Insulation recruiters serving Dallas-Fort Worth.
Dallas-Fort Worth has 24% more insulation workers, mechanical per job than the country as a whole, about 830 in the metro. BLS counts 147 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 Dallas-Fort Worth.
BLS counts about 9,790 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Dallas-Fort Worth metro, the largest group being construction and building inspectors (about 5,450). Relative to the size of the local economy, insulation workers, mechanical are more concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 1.24). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Insulation hub.
Mechanical Insulator (Pipe/Duct/Boiler)
Dallas-Fort Worth: 830 employed · $52,200 median, 38th-highest of 58 metros
Building Envelope Insulation Installer
Dallas-Fort Worth: 2,100 employed · $49,930 median, 29th-highest of 69 metros
Spray Foam Technician
Fireproofing / Firestop Technician
Insulation Foreman / Crew Lead
Dallas-Fort Worth: 21,530 employed · $76,230 median, 78th-highest of 112 metros
Insulation Estimator
Dallas-Fort Worth: 6,200 employed · $79,290 median, 42nd-highest of 111 metros
Insulation Project Manager
Dallas-Fort Worth: 17,110 employed · $103,550 median, 80th-highest of 111 metros
Abatement-Certified Insulator
Dallas-Fort Worth: 1,410 employed · $44,420 median, 77th-highest of 90 metros
Blower / Loose-Fill Insulation Technician
Insulation Inspector / QC Technician
Dallas-Fort Worth: 5,450 employed · $69,020 median, 59th-highest of 112 metros
What Insulation roles earn in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Insulation workers, mechanical in Dallas-Fort Worth earn a median $52,200, 11% under the $58,340 national figure, and 38th of 58 metros. Pay runs $44,670 at the tenth percentile to $61,030 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is construction and building inspectors, at $69,020 against $74,690 nationally.
| Role | Dallas-Fort Worth median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical Insulator (Pipe/Duct/Boiler)Insulation Workers, Mechanical (47-2132) | $52,200 | $44,670–$61,030 | $58,340 | −11% | 830 |
| Building Envelope Insulation Installer · Spray Foam Technician · Fireproofing / Firestop TechnicianInsulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall (47-2131) | $49,930 | $36,910–$64,130 | $49,120 | +2% | 2,100 |
| Insulation Foreman / Crew LeadFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $76,230 | $50,280–$104,480 | $79,920 | −5% | 21,530 |
| Insulation EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051) | $79,290 | $47,950–$134,460 | $78,740 | +1% | 6,200 |
| Insulation Project ManagerConstruction Managers (11-9021) | $103,550 | $66,580–$166,770 | $114,990 | −10% | 17,110 |
| Abatement-Certified InsulatorHazardous Materials Removal Workers (47-4041) | $44,420 | $38,940–$60,800 | $49,450 | −10% | 1,410 |
| Insulation Inspector / QC TechnicianConstruction and Building Inspectors (47-4011) | $69,020 | $46,660–$108,590 | $74,690 | −8% | 5,450 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Dallas-Fort Worth 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 Dallas-Fort Worth's insulation market has changed since 2018.
Dallas-Fort Worth lost nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors between 2018 and 2023, from 150 business locations to 147 (down 2%), close to the 3% national change. Headcount at those firms went up 3%, to about 6,136 people, so fewer firms are employing more people each. Average annual pay there went from $50,716 to $63,647 (+25%), 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 | 150 | 147 | −2% |
| Nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors: employment | 5,978 | 6,136 | +3% |
| Nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors: average annual pay | $50,716 | $63,647 | +25% |
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
Dallas-Fort Worth runs 82% 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 Dallas-Fort Worth's insulation market compares
Among the 63 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Dallas-Fort Worth ranks 2nd for headcount, 29th for median pay and 8th for concentration for insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall. That puts it among the deepest insulation labor markets in the country.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 2,430 | $48,140 | 2.58 | 132 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | 2,100 | $49,930 | 1.82 | 147 |
| San Antonio | 370 | $47,070 | 1.14 | 32 |
| Austin | – | – | – | 65 |
| McAllen | – | – | – | 9 |
| El Paso | – | – | – | 17 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For insulation employers in Dallas-Fort Worth, 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, Dallas-Fort Worth metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Insulation licensing in Texas.
