What duct cleaning costs in Michigan, and what we can and cannot tell you

What a duct cleaning quote depends on

A duct cleaning quote comes from the size of the job, and we have no sourced Michigan breakdown of how companies price it, so this section is general explanation with no numbers. A house with more supply openings and return openings takes more time than one with fewer. A system with long runs, a finished basement or a second furnace is a bigger job than a small ranch. Some companies include the furnace blower and the coil in the price and others quote them separately, and some include a sanitizing step that others leave out.

What a company counts as a “whole house” is the first thing to pin down. Ask for the count of openings, whether the return ducts are included, whether the furnace and blower are part of the job, and what happens if the technician finds something unexpected, such as a disconnected run.

What the federal sources say about ducts

The federal evidence on ducts concerns sealing and insulating them, and none of it covers what cleaning does or what it costs. ENERGY STAR says sealing and insulating can improve the efficiency of a heating and cooling system by as much as 20 percent, and sometimes much more. That is an “up to” figure about a different job, so it tells you nothing about cleaning.

ENERGY STAR’s maintenance advice for the heating side is a contractor check-up each fall and filter changes or cleaning monthly. If you are thinking about your ducts because the house is dusty or the airflow is weak, say so to the technician at that check, and ask what the cause is before you buy a cleaning. A sealing or repair job and a cleaning are separate quotes.

What we have, and what we are still collecting

Michigan heating and cooling companies’ own sites are where we are collecting prices, and once we have enough they will appear in this table with the number of companies and the date of each price. Today the table holds what we can source: technician wages, permit fees that mention duct work, and a city rebate.

Row	Figure	What it is
Michigan, statewide	$31.01 mean, $29.26 median an hour	Pay for heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers (12,590 workers)
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn	$32.06 mean an hour	Same occupation, metro area
Grand Rapids-Kentwood	$30.86 mean an hour	Same occupation, metro area
Lansing-East Lansing	$30.49 mean an hour	Same occupation, metro area
Ann Arbor	$35.94 mean an hour	Same occupation, metro area
United States	$31.14 mean an hour	National figure for comparison
Sterling Heights permit	$55 application plus $57 for duct work	Application for 2026 to 2027
Grand Rapids permit	$52 for new-work heating systems, which adds duct work	City fee schedule effective July 1, 2026
Troy permit (medium confidence)	$134 for duct work and alterations	City fee schedule for fiscal year 2026 to 2027; confirm with the city
Ann Arbor A2ZERO rebate	Ductwork up to $2,500, never more than 90 percent of cost	City program, page shows no closure notice, undated

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 wage release; the city fee schedules and A2ZERO page named, read October 19, 2026. Wages are what technicians are paid, not what you are charged. Permit fees apply to duct work that is installed or changed, not necessarily to a cleaning.

Permits and licenses for duct work

LARA says mechanical work needs a permit except for replacement of minor parts. Cleaning ducts does not fit neatly into that sentence, and LARA does not address it, so ask your city’s permit office and the company whether your job needs one, and if the company says it does not, ask it to put that in writing. Installing or altering duct work is a different matter: the permit fee schedules above list it, and our permit guide explains who secures the permit.

Michigan’s mechanical contractor classes include ductwork as its own class, alongside HVAC equipment, and the law says a person may not install, alter or service mechanical work unless the person or an employee holds a license in that classification. Whether a cleaning-only company needs one is a question to put to the company, to LARA and in writing. Either way, ask for the license number and look it up on LARA under Skilled Trades.

A rebate worth knowing about in Ann Arbor

The City of Ann Arbor’s A2ZERO Home Energy Rebates, funded by a 2022 millage, list ductwork up to $2,500 alongside cold-climate heat pumps. Rebates may not exceed 90 percent of cost. They apply to a retrofit of an existing building, with contractor installation, in a city property you own or rent. The page shows rebate tables and no closure notice, but it has no date, so confirm the program is open before you sign anything. The rebate concerns ductwork, so a cleaning invoice does not fit it.

How to choose a duct cleaning company

Ask four questions and write down the answers beside the company’s name, so you can compare two quotes line by line a week later. What license does the company hold, and what is the number? What does the quote cover, opening by opening, and what is excluded? Will the company show you what it found, and will it tell you if it recommends repairs rather than cleaning? And what does it do about the furnace itself, which is where a heating contractor’s check-up comes in.

Be cautious with a price that is far below the others without a stated scope, and with any claim of health benefits, because no government source backs one. If you are also thinking about a new system, furnace replacement cost covers that decision. Duct cleaning describes what we do with your request, and how to find a licensed HVAC contractor explains the LARA lookup.