HVAC Industry Market Size: What Contractors Took In, by Work Type and Customer (2022 Census Data)

HVAC industry market size: $129.6 billion of HVAC work inside a $297.6 billion trade

The Census Bureau counts HVAC contractors together with plumbers in NAICS 238220. Its kind-of-business table, released in December 2025, splits that total by the work each establishment says it does, which gives an official HVAC-only figure for 2022.

NAICS 238220 establishments, the plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors with paid employees, reported $297.6 billion in receipts for 2022 (Census EC2223BASIC). Of that, $121.7 billion came from HVAC contracting activity and $7.9 billion from refrigeration contracting activity (Census EC2223KOB). Together that is $129.6 billion, 43.6% of the trade.

Receipts by kind of business: On the 2022 census form, Item 23 asks each construction establishment to report its receipts by kind of business performed, in whole percents that add to 100 (Census construction FAQ). A shop that does 70% HVAC work and 30% plumbing work has its dollars split that way. This is a dollar split of activity, not a count of companies labelled HVAC.

The $129.6 billion is a floor. Mechanical contracting (code 8223) brought in another $54.4 billion in 2022, and that work mixes HVAC systems with process piping and plumbing. Counting all of it as HVAC gives $184.0 billion, 61.8% of the trade. The census does not split mechanical work further, so the honest answer is a range: $129.6 billion to $184.0 billion.

Almost all HVAC contracting runs through this one industry code. NAICS 238220 establishments earned 98.6% of the HVAC activity receipts reported anywhere in the US construction sector in 2022; electrical contractors account for most of the rest.

For an owner, the plain reading is that HVAC contracting is a roughly $130 billion trade on official numbers, and a buyer or lender quoting a much larger figure is usually counting equipment, plumbing or a forecast year.

Plumbing grew faster than HVAC work between 2017 and 2022

HVAC work is still the largest activity inside NAICS 238220, but its share fell in 2022 because plumbing and mechanical contracting grew faster.

HVAC and refrigeration work rose from $95.2 billion in 2017 to $129.6 billion in 2022, up 36.1% in nominal dollars and 14.0% after CPI-U inflation (EC2223KOB, EC1723KOB). Plumbing work rose 40.1% and mechanical contracting 58.8% over the same five years. As a result, HVAC and refrigeration fell from 46.2% of 238220 receipts in 2017 to 43.6% in 2022, after 45.1% in 2012.

For an owner whose company does both trades, the shift is modest: HVAC remains about two dollars in five of the trade. Margin and cost-share figures for HVAC firms are covered in our HVAC profit margin report.

Maintenance and repair brought in $86.6 billion, about three dollars in ten

The 2022 product-line table breaks 238220 construction receipts into new work, additions and alterations, and maintenance and repair, for homes and other buildings. It covers plumbing and HVAC together; the census does not publish the split for HVAC work alone.

Across all 238220 contractors, construction product lines with a stated work type totalled $291.6 billion in 2022 (Census Industry by Products, 2022). New construction was $126.4 billion (43.3%), additions, renovations and alterations $78.7 billion (27.0%), and maintenance and repair $86.6 billion (29.7%).

On residential buildings, maintenance and repair was $39.6 billion, 36.0% of typed residential receipts. On nonresidential buildings it was $36.5 billion, 23.1%. Repair is a bigger slice of the home market than of the commercial market, where new buildings and renovations dominate.

Maintenance and repair receipts were $48.3 billion in 2017, so the 2022 figure is far higher; part of that jump reflects $22.0 billion of 2017 product lines that carried no work type, which shrank to $1.1 billion in 2022. The share moved from 26.6% in 2017 to 29.7% in 2022 on typed lines.

For an owner, repair and maintenance revenue is the part of the trade that does not depend on new building starts; on official numbers it is close to a third of the work, higher on homes.

Homes were 37.7% of the trade's construction work in 2022, up from 30.8% in 2012

Residential work has gained share in each census since 2012. Government-owned projects are about one dollar in eight.