Texas issues no state general contractor or insulation contractor license. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation licenses only a narrow set of construction trades, chiefly air conditioning and refrigeration contractors, electricians and water well drillers, and insulation is not among them. Where the work touches asbestos, DSHS licensing is mandatory and is the real personnel credential to check: DSHS issues individual Asbestos Abatement Worker and Supervisor licenses plus a company-level Asbestos Abatement Contractor license. When hiring, confirm the firm holds a current DSHS asbestos contractor license and that named crew leads hold current supervisor licenses. The same state rules apply in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen and El Paso, so candidates licensed there can work in Dallas-Fort Worth without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: No state contractor license; Texas Department of State Health Services Asbestos Program licenses asbestos work under 25 TAC Chapter 296. Confirm current rules with the agency.
We have not closed a insulation search in Dallas-Fort Worth 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 Dallas-Fort Worth than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Apprentice ElectricianA tradesman already in our network for nine months, matched to the right opening and hired within a week.
- Electrical Service ManagerTwenty-five years running electrical service departments, with the national accounts to match.
- Electrical SuperintendentFourteen weeks, and worth it: a superintendent who has run USACE electrical work on a remote Pacific atoll.
Nearby markets competing for Dallas-Fort Worth talent.
The closest metro we cover is Austin, about 180 miles away. Tulsa pays the most nearby, a $75,030 median, 44% above Dallas-Fort Worth. That is the number any Dallas-Fort Worth offer is competing with when experienced people weigh a move. Houston has the deepest pool within reach, so a search for senior roles here usually extends there.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth | – | 830 | $52,200 |
| Austin | 182 mi | – | – |
| Oklahoma City | 190 mi | 60 | $74,490 |
| Houston | 225 mi | 1,320 | $50,050 |
| Tulsa | 237 mi | 130 | $75,030 |
| San Antonio | 253 mi | 260 | $48,920 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Dallas-Fort Worth crews.
Not insulation work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Dallas-Fort Worth in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Data center campuses (multiple operators)~$8B announced 2024-2026Rolling
DFW is now a top-3 US data center market. Power-systems electricians, mechanical PMs, and controls techs in extreme demand.
- DFW Airport Terminal F$1.6B2024-2027
Heavy mechanical, electrical, and specialty trade demand. Phased construction means rolling crew needs.
- TxDOT I-635 LBJ East expansion$1.74BSubstantially complete as of mid-2026; only finishing touches (landscaping, sod, paint) remain
A historical example of the heavy civil and paving capacity this metro delivers, not an active current driver at its earlier scale. Operators, foremen, and plant managers were in tightest supply during the main build.
Showing 3 of 5 projects tracked in this metro. The Dallas-Fort Worth market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for insulation, and what kills offers in Dallas-Fort Worth.
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 Dallas-Fort Worth.
What do insulation workers, mechanical earn in Dallas-Fort Worth?
BLS puts the Dallas-Fort Worth median for insulation workers, mechanical at $52,200 a year, 11% below the $58,340 national median. That ranks 38th of 58 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Pay is bunched together here, $44,670 to $61,030 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.4x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed. No other Texas metro we cover pays more for this work.
Is it hard to hire insulation workers, mechanical in Dallas-Fort Worth?
Not by national standards. Insulation workers, mechanical make up 24% more of the Dallas-Fort Worth workforce than they do nationally, about 830 people. The 147 nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors here average about 42 employees per location, which means a handful of large operators set the pace on pay.
Which insulation roles pay the most in Dallas-Fort Worth?
Of the roles we recruit for, Insulation Project Manager pays the most in Dallas-Fort Worth, a $103,550 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Insulation Inspector / QC Technician at $69,020, 33% below it. Abatement-Certified Insulator is the lowest-paid field role at $44,420. Mechanical Insulator (Pipe/Duct/Boiler) trails national pay the most (11% below).
How many nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors operate in Dallas-Fort Worth?
BLS counted 147 nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2023, employing about 6,136 people between them. Down from 150 in 2018, a 2% decline against 3% decline nationally. That averages 42 people per location, so a few large operators dominate hiring. They pay an average of $63,647, 17% below the $77,107 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with Dallas-Fort Worth for insulation workers, mechanical?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Oklahoma City (190 miles, about 60, $74,490 median), Houston (225 miles, about 1,320, $50,050 median) and Tulsa (237 miles, about 130, $75,030 median). Houston has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. Oklahoma City pays 43% more, which is where Dallas-Fort Worth employers tend to lose people.
Plenty of people. Few of them looking.
Dallas-Fort Worth has one of the deeper pools of insulation workers, mechanical we cover, but the best of them are already working. Let's find the ones ready to move.
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