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HVAC Replacement Cost Calculator

Replacing a furnace and central AC in a 2,000 sq ft house costs about $7,500 at US-average prices with removal and permit; pick what you are replacing and your house size.

Units

Labor and material prices are scaled to typical levels in your state.

House size

sq ft

Heated floor area. Prices are published for 1,000 to 3,000 sq ft (93 to 279 m²).

Efficiency
What else the job needs
Where in the range

Furnace and central AC, US average

$7,500

Low $6,400High $9,400
Materials
$5,900
Labor
$1,700
ItemMaterialsLaborTotal

Furnace and central AC, matched system, installed

$5,500$1,550

$7,000

$6,000 to $8,000

Removing the old equipment

2 units

$140$140

$270

$190 to $470

Permit

$280$0

$280

$160 to $890

Prices are US averages scaled to your state, updated September 2026.

The math

  1. Materials

    $5,900 US average × 1.00 (US average goods prices) = $5,900

  2. Labor

    $1,700 US average × 1.00 (US average construction wages) = $1,700

  3. Typical total

    $5,900 + $1,700 = $7,500

Matched system for 2,000 sq ft: $5,000 to $9,000, interpolated from HomeAdvisor's size table. Labor is 22% of the equipment price.
How this compares with published figures
  • This estimateyour inputs, $6,400 to $9,400
  • Average HVAC replacementHomeAdvisor Jun 2026, $5,000 to $12,500
  • Furnace and AC, 2,000 sq ftHomeAdvisor Jun 2026, $5,000 to $9,000
Sizing matters more than brand: an oversized system short-cycles. Get a load calculation, and leave gas, refrigerant and electrical connections to licensed installers.

HVAC replacement cost = the equipment for your house size + removal, ductwork, thermostat and permit; replacing a furnace and central AC in a 2,000 sq ft house is about $7,500 at US-average prices (range $6,400 to $9,400), with roughly $1,700 of it labor. A furnace alone is about $5,200 and a central AC about $6,400 with removal and a permit, and a heat pump about $6,300. This covers furnace replacement cost and HVAC installation for a like-for-like swap.

How the HVAC replacement cost is calculated

HomeAdvisor (June 2026) publishes a matched furnace and AC system by house size, from $3,000 to $6,000 for 1,000 sq ft up to $7,000 to $12,000 for 3,000 sq ft. For a single piece of equipment the calculator starts from the published average and normal range, scales it by the same size table, and adjusts furnace fuel. Labor is 22% of the equipment price (Fixr: 10% to 40% for a furnace; HomeAdvisor: about $1,500 on a $7,500 average). Your state's factors (BLS wages, BEA goods prices) then apply. Sizes are limited to 1,000 to 3,000 sq ft because that is where the size table is published; larger houses need a quote.

Cost = equipment price for your size (and fuel) + removal + ductwork + thermostat + permit; high-efficiency adds about 15% to the equipment

House sizeFurnace and AC, installed
1,000 sq ft$3,000 to $6,000
1,500 sq ft$4,000 to $7,000
2,000 sq ft$5,000 to $9,000
2,500 sq ft$6,000 to $10,000
3,000 sq ft$7,000 to $12,000

Worked example: 2,000 sq ft, furnace and AC

The matched system for 2,000 sq ft is $7,000 at the midpoint of HomeAdvisor's $5,000 to $9,000. Removing two old units adds about $270 (HomeAdvisor $60 to $330, Fixr $50 to $330) and the permit about $280 (Fixr: $50 to $1,500). Total: $7,500, in line with HomeAdvisor's $7,500 average for an HVAC job. A 1,000 sq ft house comes to about $5,000 and a 3,000 sq ft house about $10,000.

Furnace replacement cost

The furnace alone (gas, 2,000 sq ft) is about $5,200 with removal and permit: $4,810 for the furnace, from HomeAdvisor's average of $4,814 and Fixr's $4,800. Fuel matters. Fixr lists electric $1,800 to $7,300, gas $3,800 to $10,000, propane $3,700 to $14,200 and oil $6,700 to $10,000; the calculator scales gas by 0.66 for electric, 1.21 for oil and 1.30 for propane (the ratio of the midpoints). An electric furnace comes to about $3,600. Furnace size is a separate question: the furnace size calculator turns your heat loss into a BTU rating.

Central AC and heat pump cost

A central AC is about $6,400 with removal and permit; the unit itself averages $5,978 (HomeAdvisor, normal range $3,887 to $8,073). A heat pump that heats and cools is about $6,300 ($4,200 to $7,600 at HomeAdvisor). Size the AC in tons with the AC size calculator and a heat pump with the heat pump size calculator.

Efficiency, ductwork and other extras

HomeAdvisor puts the premium for energy-efficient equipment at 10% to 20%; the calculator uses 15%, which takes the matched system to about $8,400. New ductwork is $1,135 to $4,565 across HomeAdvisor and Fixr, about $2,850 typical, taking the same job to $10,400; size ducts with the ductwork calculator. A thermostat is $120 to $260.

What raises the price

An oversized or hard-to-reach install, changing fuel (electric to gas conversions and furnace relocation run into the thousands at HomeAdvisor), new ducts, a roof-mounted unit and a high-wage state. Two quotes with different equipment sizes are not comparable until the load is calculated: start from the BTU calculator.

DIY or a pro

Refrigerant, gas and combustion venting, and the electrical supply are licensed work in most places; this page has no DIY toggle. What you can do yourself is measure the house, calculate the load and compare bids.

Permit

HVAC swaps generally need a permit and, for gas equipment, an inspection. Fixr's range is $50 to $1,500, so the typical figure here is a computed midpoint of a very wide range, not a quote.

Next questions

If the new heat pump or AC needs more amps, the electrical panel replacement cost calculator prices the panel. The other big appliance is the water heater replacement cost calculator. All estimates are under project costs.

These figures are dated estimates from published national data, adjusted for your state. They are not quotes.