Insulation recruiters serving Albuquerque.
BLS counts 23 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 Albuquerque.
BLS counts about 800 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Albuquerque metro, the largest group being hazardous materials removal workers (about 320). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Insulation hub.
Mechanical Insulator (Pipe/Duct/Boiler)
Albuquerque: $56,990 median, 35th-highest of 58 metros
Building Envelope Insulation Installer
Albuquerque: 170 employed · $48,260 median, 37th-highest of 69 metros
Spray Foam Technician
Fireproofing / Firestop Technician
Insulation Foreman / Crew Lead
Albuquerque: 2,280 employed · $75,070 median, 87th-highest of 112 metros
Insulation Estimator
Albuquerque: 520 employed · $73,090 median, 89th-highest of 111 metros
Insulation Project Manager
Albuquerque: 1,210 employed · $101,650 median, 94th-highest of 111 metros
Abatement-Certified Insulator
Albuquerque: 320 employed · $55,420 median, 16th-highest of 90 metros
Blower / Loose-Fill Insulation Technician
Insulation Inspector / QC Technician
Albuquerque: 310 employed · $63,190 median, 81st-highest of 112 metros
Hiring the same trade in another market? We recruit it in Rochester, NY, Sacramento, CA too.
What Insulation roles earn in Albuquerque.
Insulation workers, mechanical in Albuquerque earn a median $56,990, level with the $58,340 national figure, and 35th of 58 metros. Pay runs $46,710 at the tenth percentile to $73,990 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is construction and building inspectors, at $63,190 against $74,690 nationally.
| Role | Albuquerque median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical Insulator (Pipe/Duct/Boiler)Insulation Workers, Mechanical (47-2132) | $56,990 | $46,710–$73,990 | $58,340 | −2% | – |
| Building Envelope Insulation Installer · Spray Foam Technician · Fireproofing / Firestop TechnicianInsulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall (47-2131) | $48,260 | $36,190–$78,290 | $49,120 | −2% | 170 |
| Insulation Foreman / Crew LeadFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $75,070 | $47,960–$99,770 | $79,920 | −6% | 2,280 |
| Insulation EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051) | $73,090 | $39,810–$115,970 | $78,740 | −7% | 520 |
| Insulation Project ManagerConstruction Managers (11-9021) | $101,650 | $69,860–$157,750 | $114,990 | −12% | 1,210 |
| Abatement-Certified InsulatorHazardous Materials Removal Workers (47-4041) | $55,420 | $37,010–$78,810 | $49,450 | +12% | 320 |
| Insulation Inspector / QC TechnicianConstruction and Building Inspectors (47-4011) | $63,190 | $46,420–$97,160 | $74,690 | −15% | 310 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Albuquerque 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 Albuquerque's insulation market has changed since 2018.
Albuquerque lost nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors between 2018 and 2023, from 32 business locations to 23 (down 28%), behind the 3% national decline. Headcount at those firms went up 9%, to about 750 people, so fewer firms are employing more people each. Average annual pay there went from $43,804 to $60,896 (+39%), faster than the 21% national increase, a sign employers here have had to bid up.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors: business locations | 32 | 23 | −28% |
| Nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors: employment | 691 | 750 | +9% |
| Nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors: average annual pay | $43,804 | $60,896 | +39% |
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
Albuquerque runs 48% more insulation workers per job than the country as a whole — well above the national concentration. More per job means more people to reach, and more employers reaching 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 Albuquerque's insulation market compares
Among the 63 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Albuquerque ranks 36th for headcount, 36th for median pay and 17th for concentration for insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall.
What this means for hiring:For insulation employers in Albuquerque, the pool is deep and still growing, so the constraint is competition rather than supply. Move fast on good candidates, because another local firm is probably talking to them too.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Albuquerque metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Insulation licensing in New Mexico.
New Mexico requires a license for anyone contracting or offering to contract construction work. Specialty classifications include GS-16 Masonry, GS-4 Concrete and GS-1 Acoustical Insulation and Insulation.
Licensing authority: Construction Industries Division, New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department. Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for Albuquerque talent.
The closest metro we cover is El Paso, about 230 miles away.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque | – | – | $56,990 |
| El Paso | 230 mi | – | – |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Albuquerque crews.
Not insulation work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Albuquerque in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Sandia National Laboratories Power Sources Capability buildingOne of Sandia's largest projects in a decadeStarted August 2025; final beam installed April 2026; completing 2028
Replaces an aging facility with one designed to adapt to changing weapons-systems missions over the next 50 years. Federal-facility-grade mechanical and electrical construction at a scale few commercial projects in the region reach.
This is the only project we track in Albuquerque. The Albuquerque market page covers hiring conditions across every trade here.
What credentials matter for insulation, and what kills offers in Albuquerque.
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 Albuquerque.
What do insulation workers, mechanical earn in Albuquerque?
BLS puts the Albuquerque median for insulation workers, mechanical at $56,990 a year, about the same as the $58,340 national median. That ranks 35th of 58 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Pay is bunched together here, $46,710 to $73,990 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.6x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed.
Which insulation roles pay the most in Albuquerque?
Of the roles we recruit for, Insulation Project Manager pays the most in Albuquerque, a $101,650 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Insulation Inspector / QC Technician at $63,190, 38% below it. Building Envelope Insulation Installer is the lowest-paid field role at $48,260. Relative to national pay, Abatement-Certified Insulator is the strongest-paying role here (12% above). Insulation Inspector / QC Technician trails national pay the most (15% below).
How many nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors operate in Albuquerque?
BLS counted 23 nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors in Albuquerque in 2023, employing about 750 people between them. Down from 32 in 2018, a 28% decline against 3% decline nationally. That averages 33 people per location, so a few large operators dominate hiring. They pay an average of $60,896, 21% below the $77,107 national average for the same kind of employer.
Can Albuquerque employers recruit insulation workers, mechanical from nearby metros?
Not easily. None of the other metros we cover within 300 miles of Albuquerque has published BLS figures for insulation workers, mechanical, so a search here mostly has to be won locally or by relocating someone from farther away.
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23 nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors in Albuquerque are hiring from the same local pool. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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