What it costs to have Christmas lights put up on a one-storey, two-storey or large house
Professional Christmas lights priced on four houses from 1,200 to 3,200 sq ft, one and two storeys: how many feet of roofline each has, what a second storey adds, and why a bigger house is not always dearer.
Christmas light installers don't price your square footage. They price the roof edge they hang lights on, by the foot, plus a little more when the house is tall. Here are four ordinary houses, measured the way an installer would and priced for a season: hung in November, taken down in January.
Four houses, measured
Each is a plain rectangle with a gable roof at a 6/12 pitch — the commonest shape. The lights run along the eaves and up and down both sloped gable ends, which are longer than they look from above.
| House | Footprint | Eaves | Gable ends | Roofline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,200 sq ft, one storey | 40 × 30 ft | 80 ft | 67 ft | 147 ft |
| 2,000 sq ft, one storey | 50 × 40 ft | 100 ft | 89 ft | 189 ft |
| 2,400 sq ft, two storeys | 40 × 30 ft | 80 ft | 67 ft | 147 ft |
| 3,200 sq ft, two storeys | 40 × 40 ft | 80 ft | 89 ft | 169 ft |
What each one costs
Installed, taken down and stored, rented lights included, on our pricing engine's starter rates:
| Type | 1,200 sq ft, one storey | 2,000 sq ft, one storey | 2,400 sq ft, two storeys | 3,200 sq ft, two storeys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mini lights on the gutter line, rented | $618 | $752 | $765 | $857 |
| Warm white C9 LED, installed and removed | $726 | $891 | $873 | $982 |
| Multicolour C9 LED, installed and removed | $762 | $937 | $909 | $1,023 |
The two-storey houses include a height charge of $1 a foot of roofline in our starter price list, for taller ladders and slower work. Prices before tax; a local installer's own rates decide yours.
Why a bigger house can cost less
A two-storey house stacks its living space under a smaller roof. The 2,400 sq ft two-storey above has 147 ft of roofline, against 189 ft on the 2,000 sq ft ranch, so even with the height charge it comes to about $873 in warm white against $891. Square footage tells you little; feet of roof edge tell you nearly everything.
What moves the price on a real house
- Gables and pitch. Each sloped gable edge is longer than its width from above: about 12% at 6/12 and 41% at 12/12. A steep, gabled house has more feet to light.
- Hip roofs. No gable ends, so the roofline is simply the outline of the house.
- The ridge. Lighting the peak adds roughly the length of the house.
- Wings, dormers and garages. Every corner adds edge. A real L-shaped house has more roofline than a rectangle of the same size.
- Extras. In our starter price list, lighting the bushes is $180, wrapping a tree $220 and pathway lights $140; see the whole-house decorating cost.
Measure your own house
Type your address: we trace your house from aerial imagery, measure the eaves, lengthen the gable ends for the pitch you pick, show it lit up at night, and price it — up in November, down in January. Want the strands and bulbs instead? The Christmas light calculator does that.
Common questions
How much does it cost to put Christmas lights on a two-storey house?
About $900 for warm white C9s on a 2,400 sq ft two-storey and $1,000 on a 3,200 sq ft one, on our engine's starter rates.
How much do Christmas lights cost for a 2,000 sq ft house?
About $900 for warm white C9s on a single storey, up and down.
Why does a two-storey house sometimes cost less?
It has less roof edge for the same living space, which offsets the height charge.
Get the homeowner roof-buying playbook
One short email every two weeks: which questions to ask roofers, when to walk away, how to spot inflated bids. No spam.