Insulation Installers in the Rochester area earn a median of $55,960 a year, 16% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #29 of 106 metros for insulation installer salaries across the U.S..
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Syracuse, but less in Buffalo.
It's one of 6 New York metros with published pay for this trade; see statewide insulation installer pay.
Insulation Installer pay in Rochester at a glance
- Insulation installers in the Rochester, NY metro earn a median $55,960 a year ($26.90 an hour), #29 of 106 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $38,780 and $75,920.
- After local prices, that median buys what $57,670 would in a typical U.S. place (BEA, 2024).
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,131 a month, 24% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
Check your pay here
Enter a rate to see where it falls among insulation installers in Rochester.
Comparing two real offers with overtime and commutes? Use the job offer checker. The median here works out to about $27 an hour in yearly terms.
What this means Our calculation
Pay for insulation installers here is above average compared with other U.S. metros, and also above average once local prices are factored in. For the wider job market, unemployment is lower than in most metros (3.7%) and the population is shrinking (-0.7% since 2020). On your own, you'd join about 50 one-person building equipment installation businesses averaging $126,440 in revenue, and you'd need to bill roughly $71/hour to match the median salary (at our default assumptions).
Rochester scorecard for insulation installers Our calculation
Grades compare Rochester with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers. Grey line: typical U.S. metro ($48,305).
Pay over time
The median pay for insulation installers in the Rochester area went from $37,500 in 2021 to $55,960 in 2025, up 49.2%. Prices rose 19% over the same period, so after inflation that's +25.0% — a real raise.
BLS OEWS, May 2021–May 2025; inflation: CPI-U (May to May). Year-to-year changes can include survey noise.
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Rochester Our calculation
Prices in Rochester run 3% below the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $57,670 would in a typical place, ranking #25 of 105 on real pay.
Real pay or rent burden?
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.
Want the full picture? Build a Rochester budget on this pay from this pay, local rent and prices.
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.
What the work is like Government data
How often insulation installers deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes some preparation (high school plus months of training).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Licensing in New York Official source
New York licenses most trades at the city or county level (e.g. New York City). Check with the building or licensing office where you plan to work.
Requirements for insulation installers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
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 NY metros for insulation installers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| New YorkNEW YORK · NY | $61,730 | $54,840 | 1,500 |
| AlbanyNEW YORK · NY | $57,190 | $57,439 | 90 |
| SyracuseNEW YORK · NY | $56,680 | $59,201 | 80 |
| RochesterNEW YORK · NY | $55,960 | $57,670 | 100 |
| UticaNEW YORK · NY | $51,950 | $56,054 | 50 |
| BuffaloNEW YORK · NY | $48,310 | $50,405 | 140 |
See every metro in New York.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Rochester area's unemployment rate was 3.7% in 2025 (all workers, not just insulation installers), below the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 4.9% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Rochester area is 21 minutes each way, shorter than the typical metro (24 min). 7% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 74% drive alone, 1% take transit and 12% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Rochester area's population shrank 0.7% from 2020 to 2025 (1,063,676 → 1,056,149), ranking #326 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). More people moved out than in (net -3,326).
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
Homes in Rochester
The Rochester area has about 484,702 homes. 67% were built before 1980 (typical metro 45%), so its housing is older than most; 7% were built in 2010 or later. Older homes often need more repair, replacement and upgrade work. 66% of households own their home, and the median home value is $234,100.
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table DP04).
New construction
New-home permits in Rochester are roughly flat from 2021 to 2025 (1,774 → 1,750).
In 2025 the Rochester area approved permits for 1,750 new homes (1,251 single-family), or 1.7 per 1,000 residents, ranking #318 of 393 metros, a slower building market than most.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 50 one-person businesses (no employees) in building equipment installation, averaging $126,440 a year in revenue before expenses. See how Rochester compares among the best cities to start an insulation installer business.
They compete with 19 building equipment installation companies that have employees (about 237 workers in total). 47% of those companies have fewer than 5 employees.
What new hires earn here
People newly hired into construction jobs in the Rochester area earn about $65,300 a year at the start, compared with $84,100 for all construction workers who've stayed with their employer. By age, construction workers 19 to 24 average about $53,300 a year here, and those 45 to 54 about $96,500. That's for every construction job combined, not just insulation installers, but it shows how much experience is worth here.
Census Quarterly Workforce Indicators, construction (NAICS 23), private employers, 2024 Q4–2025 Q3. Monthly earnings × 12.
Storm and disaster rebuild work
Since 2016, the Rochester area has had 4 federal major disasters, mostly floods and hurricanes. The latest was declared in 2024 (Remnants Of Tropical Storm Debby).
FEMA disaster declarations, counties in this metro, fiscal years 2016–2026. COVID-19 declarations are left out.
Traveling here for work
Out-of-town insulation installers on travel jobs here are often paid per diem. The federal rate is $136 a night for lodging plus $80 a day for meals, the Rochester rate: about $1,512 a week on top of wages. Compare a travel job here with a local one.
GSA per diem rates, FY2027 (October 2026–September 2027). Employers set their own per diem; many use the GSA rate as a guide.
Working outdoors in Rochester Government data
In an average year, Rochester has 8 days at 90°F or hotter (fewer than most metros; typical metro 33), 129 nights below freezing (typical 90) and 81 days with a tenth of an inch of rain or more, and 102 inches of snow. Summer afternoons average 80°F and winter nights 21°F. That matters for insulation installers: heat and freezes shape the working season and the hours.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages, Rochester Gtr International Airport, NY station. Compare cities on outdoor work weather.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the break-even rate to match a $55,960 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for (including the employer half of Social Security and Medicare, 7.65%), then adds your profit margin. Change any number.
Break-even rate
With your profit margin
How this calculator works. Weighing a contractor job against a W-2 one? Try the 1099 vs. W-2 comparison. 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 Rochester with another city →
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ToolBest cities for insulation installersRank every metro on pay, buying power, rent and jobs.Is a job offer here any good?
ToolCheck an offer in RochesterSee where it falls among local insulation installers, after the commute.Could you afford to live here?
ToolRochester budgetMonthly take-home, HUD rent and local prices on this pay.About this data
Local to the Rochester metro: pay (BLS, May 2025) and pay over time (2020–2025, CPI-adjusted), prices (BEA, 2024), rent (HUD, FY2027), new construction, housing, population and commuting (Census), unemployment (BLS) and business counts (Census, by industry). National: job outlook and training (BLS projections), injury rates (BLS) and duties (O*NET). Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions; grades rank Rochester against every other metro for insulation installers. Every source, year and formula is on our data page.