees.

   Calculation2023StrideRank calculation from Census, County Business Patterns (share of all locations) [2]

5. $297.61 billion

   revenue of plumbing, heating and air conditioning contractors with paid employees, run by 112,088 firms.

   2022Census, 2022 Economic Census [3]

6. $1.85 billion

   spent by those contractors on advertising and promotional services, 0.62% of their revenue.

   Calculation2022StrideRank calculation from Census, 2022 Economic Census (advertising divided by revenue) [3]

7. 178,663

   plumbing, heating and air conditioning businesses without paid employees, with $14.01 billion in receipts.

   2023Census, Nonemployer Statistics [6]

There is no official count of HVAC-only businesses: the federal statistics put heating, air conditioning and plumbing contractors in one industry.

1. 440,900

   jobs as heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers.

   2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook [1]

2. $61,010

   median annual pay. The lowest 10% earned less than $40,050, the highest 10% more than $95,210.

   May 2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook [1]

3. $50,980

   median annual pay of all occupations, for comparison.

   May 2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook [1]

4. 68%

   of HVAC mechanics and installers work for plumbing, heating and air conditioning contractors; 6% are self-employed, 3% work in wholesale trade and 3% in retail trade.

   • Plumbing, heating and AC contractors68%
   • Self-employed6%
   • Wholesale trade3%
   • Retail trade3%

   2025BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook [1]

5. $73,690

   payroll per employee at plumbing, heating and air conditioning contractors.

   Calculation2023StrideRank calculation from Census, County Business Patterns (annual payroll divided by employees) [2]

1. 88%

   of US households use air conditioning. Two-thirds use central AC or a central heat pump as their main AC equipment.

   2020EIA, Residential Energy Consumption Survey [4]

2. 109.51 million

   of 123.53 million homes use air conditioning equipment.

   2020EIA, RECS Table HC7.1 [7]

3. 47%

   of households heat mainly with natural gas and 42% mainly with electricity.

   • Natural gas47%
   • Electricity42%

   2024EIA, from Census American Community Survey [8]

4. 13.1%

   of homes use a heat pump as their main heating equipment (16.13 million of 123.53 million); 60.2% use a central furnace (74.42 million).

   Calculation2020StrideRank calculation from EIA, RECS Table HC6.1 (share of all homes) [9]

5. 30.9%

   of homes have main heating equipment that is 15 years old or older (38.20 million of 123.53 million).

   Calculation2020StrideRank calculation from EIA, RECS Table HC6.1 (sum of the age groups 15 to 19 and 20 or more years, share of all homes) [9]

6. 12.8 million

   HVAC projects by homeowners in the two years before the survey, with $82.44 billion in total spending and $6,836 on average per project.

   2023Census/HUD, American Housing Survey [10]

7. 3.4 million

   households were uncomfortably cold for 24 hours or more because their heating equipment broke down; 4.9 million were uncomfortably hot for 24 hours or more because their air conditioning broke down.

   2023Census/HUD, American Housing Survey [11]

The home survey numbers are estimates from samples; the Census Bureau publishes a margin of error with each.

1. 11%

   projected growth from 2025 to 2035, from 440,900 to 489,100 jobs (+48,200), much faster than the average for all occupations.

   2025–2035BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook [1]

2. 40,600

   openings for HVAC mechanics and installers projected each year, on average, over the decade.

   2025–2035BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook [1]

1. 97%

   of consumers read reviews for local businesses.

   Survey2026BrightLocal survey [12]

2. 41%

   of consumers “always” read reviews when browsing for businesses.

   Survey2026BrightLocal survey [12]

3. 71%

   is Google’s share as a review source, down from 83% in 2025.

   Survey2026BrightLocal survey [12]

4. 45%

   use ChatGPT or other generative AI tools for local recommendations, up from 6% the year before.

   Survey2026BrightLocal survey [12]

5. 47%

   won’t use a business with fewer than 20 reviews, and 31% will only use a business rated 4.5 stars or more.

   Survey2026BrightLocal survey [12]

6. 89%

   expect business owners to respond to reviews; 74% only care about reviews written in the last three months.

   Survey2026BrightLocal survey [12]

7. 54%

   are most likely to visit a business’s website after reading positive reviews.

   Survey2026BrightLocal survey [12]

8. 76%

   of people who searched on a smartphone for something nearby visited a business within a day, and 28% of those searches led to a purchase.

   Survey2016Google survey, 2016 [13]

The Google numbers are from 2016, so read them as a direction, not as today’s share.