Residential product lines, covering single-family houses, attached houses, condominiums, apartment buildings, manufactured homes and residential landscape and irrigation work, were $110.4 billion in 2022, 37.7% of 238220 construction product-line receipts (Census Industry by Products, 2022). The share was 33.5% in 2017 and 30.8% of value of construction work in 2012.

Projects owned by federal, state or local government were 12.0% of 238220 value of construction work in 2022, down from 12.9% in 2017; privately owned projects were 88.0% (EC2223BASIC). Work subcontracted in from another contractor was 29.5%, which shows how much of the trade reaches contractors through another contractor rather than directly from a project owner.

The census has no separate residential split for HVAC work alone, so these shares describe the whole plumbing, heating and air-conditioning trade. For heat pump and furnace demand in homes, see our heat pump sales report.

Massachusetts contractors book $1,549 of HVAC work per household; Mississippi books $374

Dividing each state's HVAC activity receipts by its households gives a rough measure of how much HVAC contracting a state supports. The range is wide and does not follow climate alone.

In 2022, HVAC activity receipts of 238220 establishments equalled $937 per US household (EC2223KOB; ACS 2022 B11001). Massachusetts was highest at $1,549, followed by Delaware at $1,395 and Utah at $1,275. Mississippi was lowest at $374, with West Virginia at $447 and New Mexico at $525. The median of 51 areas was $881.

Large Sun Belt states sit below the median on this measure: Texas at $786 and Florida at $822 per household, against $1,058 in California and $1,162 in New York. The measure credits work to the state where the establishment is located and includes commercial and industrial jobs, so it is not household spending on HVAC.

The HVAC share of each state's 238220 receipts also varies: 60.5% in the District of Columbia and 55.4% in West Virginia, against 28.5% in Mississippi and 32.1% in Indiana, where plumbing and mechanical work take a larger share.

For an owner, a state's receipts per household is one way to compare local markets on a common base before looking at company-level numbers.

Why press-release market sizes do not match the Census count

Published HVAC market sizes come from paid reports with their own definitions and forecast years. The census count is older but reproducible.

IBISWorld's free summary puts the Heating and Air-Conditioning Contractors market at $159.4bn in 2026, growing 2.6% a year from 2021 to 2026 (IBISWorld). That is an estimate for a later year with a method that is not public. Restating the 2022 census count of $129.6 billion in 2025 prices with the CPI-U gives $142.6 billion; that is a price restatement, not a volume estimate. Figures near $30 billion describe HVAC equipment sales, not contractor receipts.

This report is research, not financial, tax or investment advice. Confirm any figure used in a transaction with the original Census table or a qualified adviser.

The numbers in one list

1. NAICS 238220 establishments reported $297.6 billion in receipts in 2022 (2022 Economic Census, EC2223BASIC).^[1]
2. HVAC contracting activity (code 8220) accounted for $121.7 billion of 238220 receipts in 2022, 40.9% of the total.^[2]
3. Refrigeration contracting activity (code 8225) added $7.9 billion in 2022, bringing HVAC and refrigeration work to $129.6 billion, 43.6%.^[2]
4. Plumbing contracting activity (code 8224) was $75.1 billion in 2022, 25.2% of 238220 receipts.^[2]
5. Mechanical contracting (code 8223), which mixes HVAC and piping, was $54.4 billion in 2022, 18.3% of receipts.^[2]
6. NAICS 238220 establishments earned 98.6% of all HVAC activity receipts reported in the US construction sector in 2022.^[2]
7. HVAC and refrigeration work grew from $95.2 billion in 2017 to $129.6 billion in 2022, up 36.1% nominal and 14.0% in 2022 dollars.^[2][5][11]
8. From 2012 to 2022, HVAC and refrigeration work rose from $67.3 billion to $129.6 billion, up 92.5% nominal and 51.0% after CPI-U inflation.^[2][9][11]
9. Maintenance and repair product lines brought NAICS 238220 contractors $86.6 billion in 2022, against $48.3 billion in 2017.^[3][6]
10. Maintenance and repair was 36.0% of 2022 residential construction receipts with a work type, against 23.1% for nonresidential buildings.^[3]
11. Residential product lines were $110.4 billion in 2022, 37.7% of NAICS 238220 construction product-line receipts.^[3]
12. Government-owned projects were 12.0% of 238220 value of construction work in 2022, down from 12.9% in 2017; privately owned projects were 88.0%.^[1][4]
13. Work subcontracted in from other contractors was 29.5% of NAICS 238220 value of construction work in 2022.^[1]
14. Massachusetts establishments booked $1,549 of HVAC activity receipts per household in 2022, the highest of 51 areas; Mississippi booked $374, the lowest.^[2][10]

