Insulation recruiters serving Albany.
About 80 insulation workers, mechanical work in the Albany metro, at a $59,740 median. BLS counts 16 business locations of nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors across the metro. Below: local pay for every role we staff, the state licensing rules that apply and the nearby markets competing for the same people.
Positions we recruit for in Albany.
BLS counts about 1,040 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Albany metro, the largest group being construction and building inspectors (about 560). Relative to the size of the local economy, insulation workers, mechanical are about as concentrated here as nationally (location quotient 1.03). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Insulation hub.
Mechanical Insulator (Pipe/Duct/Boiler)
Albany: 80 employed · $59,740 median, 31st-highest of 58 metros
Building Envelope Insulation Installer
Albany: 90 employed · $57,190 median, 16th-highest of 69 metros
Spray Foam Technician
Fireproofing / Firestop Technician
Insulation Foreman / Crew Lead
Albany: 1,840 employed · $83,750 median, 28th-highest of 112 metros
Insulation Estimator
Albany: 620 employed · $81,290 median, 29th-highest of 111 metros
Insulation Project Manager
Albany: 570 employed · $130,980 median, 13th-highest of 111 metros
Abatement-Certified Insulator
Albany: 310 employed · $60,390 median, 5th-highest of 90 metros
Blower / Loose-Fill Insulation Technician
Insulation Inspector / QC Technician
Albany: 560 employed · $69,450 median, 57th-highest of 112 metros
What Insulation roles earn in Albany.
Insulation workers, mechanical in Albany earn a median $59,740, level with the $58,340 national figure, and 31st of 58 metros. Pay runs $45,980 at the tenth percentile to $85,940 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is construction and building inspectors, at $69,450 against $74,690 nationally.
| Role | Albany median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical Insulator (Pipe/Duct/Boiler)Insulation Workers, Mechanical (47-2132) | $59,740 | $45,980–$85,940 | $58,340 | +2% | 80 |
| Building Envelope Insulation Installer · Spray Foam Technician · Fireproofing / Firestop TechnicianInsulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall (47-2131) | $57,190 | $43,350–$70,260 | $49,120 | +16% | 90 |
| Insulation Foreman / Crew LeadFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $83,750 | $60,440–$126,710 | $79,920 | +5% | 1,840 |
| Insulation EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051) | $81,290 | $49,470–$130,060 | $78,740 | +3% | 620 |
| Insulation Project ManagerConstruction Managers (11-9021) | $130,980 | $79,020–$219,090 | $114,990 | +14% | 570 |
| Abatement-Certified InsulatorHazardous Materials Removal Workers (47-4041) | $60,390 | $47,200–$75,550 | $49,450 | +22% | 310 |
| Insulation Inspector / QC TechnicianConstruction and Building Inspectors (47-4011) | $69,450 | $46,590–$109,810 | $74,690 | −7% | 560 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Albany metro. Range is 10th to 90th percentile; management and office roles are metro-wide. A metro ranking counts only the metros where BLS publishes that occupation.
How Albany's insulation market has changed since 2018.
The number of nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors in Albany rose from 15 in 2018 to 16 in 2023, up 7%, ahead of the 3% national decline. BLS stops short of publishing headcount and pay for them here, which happens when a handful of firms account for most of the work.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors: business locations | 15 | 16 | +7% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers, annual averages. A dash means BLS did not publish the figure.
Free Insulation hiring resources.
Definitive Guide to Insulation · 2026 Insulation Salary Guide · 3-Step Interview Guide for Insulation
Albany runs 29% fewer insulation workers per job than the country as a whole — well below the national concentration. Fewer per job means the people you want are already working, and usually for someone who would rather keep them.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 , Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall (nearest published occupation for this trade). Metro-wide figures for the base occupation; the wage table above is role-specific and commercial.
How Albany's insulation market compares
Among the 63 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Albany ranks 53rd for headcount, 16th for median pay and 47th for concentration for insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1,500 | $61,730 | 0.55 | 249 |
| Buffalo | 140 | $48,310 | 0.92 | 47 |
| Rochester | 100 | $55,960 | 0.73 | 17 |
| Albany | 90 | $57,190 | 0.71 | 16 |
| Syracuse | 80 | $56,680 | 0.97 | 17 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For insulation employers in Albany, the local pool is thinner than most, so plan on recruiting some roles in from outside the metro.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Albany metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Insulation licensing in New York.
