Furnace replacement cost in Boston, MA

How much does a furnace replacement cost in Boston?

A furnace replacement in Boston typically costs $5,350 for an 80,000 Btu gas furnace, installed on the ducts that are already there. The range for that same straightforward swap is $4,170 to $7,170. A 100,000 Btu gas furnace is typically $6,280. A ducted air-source heat pump, replacing the furnace and using those same ducts, is typically $10,620, from $8,290 to $14,230. None of those prices includes new ducts, a chimney liner, or a panel upgrade.

What the Boston labor rate changes

The national starting point for the 80,000 Btu furnace is $4,600 before local labor. Boston labor is 1.32 times a national crew. About 48 percent of that furnace price is the crew, so the city moves the hours more than the cabinet. Versus a crew priced at 1.00, that adds about $750. The heat pump uses a 45 percent labor share because more of its price is the machine. Do not compare a heat-pump quote with the furnace row and call the difference a rip-off. They are different machines.

Which size the example home is even asking about

The example house was built around 1940 and is about 1,400 square feet. triple-deckers and older wood houses, oil and gas, expensive crews Boston has about 5,630 heating degree days, against 4,000 in the national reference. A colder city is the usual reason a quote jumps from 80,000 to 100,000 Btu. That jump is not proof you need it. An oversized furnace short-cycles: the air gets hot, the blower stops, and the house never feels even. This page will not run a Manual J. It will tell you to ask why the quote left the smaller furnace.

What pushes a Boston quote into the high column

Same cabinet location, existing flue or vent that passes, existing gas line, filter door you can reach: that is the typical price of $5,350. The low price is that job with a clear basement or a garage and no code surprise. The high price, $7,170 for the smaller furnace, is a drain on the coil, a condensate pump, a flue that fails inspection, or a second trip. A liner for an old chimney, a move of the furnace to another room, or a duct replacement can honestly sit above the high number. Ask the quote to name those lines. Boston combines a high labor factor with a high electric rate and an old wood building stock. Triple-deckers mean stairs, shared chimneys, and water heaters that serve one floor but vent into a stack nobody has lined since 1970. Wellholt prices one in-unit swap. A building-wide conversion off oil is not this page. Permits are not optional.

The bill after the Boston install

Install price and the yearly bill are different sentences. At $1.50 a therm — the price you typed in the bar, not a Boston gas tariff — a year of gas heat for the example home is about $1,420, roughly 946 therms. The same heat from a heat pump at 29.5¢ per kilowatt-hour is about $3,140 a year, about 10,659 kilowatt-hours. Eversource and National Grid split the region. Electric rates are high. Oil heat is still in the older stock. A heat pump that costs $5,270 more to install does not pay for itself just because the brochure says so. Divide that gap by the yearly difference only if both numbers are for your house. This page will not invent a rebate.

If you rent in Boston

A furnace and a ducted heat pump belong to the owner. The price does not change with the lease. Permission does. Use the range to read a landlord’s number. An “emergency” furnace that is several times $7,170 for a standard swap is a question about scope, not a reason to sign a contract on a building you do not own. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Planning model: IECC climate zone, degree-day normals, a metro labor factor, and a residential rate used only for operating-cost context. Installed costs start from published national ranges and scale the labor share. Rents are planning medians, not listings. Reviewed 2026-09-01.

Before you accept a furnace quote in Boston, match it to one row. The 80,000 Btu gas furnace is typically $5,350 at labor 1.32. The heat pump is typically $10,620. If the quote is new ducts, say so out loud and stop using this table. The example home is about 1,400 square feet, built around 1940, in a 5,630 heating-degree-day climate.