Calculations

Download the calculations (CSV)

Summary

• US plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors (NAICS 238220) took in $297.6 billion in 2022, up 44.3% from $206.2 billion in 2017 in nominal terms and 20.9% after CPI-U inflation (Economic Census).
• HVAC work (activity code 8220) was $121.7 billion of that total in 2022 and refrigeration work $7.9 billion, together $129.6 billion or 43.6%.
• Counting all mechanical contracting as HVAC lifts the figure to $184.0 billion, 61.8% of the trade; the true HVAC total sits between the two because mechanical work mixes HVAC and piping.
• HVAC work grew 36.1% from 2017 to 2022 in nominal dollars, slower than plumbing work (40.1%) and mechanical contracting (58.8%), so its share of the trade slipped from 46.2% to 43.6%.
• Maintenance and repair was 29.7% of the trade's 2022 construction product-line receipts, new construction 43.3% and additions and alterations 27.0%.
• Residential buildings were 37.7% of construction product-line receipts in 2022, up from 30.8% of construction work in 2012.
• By state, HVAC activity receipts per household ran from $374 in Mississippi to $1,549 in Massachusetts, a 4.1 to 1 spread; the state median was $881.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides, services and research

• HVAC Business Profit Margin: What the Census and IRS Data Show (2026)
• HVAC Industry Employment: Monthly Jobs at Plumbing and HVAC Contractors Since 1990
• HVAC License Requirements by State: Who Holds the License and What Happens When That Person Leaves (2026)
• HVAC OSHA Violations: The Most-Cited Standards and Penalties at Plumbing and HVAC Contractors, FY2015 to FY2026
• All HVAC business research

Reproduce this analysis

Every figure comes from the files below. The scripts that pulled and computed them are kept with the report and can be re-run.

Data quality and exclusions

• Product lines 2022: 62 of 248 US rows for NAICS 238220 were suppressed or not published (flag D, S, A, X, N or Z with zero value) and were dropped; 11 detail lines that repeat a broad line were dropped to avoid double counting. The remaining 174 lines sum to 99.8% of total receipts.
• Product lines 2017: 47 suppressed rows dropped; $22.0 billion of construction lines carried no work type and were excluded from the work-type shares but kept in the residential share.
• Kind of business 2022: refrigeration (8225) rows are missing for 2 states (Alaska, District of Columbia), so state figures use code 8220 only; all 51 areas have a published 8220 value.
• Households: Puerto Rico rows in the ACS file were excluded because the Economic Census state tables used here cover the 50 states and DC.
• Line classification 2022: 6 manufactured-home and residential landscape or irrigation lines were coded residential; 9 hotel, motel and dormitory lines were coded nonresidential, following their Census labels.

Methodology

Source selection: the 2022, 2017 and 2012 Economic Census construction tables are the only official source that reports plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractor receipts by kind of business activity and by product line. We downloaded the bulk files from www2.census.gov (no API key), parsed them with the scripts in the downloadable package, and cross-checked national totals against the summary table. Households come from the ACS 2022 1-year table B11001 and inflation from the BLS CPI-U annual average.

