Insulation recruiters serving Boston.
BLS counts 96 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 Boston.
BLS counts about 4,930 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Boston metro, the largest group being construction and building inspectors (about 2,950). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Insulation hub.
Mechanical Insulator (Pipe/Duct/Boiler)
Boston: BLS does not publish a local figure for this occupation.
Building Envelope Insulation Installer
Boston: BLS does not publish a local figure for this occupation.
Spray Foam Technician
Fireproofing / Firestop Technician
Insulation Foreman / Crew Lead
Boston: 13,110 employed · $99,890 median, 10th-highest of 112 metros
Insulation Estimator
Boston: 3,110 employed · $102,640 median, highest of 111 metros
Insulation Project Manager
Boston: 7,570 employed · $156,470 median, 5th-highest of 111 metros
Abatement-Certified Insulator
Boston: 1,980 employed · $49,930 median, 29th-highest of 90 metros
Blower / Loose-Fill Insulation Technician
Insulation Inspector / QC Technician
Boston: 2,950 employed · $84,620 median, 17th-highest of 112 metros
What Insulation roles earn in Boston.
BLS publishes no Boston pay for insulation workers, mechanical; nationally the median is $58,340. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers in Boston earn a median $99,890, 25% over the $79,920 national figure, and 10th of 112 metros. Pay runs $69,370 at the tenth percentile to $137,990 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is construction and building inspectors, at $84,620 against $74,690 nationally. BLS withholds Boston pay for 2 occupations in the table.
| Role | Boston median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical Insulator (Pipe/Duct/Boiler)Insulation Workers, Mechanical (47-2132) | – | – | $58,340 | – | – |
| Building Envelope Insulation Installer · Spray Foam Technician · Fireproofing / Firestop TechnicianInsulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall (47-2131) | – | – | $49,120 | – | – |
| Insulation Foreman / Crew LeadFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $99,890 | $69,370–$137,990 | $79,920 | +25% | 13,110 |
| Insulation EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051) | $102,640 | $63,200–$157,200 | $78,740 | +30% | 3,110 |
| Insulation Project ManagerConstruction Managers (11-9021) | $156,470 | $105,860–$217,860 | $114,990 | +36% | 7,570 |
| Abatement-Certified InsulatorHazardous Materials Removal Workers (47-4041) | $49,930 | $47,840–$71,500 | $49,450 | +1% | 1,980 |
| Insulation Inspector / QC TechnicianConstruction and Building Inspectors (47-4011) | $84,620 | $50,330–$124,900 | $74,690 | +13% | 2,950 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Boston 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 Boston's insulation market has changed since 2018.
Boston had 96 nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors in 2023, exactly as many as in 2018. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Boston, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors: business locations | 96 | 96 | +0% |
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
How Boston's insulation market compares
| Metro | Commercial employers |
|---|---|
| Boston | 96 |
| Worcester | 13 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Boston metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Insulation licensing in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts requires a Construction Supervisor License for work on buildings under 35,000 cubic feet of enclosed space. Larger buildings are overseen by a registered design professional instead. The same state rules apply in Worcester, so candidates licensed there can work in Boston without re-qualifying. The Boston metro crosses a state line, so check the rules in the neighboring state too for crews that work on both sides.
Licensing authority: Office of Public Safety and Inspections, Division of Occupational Licensure. Confirm current rules with the agency.
We have not closed an insulation search in Boston yet. Here is what we have closed.
These are other trades in the same market. We would rather show you the searches we have actually run in Boston than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Commercial HVAC Service TechnicianTwo decades of HVAC and refrigeration, including chief engineer roles.
Nearby markets competing for Boston talent.
The closest metro we cover is Worcester, about 40 miles away. BLS does not publish Boston figures for this occupation, so the nearby markets are the best guide: Providence has the largest pool within reach, about 80, at a $75,490 median.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | – | – | – |
| Worcester | 38 mi | – | – |
| Providence | 41 mi | 80 | $75,490 |
| Hartford | 93 mi | – | – |
| Bridgeport | 137 mi | – | – |
| Albany | 139 mi | 80 | $59,740 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Boston crews.
Not insulation work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Boston in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Kendall Square lab & cleanroom towers (Cambridge)$5B+ ongoingPhased through 2030
Densest life-sciences cluster in the world. Cleanroom MEP, lab process piping, high-spec HVAC. Sustained multi-year demand for lab-experienced trades.
- Seaport life-sciences build-out (South Boston)$4B+ pipelinePhased through 2030
New lab towers and biomanufacturing on the waterfront. Specialty cleanroom + process MEP. Coastal cold-climate envelope considerations drive premiums.
- Mass General Brigham campus expansions$2B+ programThrough 2028
Healthcare mechanical at world-class hospitals. Med-gas, isolation-room HVAC, high-spec institutional. Steady multi-year demand for hospital-experienced trades.
Showing 3 of 6 projects tracked in this metro. The Boston market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for insulation, and what kills offers in Boston.
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 Boston.
Which insulation roles pay the most in Boston?
Of the roles we recruit for, Insulation Project Manager pays the most in Boston, a $156,470 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Insulation Inspector / QC Technician at $84,620, 46% below it. Abatement-Certified Insulator is the lowest-paid field role at $49,930. Relative to national pay, Insulation Project Manager is the strongest-paying role here (36% above).
How many nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors operate in Boston?
BLS counted 96 nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors in Boston in 2023. That is roughly where the count stood in 2018 (96). 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 Boston for insulation workers, mechanical?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Providence (41 miles, about 80, $75,490 median), Albany (139 miles, about 80, $59,740 median) and New York (190 miles, about 1,100, $70,690 median).
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