Data checked August 6, 2026 · source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics

How much does it cost to replace a gas furnace?

An 80,000 BTU residential furnace swap, priced from real dealer equipment prices, a real parts list, and BLS wage data for the technician.

Where the money actually goes

This is the same quote, taken apart. Every line is a real price from a real listing or a published fee schedule, not a number we made up.

The low column assumes a straightforward job with the cheapest listed equipment; the high column assumes the full parts list, the top of the labour range and the most expensive permit jurisdiction we measured. Most real quotes land in the middle.

What the equipment costs

Source: HVACDirect and Alpine Home Air dealer listings, checked August 6, 2026.

Specific products, with the price we saw

Not a recommendation and not an affiliate link. These are the listings we checked on August 6, 2026, so you can see whether the equipment line on your quote is close to retail.

Retail prices move. If one of these is wrong now, tell us and we will fix it with the date.

Parts list

What this job costs in 49 US metro areas

Materials cost roughly the same everywhere. Labour does not. The wage column is US government data; the labour column is that wage run through our published multiplier; the total applies it to the job above. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara comes out 9% higher than Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater on the same work.

Wages: BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 49-9021 — public domain. Metros where BLS suppressed the figure are left out rather than estimated. Totals are FieldPricing calculations from the parts and hours on this page — they are not quotes and no contractor has agreed to them.

What did you actually pay?

Everything above this line is arithmetic on public data. It is honest, and it is not the same thing as a real invoice. If you have had this work done, the number on your invoice is worth more to the next reader than anything we can calculate.

What did you pay in total? Just the number is fine. $1,850, or "about 2 grand". Where? City and state. We publish this; it is the whole point.

When? Month and year is enough. What did it cover? Equipment included? Permit? Old unit hauled away? Anything unusual? This is the part that makes your number useful to somebody else. Email — optional Only used if we need to ask you one question before publishing. Never shown, never sold, never mailed to.

Website

Send it in

No account, no login, no newsletter. A person reads every submission before it appears, so it will not show up instantly. If we cannot make sense of one, we leave it out rather than guess — and if you would rather just email it, that works too.

What actually moves the price

80% vs 90%+ AFUE

A 96% unit costs roughly $700-$1,000 more and needs PVC venting and a condensate drain instead of metal B-vent. That is equipment and labour, both.

Ductwork

A furnace matched to existing ductwork is a 4-6 hour swap. Ductwork that has to be resized, resealed or replaced doubles the job.

Region

Northeast and West Coast installs run 15-25% above Midwest and South, because that is where the wage data says the technicians are paid more.

California HERS testing

Duct leakage testing and CF-3R registration at final inspection is an extra line item that does not exist in most other states.

Code requirements that cost money

These are the things an inspector will look for, and each one is a line on the invoice that a homeowner often reads as padding. Mostly it is not.

• Combustion air — Cannot be drawn from closets, bathrooms, kitchens, or rooms with other fuel-burning appliances (CMC Chapter 7). Source.
• Category IV plastic venting — 90%+ units must be vented per the manufacturer's instructions (CMC 802.4.2). Drives the PVC and termination kit cost. Source.
• Condensate handling — Discharge to an approved location plus secondary overflow protection where damage is possible (CMC 310.1). Source.
• Gas sediment trap — Required downstream of the appliance shutoff (CPC 1212.9). Source.
• HERS duct-leakage test (California) — Required at final inspection, registered with CalCERTS or CHEERS (CEES 150.2(b)(1)(E)). Source.

Code citations are to the California Plumbing and Mechanical Codes unless noted, because California publishes its handouts openly. Your jurisdiction adopts its own version of the model code — check locally before relying on any of this.

What we could not verify

We publish this list because a cost page that never admits a gap is not telling you the truth.

• The full retail spread of 90%+ AFUE 80,000 BTU furnaces — we have two dealer data points, not a market survey.
• Sheet-metal plenum, transition and filter rack prices — no retailer SKU we could verify.
• PVC fittings, primer and cement as itemised lines.

How we got these numbers

• Wages — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 49-9021 (Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers), pulled through the BLS public API. US federal data, public domain.
• Billed rate — wage × 1.3 labour burden × 1.70–2.45 overhead and profit, so 2.21×–3.19× the wage. Our assumption, published in full on the methodology page so you can disagree with it.
• Equipment and parts — retailer and supply-house listings, each linked above, checked 2026-08-06.
• Labour hours — Lennox — how long does it take to install a furnace · HVACProjectCost — gas furnace replacement cost.
• Permit fees — PermitCalculator HVAC permit dataset v2026.Q1.
• Disposal — Dropcurb — furnace removal cost, published 2026-04-04.

We do not use RSMeans or Craftsman cost data. Their licences forbid building a database from them, so every number here traces to a public source or a public listing you can open yourself.

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