Window replacement cost in Santa Maria, CA
Local estimate from BLS wage data and BEA price levels. Reviewed Nov 4, 2026.
- Typical range (10 windows)
- $4,950 – $16,300
- Per window
- $494 – $1,628
- before permit
- Versus US midpoint
- +9%
- US $9,750
- Rank of 300 metros
- #20
- 1 = most expensive
Replacement windows in Santa Maria, CA usually costs $4,950 to $16,300 for 10 windows. That works out to about $494 to $1,628 per window before permits. Compared with the national midpoint that is $860 more. Glaziers earn a median of $31.98 an hour in the Santa Maria area, 17% above the US median of $27.44.
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Estimated cost for 10 windows in Santa Maria, CA, standard level
$8,350 to $12,900
About $834 to $1,288 per window before permits. Labor is about 30% of the bill.
| Part | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | $5,700 | $9,200 |
| Labor | $2,650 | $3,650 |
| Permits and fees | $0 | $0 |
| Total | $8,350 | $12,900 |
Cost breakdown for 10 windows in Santa Maria, CA
| Part of the job | Low | Midpoint | High | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Materials | $3,050 | $7,450 | $11,800 | 70% |
| Labor | $1,850 | $3,150 | $4,450 | 30% |
| Permits and fees | $0 | $0 | $0 | 0% |
| Total | $4,950 | $10,600 | $16,300 | 100% |
Why Santa Maria prices look the way they do
The wage side of the estimate leans on glaziers, who do 50% of the hours on a typical job. Their local median is $31.98 an hour. Add the other trades involved and the blended wage index for Santa Maria is 1.19 (US = 1.00), which puts labor at 30% of the total.
Materials are scaled with BEA's regional price parity for goods. Santa Maria is at 105.2 against 100 for the US, so a materials line of $7,100 nationally becomes $7,450 here (midpoint, 10 windows). Permits follow the all-items index of 108.8: $0 to $0.
Santa Maria against nearby metros and the rest of California
Of the five closest metros, 4 are cheaper than Santa Maria. Visalia is the lowest at about $10,200 (midpoint, 10 windows), 135 miles away.
| Area | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Maria, CAthis page | $4,950 – $16,300 | $10,600 | |
| Oxnard, CA55 miles | $4,900 – $16,100 | $10,500 | −1% |
| San Luis Obispo, CA65 miles | $4,900 – $16,100 | $10,500 | −1% |
| Bakersfield, CA95 miles | $4,800 – $16,000 | $10,400 | −2% |
| Los Angeles, CA110 miles | $4,950 – $16,400 | $10,700 | +1% |
| Visalia, CA135 miles | $4,700 – $15,700 | $10,200 | −4% |
| California (statewide) | $4,950 – $16,400 | $10,700 | level |
| United States | $4,500 – $15,000 | $9,750 | −8% |
Out of the 300 metros we cover, Santa Maria ranks #20 for the cost of this job (#1 is the most expensive). Statewide, Santa Maria is 0% below the California figure.
Elsewhere in California
| Metro | Size | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | 6,271,560 jobs | $4,950 – $16,400 | $10,700 | +1% |
| San Francisco, CA | 2,373,920 jobs | $5,350 – $17,300 | $11,300 | +7% |
| Riverside, CA | 1,716,760 jobs | $4,700 – $15,600 | $10,100 | −4% |
| San Diego, CA | 1,538,060 jobs | $5,000 – $16,500 | $10,800 | +1% |
| San Jose, CA | 1,134,970 jobs | $5,250 – $17,000 | $11,100 | +5% |
| Sacramento, CA | 1,080,590 jobs | $4,900 – $16,200 | $10,500 | −1% |
Metros of a similar size
Big cities and small ones price differently, so here is Santa Maria against the 4 metros with the closest total employment.
| Metro | Size | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield, MA | 201,240 jobs | $4,950 – $15,900 | $10,400 | −2% |
| Manchester, NH | 199,560 jobs | $4,500 – $14,800 | $9,650 | −9% |
| Santa Rosa, CA | 205,260 jobs | $4,950 – $16,300 | $10,600 | level |
| Savannah, GA | 198,360 jobs | $4,050 – $13,700 | $8,850 | −16% |
Santa Maria weather and the window replacement calendar
Climate numbers on this page come from NOAA's 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals at the nearest suitable station, Santa Maria Public Ap (5 miles from the city center). They are 30-year averages, so any one year can run hotter, colder or wetter.
