Recessed Lighting Installation Cost
Recessed lighting typically costs $100 to $300 per light for retrofit canless LEDs into an accessible ceiling, and $200 to $500 per light when the ceiling is insulated or hard to reach. A common six-light kitchen lands at $900 to $2,500 installed. Here is how per-can pricing works and what moves the number.
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| Scenario | Per-can range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Retrofit canless LED, open attic above | $100 – $250 | Easiest case: cut hole, clip in, wire |
| Retrofit canless LED, insulated ceiling | $200 – $400 | IC-rated trim, more access work |
| Housed can, new construction | $150 – $350 | Open framing before drywall |
| Housed can, finished ceiling remodel | $250 – $500 | Fishing wire, patching, no attic access |
| Sloped or vaulted ceiling | $300 – $600 | Special trim, height, harder access |
| Project | Installed range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4-light hallway or bedroom | $600 – $1,600 | Canless LED retrofit |
| 6-light kitchen | $900 – $2,500 | The most common project on this page |
| 8-light open living area | $1,400 – $3,500 | Layout and dimming included |
| Per-can add to an existing run | $100 – $300 | Cheaper per light once a circuit is tapped |
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How per-can pricing works
Recessed lighting is priced per light because the labor scales with the number of holes, not the room. The first light on a job carries the setup: running a circuit or tapping an existing one, adding a switch or dimmer, and staging the access. Each additional light in the same run is cheaper because the wiring path is already open.
That is why a six-light kitchen at $900 to $2,500 averages out to a lower per-light cost than a single can added on its own, and why pairing the visit with under-cabinet lighting costs less than two separate projects. When you ask for quotes, look at the all-in total for the layout you want, not just the per-can figure, because the first and last lights are not priced the same. It also helps to know how many lights a 15-amp circuit can carry before you commit to a large layout.
Retrofit canless LED vs housed cans
Canless LED retrofits are the modern default for finished ceilings. They are a slim LED disc with an integrated driver and a junction box that pushes up through a small hole and clips against the back of the drywall. No metal housing (no can) sits above the ceiling, so they fit in shallow ceilings and around joists where a traditional can will not. Installed, they run $100 to $300 per light in an accessible ceiling.
Housed cans are the older style: a metal can mounted to framing with the bulb inside. They are still common in new construction, where the framing is open and the can mounts to a joist before drywall goes up, keeping that scenario at $150 to $350 per light. In a finished remodel, a housed can means fishing wire and patching, which is why that case climbs to $250 to $500.
- ·Canless LED: slim, fits shallow ceilings, integrated driver, dimmable
- ·Housed can: needs clearance above the ceiling, accepts swappable trims and bulbs
- ·Both come in IC-rated versions for direct contact with insulation
- ·Most retrofits today use canless LEDs for the smaller hole and lighter weight
New construction vs remodel
New construction is the lower-cost path per light because the framing is open. The electrician mounts housings and runs cable before insulation and drywall, with no fishing and no patching. That is the $150 to $350 per-can window.
A remodel into a finished ceiling is where the price climbs. The electrician has to fish cable through closed joist bays, cut clean holes, and sometimes patch where access forced an opening. With no attic above (a second floor or a flat roof overhead), every light gets harder, and the per-can figure moves to $250 to $500. An open attic above the room is the single largest cost saver on a retrofit job.
Insulated ceilings and IC-rated fixtures
When a recessed light sits in a ceiling packed with insulation, code requires an IC-rated (insulation contact) fixture that will not overheat against the insulation, and an airtight version limits heat loss into the attic. IC-rated trims and the extra care to seal and clear insulation around each hole add labor, which is why an insulated ceiling runs $200 to $400 per light versus $100 to $250 for an open one.
Skipping the IC rating in an insulated ceiling is a real fire hazard and a code violation, so this is not a corner to cut. If a quote for an insulated attic looks unusually low, confirm the fixtures are IC-rated and airtight.
Dimming, layout, and what to ask for
A good recessed layout is not just evenly spaced holes. The electrician (or a lighting designer on a larger job) plans spacing for even wash, keeps lights off the wall-ceiling line to avoid scalloping, and groups them on dimmers by zone. Adding a dimmer is $15 to $60 per switch and is far easier to do during the install than after.
Match the dimmer to the LED driver. A mismatched dimmer is the usual cause of flicker or buzz in a new install, so ask the electrician to confirm the dimmer is rated for the specific LED trims being installed, and request 2700K to 3000K color temperature for living spaces unless you specifically want a cooler light. If you are also planning a feature fixture in the same room, the light fixture installation pricing follows a similar setup-plus-labor pattern.
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