2026 Window Cost Index

Installing a window costs nearly 4.9× more in the most expensive U.S. metro than in the cheapest — but that gap is almost entirely labor, not the window itself. Across 237 metro areas, the median glazier wage runs from about $10.31/hr in San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR to $51.74/hr in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — a 4.9× 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 $665 to $845 installed — about 1.3×.

In short: glazier installation labor costs roughly 4.9× more in the priciest metro than the cheapest, while the total installed price of the same reference window spans just $665–$845. 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 glazier 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 glazier 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 glazier wage relative to the $27.44/hr national median.

1. 237.Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$845 · 1.8852x
2. 236.Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA$812 · 1.6095x
3. 235.Springfield, MA$794 · 1.4615x
4. 234.Madison, WI$792 · 1.445x
5. 233.San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$792 · 1.4439x
6. 232.Urban Honolulu, HI$789 · 1.418x
7. 231.Worcester, MA$785 · 1.3809x
8. 230.Salem, OR$784 · 1.3739x
9. 229.Napa, CA$784 · 1.3732x
10. 228.Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$778 · 1.3246x
11. 227.San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$775 · 1.3061x
12. 226.Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA$774 · 1.294x
13. 225.Vineland, NJ$773 · 1.2835x
14. 224.Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI$770 · 1.2609x
15. 223.South Illinois nonmetropolitan area$770 · 1.2596x
16. 222.Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT$767 · 1.2339x
17. 221.Pittsfield, MA$766 · 1.2299x
18. 220.New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$765 · 1.2172x
19. 219.Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI$763 · 1.2022x
20. 218.Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA$759 · 1.1713x
21. 217.Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA$759 · 1.1654x
22. 216.Vallejo, CA$756 · 1.1479x
23. 215.Salinas, CA$756 · 1.1454x
24. 214.Columbia, MO$756 · 1.1427x
25. 213.San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA$756 · 1.1414x

Least Expensive Metros for Window Installation

At the other end, these 25 metros have the lowest glazier 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.San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR$665 · 0.3867x
2. 2.Laredo, TX$689 · 0.583x
3. 3.West Delta Mississippi nonmetropolitan area$694 · 0.6246x
4. 4.Lower West Mississippi nonmetropolitan area$694 · 0.6275x
5. 5.Lower East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area$695 · 0.6396x
6. 6.Upper East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area$696 · 0.641x
7. 7.Jackson, MS$696 · 0.6426x
8. 8.Brownsville-Harlingen, TX$696 · 0.6456x
9. 9.Northeast Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area$697 · 0.6491x
10. 10.Southwest Missouri nonmetropolitan area$697 · 0.6505x
11. 11.Central Missouri nonmetropolitan area$697 · 0.655x
12. 12.North Central Tennessee nonmetropolitan area$698 · 0.6617x
13. 13.Gulfport-Biloxi, MS$698 · 0.6626x
14. 14.Hot Springs, AR$699 · 0.6659x
15. 15.Western North Carolina nonmetropolitan area$700 · 0.6746x
16. 16.East Georgia nonmetropolitan area$700 · 0.6769x
17. 17.Middle Georgia nonmetropolitan area$700 · 0.6771x
18. 18.El Paso, TX$700 · 0.6803x
19. 19.West Tennessee nonmetropolitan area$701 · 0.6852x
20. 20.Great Falls, MT$702 · 0.6915x
21. 21.South Central Tennessee nonmetropolitan area$702 · 0.6927x
22. 22.Hattiesburg, MS$703 · 0.6984x
23. 23.Greenville, NC$704 · 0.7057x
24. 24.Ocala, FL$704 · 0.7115x
25. 25.McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX$705 · 0.7181x

All 237 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). Glazier wages come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program (SOC 47-2121, Glaziers), survey year May 2025. Each metro's regional labor factor is its median glazier wage divided by the $27.44/hr national median (about $57,080/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 (~4.9×) reflects glazier wages; the much narrower all-in spread (~1.3×) 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 237-metro dataset is free to download and reuse with attribution. It includes each metro's area code, median glazier 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 237 metros tracked</caption>
  <tr><th>#</th><th>Metro</th><th>Est. installed cost per window</th></tr>
  <tr><td>1</td><td>Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH</td><td>$845</td></tr>
  <tr><td>2</td><td>Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA</td><td>$812</td></tr>
  <tr><td>3</td><td>Springfield, MA</td><td>$794</td></tr>
  <tr><td>4</td><td>Madison, WI</td><td>$792</td></tr>
  <tr><td>5</td><td>San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA</td><td>$792</td></tr>
</table>
<p>Window installation labor runs roughly 4.9x more in the priciest U.S. metro (Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH) than the cheapest (San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR), across 237 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>

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