What does a mini-split installation cost in New Orleans?
A mini-split installation on a New Orleans house had a median applicant-reported cost of $10,300 on city permits filed October 2024 through September 2026, and half of those jobs fell between $5,400 and $14,700. The range is wide because “a mini-split” can mean one wall unit in a bedroom or several indoor units on one outdoor unit. Most permits don’t say which, so the numbers below can’t split prices by the number of indoor units.
Prices from the permits
| Job | Permits | Middle half of costs | Median | Median without the largest filer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any size, October 2024 through September 2026 | 126 | $5,400–$14,700 | $10,300 | $10,300 |
| 1 ton, 2021 on | Fewer than 30 permits | |||
| 1.5 tons, 2021 on | Fewer than 30 permits | |||
| 2 tons, 2021 on | 36 | $8,500–$15,200 | $10,500 | $10,000 |
| 2.5 tons, 2021 on | Fewer than 30 permits | |||
| 3 tons, 2021 on | Fewer than 30 permits |
Size is listed on only some permits, so the size rows use every permit since 2021 instead of the last two years. Sizes with fewer than 30 permits show no price; 2-ton systems had a median of $10,500. The city’s busiest HVAC filer accounts for 6% of mini-split permits, against 29% of whole-system replacements.
These prices are for installing a mini-split. Cleaning one is a different job with a different price, covered on mini-split cleaning.
How the share has changed
| Year | HVAC permits | Mini-splits | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,234 | 14 | 1.1% |
| 2016 | 2,072 | 26 | 1.3% |
| 2017 | 2,143 | 28 | 1.3% |
| 2018 | 2,142 | 63 | 2.9% |
| 2019 | 1,883 | 68 | 3.6% |
| 2020 | 1,872 | 59 | 3.2% |
| 2021 | 1,692 | 53 | 3.1% |
| 2022 | 1,691 | 62 | 3.7% |
| 2023 | 1,770 | 89 | 5.0% |
| 2024 | 1,343 | 70 | 5.2% |
| 2025 | 1,752 | 73 | 4.2% |
| 2026 | 1,808 | 77 | 4.3% |
Mini-splits were 2.9% of HVAC permits on one- and two-family houses in 2018, the first year with at least 30 of them, and 4.2% in 2025. Earlier years had too few mini-split permits for the share to mean much. The year-to-year swings in the table are real, so don’t read one year as a trend.
Where they get installed
| Neighborhood | HVAC permits | Mini-splits | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| French Quarter | 211 | 38 | 18.0% |
| Marigny | 150 | 19 | 12.7% |
| Bywater | 222 | 20 | 9.0% |
| East Carrollton | 188 | 14 | 7.4% |
| Uptown | 277 | 20 | 7.2% |
| Bayou St. John | 199 | 14 | 7.0% |
| Lakeview | 443 | 31 | 7.0% |
| West Riverside | 294 | 20 | 6.8% |
| Treme - Lafitte | 368 | 23 | 6.3% |
| Audubon | 594 | 37 | 6.2% |
| Lower Garden District | 196 | 12 | 6.1% |
| McDonogh | 164 | 10 | 6.1% |
The top of the list is French Quarter, Marigny, and Bywater. At the other end, Behrman, Dillard, Little Woods, and Milneburg had no mini-split permits at all in the same years. That fits what ENERGY STAR lists as common uses, older houses without ducts and additions where ducts are hard to extend. In historic districts, the outdoor unit and visible lines may also need HDLC or Vieux Carré Commission approval. The historic districts guide covers the rules and mini-split shares district by district, and where an outdoor unit can go covers zoning. Whether a mini-split, central air, or window units fit a particular house is the subject of central air, mini-splits, or window units for an old house.
Brands on the permits
| Brand | Permits naming it |
|---|---|
| Daikin | 22 |
| Mitsubishi | 17 |
| Lennox | 2 |
| American Standard | 1 |
| Carrier | 1 |
| LG | 1 |
| Rheem | 1 |
| Tempstar | 1 |
Only 46 of 682 mini-split permits name a brand, so this is a short list, not a market share. Filter and error-code help for each brand is in the mini-split guides.
Reading these numbers
Costs are what the applicant wrote on the permit, for one-system permits with a reported cost from $1,000 to $60,000. A permit counts as a mini-split when its description says mini-split, ductless, or multi-zone. Growth and neighborhood shares count every HVAC permit on one- and two-family houses, priced or not. Neighborhoods need 150 permits since 2018 to appear. The full method is on the AC replacement cost page.