Weather is not a serious constraint for exterior installation in Santa Maria: no month in the averages is cold enough (an average daytime high under 45°F) or hot enough (an average daytime high of 90°F or more) to rule it out, so the workable window is all year.
Santa Maria gets about 13 inches of precipitation in a normal year. The wettest months are January, February and March (2.9 inches in February). The station averages about 6 days a year at 90°F or above.
We do not adjust the estimate by month, because we have no reliable published data on seasonal pricing. It is still worth asking contractors whether an off-peak start date changes their bid.
| Month | Avg high °F | Avg low °F | Precip (in) | For this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 65 | 41 | 2.7 | Workable |
| Feb | 65 | 43 | 2.9 | Workable |
| Mar | 66 | 44 | 2.6 | Workable |
| Apr | 68 | 45 | 0.9 | Workable |
| May | 69 | 49 | 0.4 | Workable |
| Jun | 71 | 52 | 0.1 | Workable |
| Jul | 73 | 55 | 0.0 | Workable |
| Aug | 74 | 55 | 0.0 | Workable |
| Sep | 75 | 54 | 0.1 | Workable |
| Oct | 75 | 50 | 0.5 | Workable |
| Nov | 70 | 44 | 1.1 | Workable |
| Dec | 64 | 40 | 2.0 | Workable |
Pick a size, pick a tier: window replacement pricing in Santa Maria
The cited range is split into basic, standard and premium bands, then scaled to Santa Maria. Bands overlap, because plenty of standard jobs cost as much as a light premium one. Sizes run from a few windows (5 windows) to whole house (25 windows).
Basic
$4,950 to $9,500
Standard vinyl single-hung, same openings
Standard
$8,350 to $12,900
Mid-grade vinyl or composite, a few larger units
Premium
$11,700 to $16,300
Fiberglass or wood, large or custom sizes
| Size | Basic | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| a few windows (5 windows) | $2,450 – $4,750 | $4,150 – $6,450 | $5,850 – $8,150 |
| small house (10 windows) | $4,950 – $9,500 | $8,350 – $12,900 | $11,700 – $16,300 |
| average house (15 windows) | $7,400 – $14,200 | $12,500 – $19,300 | $17,600 – $24,400 |
| whole house (25 windows) | $12,400 – $23,700 | $20,900 – $32,200 | $29,400 – $40,700 |
Planning more than one job in Santa Maria?
Jobs that often go together with windows are priced below at their usual sizes, using the same Santa Maria wage and price inputs. Compared with national midpoints, vinyl siding comes out highest (+13%) and front door lowest (+9%); the gap comes from the trades each job uses.
| Project | Size | Range | vs. US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patio door | 1 door | $660 – $6,750 | +12% |
| Front door | 1 door | $570 – $2,700 | +9% |
| Storm door | 1 door | $390 – $1,050 | +11% |
| Vinyl siding | 2,100 sq ft of wall | $9,500 – $28,600 | +13% |
| Garage door | 1 door | $780 – $4,050 | +10% |
What local crews earn in Santa Maria
The labor line is built from BLS wage data, one trade at a time. This job draws on 3 trades. We compare each trade's local median with the US median, weight the ratios by how much of the job each trade does, and apply the blend to the national labor cost. For Santa Maria the blend is 1.19.
Glaziers (47-2121), 50% of the weighting: a median of $31.98 an hour, 17% above the US median of $27.44. The middle half of them earn between $27.30 and $42.84 an hour. About 70 work in the metro. That is 3.5 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 3.8 nationally, so the supply of crews looks typical.
Carpenters (47-2031), 40% of the weighting: a median of $36.12 an hour, 24% above the US median of $29.12. The middle half of them earn between $28.00 and $40.21 an hour. About 1,100 work in the metro. That is 54.8 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 43.1 nationally, which suggests plenty of local crews to bid.