HVAC work is defined as kind-of-business codes 8220 (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning contractor) and 8225 (refrigeration contractor). Mechanical contracting (8223) is shown as an upper bound only. Plumbing is code 8224. Activity receipts are dollars, not establishments, so a mixed shop counts in more than one line.

Product lines: we summed NAPCS construction lines for NAICS 238220 at the US level, classified each line by type of work (new, additions and alterations, maintenance and repair) and by structure (residential, nonresidential building, other structures) from its Census label, and excluded detail lines that repeat a broad line. Published lines sum to 99.8% of total 238220 receipts in 2022. Census assigns products to non-reporting establishments by hot-deck imputation from a similar donor.

Conflicting numbers: paid market-research figures are shown next to the census count with firm and year and are not used in any calculation. Where 2012 used a different table (value of construction work by type) from 2017 and 2022 (product lines), both are shown and the change is flagged.

Derived metrics: every share, change, real-dollar restatement and per-household figure is listed in derived_metrics.csv with its formula and fact-sheet rows. Real figures use the CPI-U ratio of annual averages.

Limitations: employer establishments only; 2022 is the latest census year with activity data; state figures credit work to the establishment's state; the product-line split covers plumbing and HVAC together. Last updated 2026-11-02. Owners who want a figure for their own company can use the free valuation form.

This report presents published data with its limitations. It is not legal, financial or investment advice.

Sources, ranked by quality

Tier 1: primary and official sources (16)

• [1] U.S. Census Bureau. 2022 Economic Census, Construction: Summary Statistics for the U.S., States, and Selected Geographies (EC2223BASIC). 2022. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [2] U.S. Census Bureau. 2022 Economic Census, Construction: Value of Business Done for Kind-of-Business for the U.S., Regions, and States (EC2223KOB). 2022. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [3] U.S. Census Bureau. 2022 Economic Census, Selected Sectors: Industry by Products for the U.S. and States (EC2200NAPCSINDPRD, bulk file ECNNAPCSIND2022). 2022. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [4] U.S. Census Bureau. 2017 Economic Census, Construction: Summary Statistics (EC1723BASIC). 2017. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [5] U.S. Census Bureau. 2017 Economic Census, Construction: Value of Business Done for Kind-of-Business (EC1723KOB). 2017. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [6] U.S. Census Bureau. 2017 Economic Census, Industry by Products (bulk file ECNNAPCSIND2017). 2017. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [7] U.S. Census Bureau. 2012 Economic Census, Construction Industry Series: Detailed Statistics (EC1223I1). 2012. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [8] U.S. Census Bureau. 2012 Economic Census, Construction: Value of Construction Work by Type of Construction (EC1223I2). 2012. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [9] U.S. Census Bureau. 2012 Economic Census, Construction: Value of Business Done by Kind of Business (EC1223I4). 2012. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [10] U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 2022 1-year, table B11001 Household Type (table-based summary file). 2022. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [11] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, U.S. city average, all items (CUUR0000SA0), annual averages. 2012, 2017, 2022, 2025. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [12] U.S. Census Bureau. Frequently Asked Questions: Construction (2022 Economic Census). 2022 census. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [13] U.S. Census Bureau. 2022 Economic Census Methodology. 2022 census. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [14] U.S. Census Bureau. 2022 Economic Census Data Releases. release dates 2024 to 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [15] U.S. Census Bureau. Quarterly Services Survey: About the Survey. current. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [16] U.S. Census Bureau. Frequently Asked Questions, 2012 Economic Census of the Construction Sector. 2012 census. Accessed 2026-11-02.

Tier 2: trade bodies, market research, company data (1)

• [17] IBISWorld. Heating and Air-Conditioning Contractors in the US: industry page (free summary). 2026 estimate. Accessed 2026-11-02.

Tier 3: journalism and expert commentary (1)

• [18] Workyard. 75+ HVAC Industry Facts and Statistics (2026). 2023 estimate, page updated 2026-10-14. Accessed 2026-11-02.