Insulation recruiters serving San Antonio.
San Antonio has 39% more insulation workers, mechanical per job than the country as a whole, about 260 in the metro. BLS counts 32 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 San Antonio.
BLS counts about 2,370 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the San Antonio metro, the largest group being construction and building inspectors (about 1,450). Relative to the size of the local economy, insulation workers, mechanical are far more concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 1.39). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Insulation hub.
Mechanical Insulator (Pipe/Duct/Boiler)
San Antonio: 260 employed · $48,920 median, 49th-highest of 58 metros
Building Envelope Insulation Installer
San Antonio: 370 employed · $47,070 median, 48th-highest of 69 metros
Spray Foam Technician
Fireproofing / Firestop Technician
Insulation Foreman / Crew Lead
San Antonio: 6,170 employed · $73,520 median, 97th-highest of 112 metros
Insulation Estimator
San Antonio: 1,690 employed · $74,830 median, 80th-highest of 111 metros
Insulation Project Manager
San Antonio: 4,680 employed · $98,450 median, 104th-highest of 111 metros
Abatement-Certified Insulator
San Antonio: 290 employed · $43,170 median, 81st-highest of 90 metros
Blower / Loose-Fill Insulation Technician
Insulation Inspector / QC Technician
San Antonio: 1,450 employed · $62,110 median, 90th-highest of 112 metros
What Insulation roles earn in San Antonio.
Insulation workers, mechanical in San Antonio earn a median $48,920, 16% under the $58,340 national figure, and 49th of 58 metros. Pay runs $40,330 at the tenth percentile to $61,070 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is construction and building inspectors, at $62,110 against $74,690 nationally.
| Role | San Antonio median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical Insulator (Pipe/Duct/Boiler)Insulation Workers, Mechanical (47-2132) | $48,920 | $40,330–$61,070 | $58,340 | −16% | 260 |
| Building Envelope Insulation Installer · Spray Foam Technician · Fireproofing / Firestop TechnicianInsulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall (47-2131) | $47,070 | $36,240–$60,680 | $49,120 | −4% | 370 |
| Insulation Foreman / Crew LeadFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $73,520 | $47,850–$104,110 | $79,920 | −8% | 6,170 |
| Insulation EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051) | $74,830 | $45,340–$129,840 | $78,740 | −5% | 1,690 |
| Insulation Project ManagerConstruction Managers (11-9021) | $98,450 | $61,370–$157,450 | $114,990 | −14% | 4,680 |
| Abatement-Certified InsulatorHazardous Materials Removal Workers (47-4041) | $43,170 | $35,360–$56,170 | $49,450 | −13% | 290 |
| Insulation Inspector / QC TechnicianConstruction and Building Inspectors (47-4011) | $62,110 | $47,550–$101,950 | $74,690 | −17% | 1,450 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, San Antonio 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 San Antonio's insulation market has changed since 2018.
San Antonio lost nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors between 2018 and 2023, from 34 business locations to 32 (down 6%), behind the 3% national decline. Headcount at those firms went up 17%, to about 1,229 people, so fewer firms are employing more people each. Average annual pay there went from $44,444 to $54,992 (+24%), in step with the 21% national increase.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors: business locations | 34 | 32 | −6% |
| Nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors: employment | 1,054 | 1,229 | +17% |
| Nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors: average annual pay | $44,444 | $54,992 | +24% |
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
San Antonio runs 14% more insulation workers per job than the country as a whole — 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 San Antonio's insulation market compares
Among the 63 metros we cover with published BLS figures, San Antonio ranks 23rd for headcount, 46th for median pay and 24th for concentration for insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall.
| 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 San Antonio, 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, San Antonio 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 Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, McAllen and El Paso, so candidates licensed there can work in San Antonio 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 an insulation search in San Antonio 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 San Antonio than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Estimator / Project ManagerShe grew her own asphalt repair business from $600K to $2.5 million before taking this seat.
- Estimator / Project ManagerAn 80% win rate on bids from $100,000 to $2 million, brought onto the same bid desk.
Nearby markets competing for San Antonio talent.
The closest metro we cover is Austin, about 75 miles away. Dallas-Fort Worth pays the most nearby, a $52,200 median, 7% above San Antonio. That is the number any San Antonio 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Antonio | – | 260 | $48,920 |
| Austin | 74 mi | – | – |
| Houston | 190 mi | 1,320 | $50,050 |
| McAllen | 223 mi | – | – |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | 253 mi | 830 | $52,200 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for San Antonio crews.
Not insulation work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into San Antonio in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas (Tundra) + supplier expansions$500M+ recent reinvestmentOngoing
South Side truck plant and its on-site supplier park keep industrial mechanical, electrical, and controls trades tight across the region.
- Microsoft data center campuses (West San Antonio)Multi-billion, multi-phaseRolling through 2028+
Hyperscale build-out on the far West Side is the single biggest force in the market. Power-systems electricians, controls technicians, and mechanical PMs are in extreme demand.
- Project Marvel downtown sports & entertainment districtMulti-billion (planned)Phased, breaking ground mid-decade
Downtown arena and entertainment district will drive specialty finishes, custom MEP, and steel erection once vertical construction begins.
Showing 3 of 6 projects tracked in this metro. The San Antonio market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for insulation, and what kills offers in San Antonio.
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 San Antonio.
What do insulation workers, mechanical earn in San Antonio?
BLS puts the San Antonio median for insulation workers, mechanical at $48,920 a year, 16% below the $58,340 national median. That ranks 49th of 58 metros with published figures, in the bottom quarter. Pay is bunched together here, $40,330 to $61,070 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.5x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed. Within Texas, Dallas-Fort Worth pays more, at $52,200.
Is it hard to hire insulation workers, mechanical in San Antonio?
Not by national standards. Insulation workers, mechanical make up 39% more of the San Antonio workforce than they do nationally, about 260 people. The 32 nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors here average about 38 employees per location, which means a handful of large operators set the pace on pay.
Which insulation roles pay the most in San Antonio?
Of the roles we recruit for, Insulation Project Manager pays the most in San Antonio, a $98,450 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Insulation Inspector / QC Technician at $62,110, 37% below it. Abatement-Certified Insulator is the lowest-paid field role at $43,170. Insulation Inspector / QC Technician trails national pay the most (17% below).
How many nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors operate in San Antonio?
BLS counted 32 nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors in San Antonio in 2023, employing about 1,229 people between them. Down from 34 in 2018, a 6% decline against 3% decline nationally. That averages 38 people per location, so a few large operators dominate hiring. They pay an average of $54,992, 29% below the $77,107 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with San Antonio for insulation workers, mechanical?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Houston (190 miles, about 1,320, $50,050 median) and Dallas-Fort Worth (253 miles, about 830, $52,200 median). Houston has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. Dallas-Fort Worth pays 7% more, which is where San Antonio employers tend to lose people.
Plenty of people. Few of them looking.
San Antonio 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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