2026 Window Cost Index

Installing a window costs nearly 3.2× more in the most expensive U.S. metro than in the cheapest — but that gap is almost entirely labor, not the window itself. Across 524 metro areas, the median carpenter wage runs from about $14.29/hr in Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area to $45.81/hr in Kankakee, IL — a 3.2× spread on installation labor. Because window material is priced on a national market and only labor is regional, the all-in cost of our reference window (a standard double-hung, vinyl, double-pane Low-E retrofit) ranges only from $847 to $1,026 installed — about 1.2×.

In short: carpenter installation labor costs roughly 3.2× more in the priciest metro than the cheapest, while the total installed price of the same reference window spans just $847–$1,026. Window material prices are also rising in 2026 — the producer price index for metal windows and doors is up +13.6% year over year, far ahead of wood at +2.6%.

The Window Cost Index is an independent, data-driven look at what drives window-replacement pricing across the country. It is built from two federal sources — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics carpenter wages and Federal Reserve (FRED) producer price indexes. This page carries no lead-gates, sponsored placements, or contractor estimates, and no partner has any input into the figures. Every figure on this page is computed at build time from those datasets and is free to download and embed. To price your own project, use the window replacement cost calculator, which uses the same labor data for your zip code.

Most Expensive Metros for Window Installation

These are the 25 metros where carpenter labor — and therefore the installed cost of a window — runs highest. The figure shown is the estimated installed cost of our reference window; the multiplier is the metro's carpenter wage relative to the $29.12/hr national median.

1. 524.Kankakee, IL$1,026 · 1.5728x
2. 523.Urban Honolulu, HI$1,023 · 1.5568x
3. 522.Michigan City-La Porte, IN$1,017 · 1.5182x
4. 521.San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$1,010 · 1.4724x
5. 520.Decatur, IL$1,004 · 1.4397x
6. 519.Fairbanks-College, AK$998 · 1.4026x
7. 518.Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area$997 · 1.3973x
8. 517.Oshkosh-Neenah, WI$997 · 1.3937x
9. 516.Kahului-Wailuku, HI$990 · 1.3554x
10. 515.Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area$986 · 1.3329x
11. 514.Napa, CA$986 · 1.3303x
12. 513.Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA$986 · 1.3292x
13. 512.Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$986 · 1.3278x
14. 511.San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$985 · 1.3237x
15. 510.Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$978 · 1.2824x
16. 509.San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA$977 · 1.2747x
17. 508.Springfield, IL$976 · 1.2706x
18. 507.Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$975 · 1.2613x
19. 506.Vallejo, CA$974 · 1.2582x
20. 505.Yuba City, CA$974 · 1.2562x
21. 504.Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$973 · 1.2502x
22. 503.Springfield, MA$972 · 1.2466x
23. 502.Bloomington, IL$972 · 1.2458x
24. 501.Janesville-Beloit, WI$972 · 1.2445x
25. 500.Peoria, IL$972 · 1.2427x

Least Expensive Metros for Window Installation

At the other end, these 25 metros have the lowest carpenter wages, so installation labor — and the all-in window price — is cheapest here. Bars use the same scale as the list above, so you can compare the two ends directly.

1. 1.Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area$847 · 0.4906x
2. 2.Aguadilla, PR$847 · 0.4911x
3. 3.Arecibo, PR$848 · 0.4947x
4. 4.San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR$849 · 0.504x
5. 5.Ponce, PR$851 · 0.515x
6. 6.Mayaguez, PR$857 · 0.5474x
7. 7.Guayama, PR$857 · 0.5515x
8. 8.Brownsville-Harlingen, TX$863 · 0.5883x
9. 9.Valdosta, GA$869 · 0.6246x
10. 10.Albany, GA$871 · 0.6339x
11. 11.Wichita Falls, TX$871 · 0.6375x
12. 12.Gadsden, AL$878 · 0.6798x
13. 13.Southwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area$879 · 0.6803x
14. 14.Northwest Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area$879 · 0.6845x
15. 15.McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX$879 · 0.6855x
16. 16.Laredo, TX$879 · 0.6857x
17. 17.Middle Georgia nonmetropolitan area$879 · 0.6857x
18. 18.San Angelo, TX$880 · 0.6867x
19. 19.Macon-Bibb County, GA$880 · 0.6879x
20. 20.Lower East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area$880 · 0.6915x
21. 21.Rome, GA$881 · 0.6933x
22. 22.Fort Smith, AR-OK$882 · 0.7002x
23. 23.El Paso, TX$882 · 0.7004x
24. 24.Northeast Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area$882 · 0.7014x
25. 25.Texarkana, TX-AR$882 · 0.704x

All 524 Metros, Ranked

The full ranking of every metro area in the dataset, sorted from lowest to highest installation cost. Click any column header to re-sort, or search for your metro. Metros with a dedicated local pricing guide link through to it.