For general maintenance and repair workers (49-9071, weighted 10%) the local median is $25.37 an hour, which is 6% above the national $23.84. The middle half of them earn between $22.00 and $31.82 an hour. BLS counts 1,980 of them working in the area, 98.6 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 98.4), so the local bench is about average.
A quick sensitivity check: moving the lead trade (glaziers) from the median to the 75th percentile wage adds about $530 to the midpoint estimate; the 25th percentile takes off about $230. That is a swing of roughly 2.1% to 5.0% of the total, which is useful for judging whether a bid reflects wages or something else, such as scope or margin.
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara has 200,760 jobs in total (BLS, May 2025), ranking 114th by size among the 300 metros on this site.
| Trade | Weight | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | US median | Ratio | Level used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glaziers (47-2121) | 50% | $27.30 | $31.98 | $42.84 | $27.44 | 1.17 | metro |
| Carpenters (47-2031) | 40% | $28.00 | $36.12 | $40.21 | $29.12 | 1.24 | metro |
| General maintenance and repair workers (49-9071) | 10% | $22.00 | $25.37 | $31.82 | $23.84 | 1.06 | metro |
| Blended | 100% | 1.19 | |||||
Specs and site conditions that change a Santa Maria bid
Window type
Single-hung and picture windows are cheapest; bay and bow windows can reach $3,000-$8,000+.
Count
Replacing 10 to 15 windows runs $4,500-$22,500; at 25 windows it is $11,250-$37,500.
Permit
Window permits are $50-$200 each, or $400-$600 total for a multi-window job, and are often only needed when you change the opening (HomeGuide). No permit fee is included here because many cities do not ask for one on same-size replacements.
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Window replacement in Santa Maria: your questions
+How much does it cost to replace windows in Santa Maria?
For 10 windows, expect $4,950 to $16,300 in the Santa Maria area. A standard-spec job lands at $8,350 to $12,900. Small jobs usually cost more per window and large ones less.
+What is the price per window for windows in Santa Maria?
About $494 to $1,628 per window for materials and labor, plus $0 to $0 for the permit if one is needed. The US range is $450 to $1,500.
+Is windows cheaper in Santa Maria or Oxnard?
Oxnard is 55 miles away. The midpoint for 10 windows there is $10,500, which is 1% less than Santa Maria ($10,600). Wage and materials indexes both feed that gap.
+How much of the bill is labor in Santa Maria?
About 30% at the midpoint, or $3,150 out of $10,600. Materials are 70% and permits 0%. Nationally, labor is 27%.
+What would average house (15 windows) cost in Santa Maria?
$7,400 to $24,400. Pick a different size in the estimator above to get your own number.
+Does windows need a permit in Santa Maria?
Often, but rules are set by your city or county building office, so call before you hire. Budget $0 to $0 for fees in the Santa Maria area (our national range of $0 to $0 scaled by the local price level).
+Is Santa Maria expensive for windows compared with the rest of California?
Santa Maria is 0% below the California statewide estimate ($10,700 at the midpoint). We cover 23 metros in California; see the state page to compare them.
+What do glaziers earn in Santa Maria?
The BLS median is $31.98 an hour in the Santa Maria area, compared with $27.44 nationally. The 25th to 75th percentile range is $27.30 to $42.84.
+What do basic and premium windows work cost in Santa Maria?
For 10 windows, basic work runs $4,950 to $9,500 and premium work $11,700 to $16,300. Basic means: standard vinyl single-hung, same openings. Premium means: fiberglass or wood, large or custom sizes.
+Is there a bad season to replace windows in Santa Maria?
Not from a temperature point of view. NOAA's 1991-2020 normals show no month with a freezing-level overnight low or a 90°F-plus average high, so timing is mostly about contractor availability and rain.
Window replacement near Santa Maria
Where these numbers come from
Base prices are national ranges from the sources below. We scale labor by local BLS wages, materials by BEA goods prices and permits by the BEA all-items price level. Full method on the methodology page.
- HomeGuide: How Much Does Window Replacement Cost? (2026) (accessed November 4, 2026)
- HomeGuide: 2026 Building Permit Costs | Fees & Cost Calculator (accessed November 4, 2026)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991-2020
Note on derived figures: Materials = 65% of the low installed price and 75% of the high one, from HomeGuide's statement that the window unit is 65-75% of replacement cost.