Insulation Installers in the Seattle area earn a median of $71,980 a year, 49% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #4 of 106 metros for insulation installer salaries across the U.S..
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Olympia, but less in Mount Vernon.
It's one of 5 Washington metros with published pay for this trade; see statewide insulation installer pay.
Insulation Installer pay in Seattle at a glance
- Insulation installers in the Seattle, WA metro earn a median $71,980 a year ($34.61 an hour), #4 of 106 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $49,640 and $134,100.
- After local prices, that median buys what $64,769 would in a typical U.S. place (BEA, 2024).
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $2,066 a month, 34% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
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What this means Our calculation
Pay for insulation installers here is in the top 20% of U.S. metros, and also in the top 20% once local prices are factored in. For the wider job market, unemployment is higher than in most metros (4.6%) and the population is growing at a typical pace (+3.3% since 2020). On your own, you'd join about 149 one-person building equipment installation businesses averaging $103,812 in revenue, and you'd need to bill roughly $86/hour to match the median salary (at our default assumptions).
Seattle scorecard for insulation installers Our calculation
Grades compare Seattle with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers.
Pay over time
The median pay for insulation installers in the Seattle area went from $83,830 in 2020 to $71,980 in 2025, down 14.1%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's -31.5% — a real pay cut.
BLS OEWS, May 2020–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 Seattle Our calculation
Prices in Seattle run 11% above the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $64,769 would in a typical place, ranking #6 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 Seattle 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 Washington Official source
The main state licensing office in Washington is the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. It can point you to the right license for insulation installers.
Official Washington licensing site ↗
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 WA metros for insulation installers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| OlympiaWASHINGTON · WA | $76,610 | $73,898 | 40 |
| SeattleWASHINGTON · WA | $71,980 | $64,769 | 1,250 |
| Mount VernonWASHINGTON · WA | $62,710 | $61,215 | 90 |
| SpokaneWASHINGTON · WA | $61,690 | $61,477 | 150 |
| KennewickWASHINGTON · WA | $60,730 | $60,682 | 280 |
See every metro in Washington.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Seattle area's unemployment rate was 4.6% in 2025 (all workers, not just insulation installers), above the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 5.0% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Seattle area is 30 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 22% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 60% drive alone, 6% take transit and 18% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Seattle area's population grew 3.3% from 2020 to 2025 (4,027,814 → 4,161,883), ranking #153 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). People moving in (net +67,297) account for most of the change.
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
Homes in Seattle
The Seattle area has about 1,752,673 homes. 41% were built before 1980 (typical metro 45%), so its housing is newer than most; 18% were built in 2010 or later. 58% of households own their home, and the median home value is $743,000.
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table DP04).
New construction
New-home permits in Seattle are down 49% from 2021 to 2025 (30,743 → 15,659).
In 2025 the Seattle area approved permits for 15,659 new homes (6,136 single-family), or 3.9 per 1,000 residents, ranking #169 of 393 metros.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 149 one-person businesses (no employees) in building equipment installation, averaging $103,812 a year in revenue before expenses. See how Seattle compares among the best cities to start an insulation installer business.
They compete with 101 building equipment installation companies that have employees (about 1,669 workers in total). 49% of those companies have fewer than 5 employees.
Licensed contractors
The Seattle area has 58 active insulation contractor licenses, about 0.1 per 10,000 residents (#4 of 9 Washington metros, where #1 is the most crowded). That's the competition you'd face bidding your own jobs.
Washington Department of Labor & Industries, contractor license data, October 2026. Counted by the county in each license's address.
Working outdoors in Seattle Government data
In an average year, Seattle has 4 days at 90°F or hotter (fewer than most metros; typical metro 33), 25 nights below freezing (typical 90) and 93 days with a tenth of an inch of rain or more, and 6 inches of snow. Summer afternoons average 75°F and winter nights 38°F. That matters for insulation installers: heat and freezes shape the working season and the hours.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages, Seattle Tacoma International Airport, WA 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 $71,980 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 Seattle 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 SeattleSee where it falls among local insulation installers, after the commute.Could you afford to live here?
ToolSeattle budgetMonthly take-home, HUD rent and local prices on this pay.About this data
Local to the Seattle 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 Seattle against every other metro for insulation installers. Every source, year and formula is on our data page.