2026 Window Price Trends

Labor explains where windows are most expensive; materials explain why prices are rising everywhere. The chart below shows the year-over-year change in the producer price index (PPI) for window and door manufacturing as of 2026-07-01.

Metal and aluminum windows have gotten markedly more expensive: the metal window & door PPI is up +13.6% year over year, driven by aluminum and steel input costs. Wood windows have been far steadier, up just +2.6% over the same period. For homeowners, that means the price gap between aluminum-framed and wood- or vinyl-framed windows has narrowed in 2026, and quotes leaning on metal frames are likely to keep drifting up faster than the rest. These indexes feed directly into the material side of our cost calculator.

Methodology & Sources

The Window Cost Index combines two public federal datasets with a fixed reference-window definition so that every metro is compared on a like-for-like basis.

• Installation labor (BLS). Carpenter wages come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program (SOC 47-2031, Carpenters), survey year May 2025. Each metro's regional labor factor is its median carpenter wage divided by the $29.12/hr national median (about $60,580/yr). A factor of 1.50 means installers in that metro earn 50% more than the national median, so the labor portion of a quote runs about 50% higher there.
• Material prices (FRED). Window material costs are adjusted using producer price indexes from Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED), Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — specifically the Metal Window & Door and Wood Window & Door manufacturing PPI series, indexed to a 2025 baseline. Material is priced on a national market, so it is not regionalized — only labor varies by metro.
• Reference window. Every per-metro figure prices the same configuration: a standard double-hung window with a vinyl frame and a double-pane Low-E glass package, installed as a retrofit (insert). It is chosen to match the most common real-world replacement and what our live calculator returns for that config.

The per-window dollar figures are estimates for that specific reference configuration, not quotes. Larger, specialty, or full-frame windows cost more; budget single-hung inserts cost less. The labor spread (~3.2×) reflects carpenter wages; the much narrower all-in spread (~1.2×) reflects the fact that material — the larger share of the bill — is priced nationally. For the full methodology behind our pricing, see the about and data-sources page.

Download the Data

The complete 524-metro dataset is free to download and reuse with attribution. It includes each metro's area code, median carpenter wage, regional labor factor, and estimated installed cost (low / midpoint / high) for the reference window.

• Download CSV — spreadsheet-ready, one row per metro.
• Download JSON — structured data for developers and analysts.
• All GetWindowCost open data — this plus the rebate and energy-savings datasets, in one place.

Embed This Report

Paste this into your page — plain HTML, no iframe and no script, so it styles with your own CSS and the credit is a normal link. Free under CC BY 4.0.

<table>
  <caption>2026 Window Cost Index: the 5 most expensive US metros for one installed standard double-hung window, of 524 metros tracked</caption>
  <tr><th>#</th><th>Metro</th><th>Est. installed cost per window</th></tr>
  <tr><td>1</td><td>Kankakee, IL</td><td>$1,026</td></tr>
  <tr><td>2</td><td>Urban Honolulu, HI</td><td>$1,023</td></tr>
  <tr><td>3</td><td>Michigan City-La Porte, IN</td><td>$1,017</td></tr>
  <tr><td>4</td><td>San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA</td><td>$1,010</td></tr>
  <tr><td>5</td><td>Decatur, IL</td><td>$1,004</td></tr>
</table>
<p>Window installation labor runs roughly 3.2x more in the priciest U.S. metro (Kankakee, IL) than the cheapest (Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area), across 524 metros tracked. Wage data: BLS May 2025.</p>
<p>Data: <a href="https://www.getwindowcost.com/window-cost-index">The Window Cost Index</a> by GetWindowCost, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY 4.0</a></p>

Prefer a self-contained card? The iframe version still works, but it passes your readers no link credit. Prefer plain text? Cite as: GetWindowCost — 2026 Window Cost Index.