New York State does not license general or insulation contractors; the Department of State Division of Licensing Services regulates real estate, security guards and appearance trades but no construction contracting. In New York City the Department of Buildings issues a General Contractor Registration together with about two dozen other trade licenses, though there is no insulation license among them. The decisive credential for insulation is the state Department of Labor asbestos program, which requires a contractor license for any firm performing asbestos projects and a certificate for every individual working on one, under Industrial Code Rule 56. Verify the firm appears on the state list of active licensed asbestos contractors and that each worker and supervisor holds a current asbestos handling certificate. The same state rules apply in New York, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, so candidates licensed there can work in Albany without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: No state contractor license; licensing is municipal, for example the New York City Department of Buildings. New York State Department of Labor Asbestos Control Bureau licenses asbestos contractors and certifies workers under 12 NYCRR 56. Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for Albany talent.
The closest metro we cover is Hartford, about 80 miles away. Syracuse pays the most nearby, a $82,950 median, 39% above Albany. That is the number any Albany offer is competing with when experienced people weigh a move.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albany | – | 80 | $59,740 |
| Hartford | 82 mi | – | – |
| Worcester | 103 mi | – | – |
| Bridgeport | 106 mi | – | – |
| Syracuse | 124 mi | 100 | $82,950 |
| Scranton | 130 mi | 40 | $79,470 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Albany crews.
Not insulation work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Albany in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- GlobalFoundries Fab 8 expansion (Malta)$11.6B (plus $575M packaging/testing + $186M R&D)Began 2025, multi-year buildout
A new 358,000 sq ft semiconductor manufacturing facility on GlobalFoundries' existing Malta campus, creating 1,500+ direct jobs plus thousands of indirect jobs - the anchor of the region's two-decade-old chip cluster.
- Albany NanoTech High NA EUV Lithography Center$10B partnershipUnder construction
The first and only publicly-owned High NA Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Center in North America, at NY CREATES' Albany NanoTech Complex - cutting-edge semiconductor R&D infrastructure.
- Downtown Albany Strategy$200M ($120M projects + $40M housing + $40M community)Multi-year rollout
A three-fund investment strategy to revitalize the capital city's core - major projects, housing, and public-space improvements.
Showing 3 of 4 projects tracked in this metro. The Albany market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for insulation, and what kills offers in Albany.
The 4 credentials that gate the work and the 3 things that most often end an insulation offer are the same in every market, kept in one place: Insulation credentials and offer risks, each linked to the body that issues it. What is local is the licensing rule above and the pay further up this page.
Frequently asked - Insulation hiring in Albany.
What do insulation workers, mechanical earn in Albany?
BLS puts the Albany median for insulation workers, mechanical at $59,740 a year, about the same as the $58,340 national median. That ranks 31st of 58 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Most of the market sits between $45,980 and $85,940, a 1.9x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience. Within New York, Syracuse pays more, at $82,950.
Is it hard to hire insulation workers, mechanical in Albany?
It is about average. Insulation workers, mechanical are as common in Albany as they are nationally (location quotient 1.03), with about 80 in the metro.
Which insulation roles pay the most in Albany?
Of the roles we recruit for, Insulation Project Manager pays the most in Albany, a $130,980 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Insulation Inspector / QC Technician at $69,450, 47% below it. Building Envelope Insulation Installer is the lowest-paid field role at $57,190. Relative to national pay, Abatement-Certified Insulator is the strongest-paying role here (22% above). Insulation Inspector / QC Technician trails national pay the most (7% below).
How many nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors operate in Albany?
BLS counted 16 nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors in Albany in 2023. Up from 15 in 2018, a 7% increase against 3% decline nationally. BLS withholds their combined headcount and pay here, which it does when a category is small enough that the figures could identify individual employers.
Which nearby metros compete with Albany for insulation workers, mechanical?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Syracuse (124 miles, about 100, $82,950 median), Scranton (130 miles, about 40, $79,470 median) and Providence (133 miles, about 80, $75,490 median). Syracuse pays 39% more, which is where Albany employers tend to lose people.
The seat is open. The pipeline should not be.
16 nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors in Albany are drawing on the same 80 insulation workers, mechanical. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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