KwTallyRunning watts, starting watts, and the number that actually sizes the unit.

How much does a 22 kW standby generator cost in Ames, IA?

A 22 kW standby generator installed in Ames, IA
$12,588
the most common whole-house size sold · typical range $9,199 – $16,946
Typical totalinstalled, 22 kw$12,588
Range you should see in bidsthree bids on the same scope normally land inside this$9,199 – $16,946
Labor portion45% of the job — this is the part that moves by city$5,665
Material portion55% — bought at national prices$6,924
Electricians pay near Amesabout $32/hr · Ames, IA metro$66,460/yr
U.S. mean for the same tradeSOC 47-2111$71,490/yr
Versus the national pricetrade pay here runs −7% against the U.S. mean−$412

Notes

  • Where the number comes from. The national price for a 22 kW standby generator installed is $13,000 installed — standby generator pricing published for 2026, unit plus installation. Labor is about 45% of that. Electricians near Ames, IA average $66,460 a year against a U.S. mean of $71,490 — a factor of 0.93 — so the labor half is scaled by that and the material half is not. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 for the Ames, IA metro area, SOC 47-2111.
  • Why the city matters, not just the state. Trade pay moves inside a state as much as it does between states. Crews do not commute across a state to bid a job, and materials ship at national prices either way — so a metro wage is the honest input here and a state average quietly rounds four different cities into one number.
  • What is in the price: the generator, a concrete or composite pad, the transfer switch, electrical connection, gas piping from an existing supply, permit and commissioning.
  • What is not: a propane tank and its burial, a gas meter upsize where the utility requires one, trenching over long distances, and the annual service contract. These are the lines that turn a $12,588 quote into a $15,735 invoice, so ask about each one before signing.
  • Use this as a bid check, not a quote. It prices an average job in average condition. Difficult access, the state of what is being replaced, the season, and a crew booked out three months all move the real number, and none of them are in a national average for the job.

a 22 kW standby generator installed in Ames, IA

$12,588 is the typical number, and three bids on the same scope normally land between $9,199 and $16,946.

That is $412 less than the same job priced at the national average.

Why the city changes the number

About 45% of this job is labor — $5,665 of the $12,588 above. Labor is the only part that moves locally; a bundle of material costs what it costs wherever it is nailed down.

Electricians near Ames average $66,460 a year, against a U.S. mean of $71,490. That is a factor of 0.93, so the labor half is scaled by it and the material half is not.

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 for the Ames, IA metro area, SOC 47-2111.

What the quote should include

The lines that turn a quote into an invoice

Ask about each of them before you sign. On a job this size they are the difference between $12,588 and something a quarter higher.

Use it as a bid check, not a quote

This prices an average job in average condition. Access, the state of what is being replaced, the season, and a crew booked out three months all move the real number, and none of them are in a national average.

If a bid lands outside $9,199 – $16,946, that is not automatically wrong — but it is the question worth asking out loud.

Nearby sizes

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