Insulation Installers in the Wilmington area earn a median of $37,720 a year, 22% below the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #104 of 106 U.S. metros nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Raleigh.
Wilmington scorecard for insulation installers Our calculation
Grades compare Wilmington with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers.
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Wilmington Our calculation
Prices in the Wilmington area run 4% below the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $39,120 would in a typical place, ranking #103 of 105 on real pay.
Two different views, don't combine them. Real pay already accounts for housing, because the price index includes rent. Rent burden shows what share of pay a typical 1-bedroom takes. Use either one, not both together.
What insulation installers do
Line and cover structures with insulating materials. May work with batt, roll, or blown insulation materials.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Measure and cut insulation for covering surfaces, using tape measures, handsaws, power saws, knives, or scissors.
- Fit, wrap, staple, or glue insulating materials to structures or surfaces, using hand tools or wires.
- Cover and line structures with blown or rolled forms of materials to insulate against cold, heat, or moisture, using saws, knives, rasps, trowels, blowers, or other tools and implements.
- Distribute insulating materials evenly into small spaces within floors, ceilings, or walls, using blowers and hose attachments, or cement mortars.
- Move controls, buttons, or levers to start blowers and regulate flow of materials through nozzles.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, insulation installer jobs are projected to grow 2.4% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 3,000 openings a year. About 2% are self-employed.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, insulation installers have 312 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 3.6× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is falls, slips and trips.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying NC metros for insulation installers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| GreensboroNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $46,500 | $50,073 | 120 |
| RaleighNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $46,030 | $46,894 | 480 |
| CharlotteNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $44,520 | $45,733 | 760 |
| WilmingtonNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $37,720 | $39,120 | 90 |
See every metro in North Carolina.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Wilmington area's unemployment rate was 3.8% in 2025 (all workers, not just insulation installers), below the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 4.8% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Wilmington area is 24 minutes each way, about the same as the typical metro (24 min). 12% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 71% drive alone, 0% take transit and 18% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
New construction
New-home permits in Wilmington are up 73% from 2021 to 2025 (4,418 → 7,622).
In 2025 the Wilmington area approved permits for 7,622 new homes (6,378 single-family), or 16.8 per 1,000 residents, ranking #5 of 393 metros, among the busiest building markets in the country.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 37 one-person businesses (no employees) in building equipment installation, averaging $82,973 a year in revenue before expenses.
They compete with 20 building equipment installation companies that have employees (about 199 workers in total). 50% of those companies have fewer than 5 employees.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the minimum you'd need to bill to match a $37,720 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for. Change any number.
Minimum billing rate
Billable hours are hours you can charge a customer. Driving, quoting, paperwork and slow weeks aren't billable, which is why 1,400 is a common starting point versus 2,080 paid hours as an employee.
Get insulation installer pricing & estimate templates →Compare Wilmington with another city →
About this data
- Pay: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2025, local to this metro.
- Real pay: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024, local.
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents, FY2027, local (county rents weighted by population).
- Job outlook, education, training: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national.
- Duties: O*NET 31.0, national.
- Safety: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024, national.
- New construction: Census Building Permits, 2021–2025, local.
- Commute: Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year, local, all workers.
- Unemployment: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 2021–2025 annual averages, local, all workers (2025 preliminary).
- Competition: Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024 and County Business Patterns 2023, local, reported by industry, so related trades can share one figure.
- Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions. Grades rank this metro against all others for the same trade.