How Much Does Professional Christmas Light Installation Cost in Washington, D.C.? [2026 Data]

There’s nothing quite like a house adorned with colorful holiday lights, but hanging them yourself can be a challenge. The cost to install Christmas lights in Washington, D.C., ranges from $244 to $1,275, with D.C.-area homeowners paying an average of $760. The exact cost of light installation depends on the size of your home, the number of stories, the type of lights you choose, and other factors. This guide will help you make a realistic budget for your festive project.

Christmas Light Installation Cost Factors 

The cost of installing Christmas lights in Washington, D.C., depends on your home's size, local labor costs, and other factors. Let’s explore how these factors impact your total cost.

Home Size

You’ll pay anywhere from $3.90 to $10.90 per linear foot to have a professional install Christmas lights on your property. This total accounts for the materials, which cost around $0.80 to $3.10 per linear foot, and the installation itself, which ranges from $3.10 to $7.80 per linear foot.

Project Scope

The project scope also affects your total Christmas decorating service costs. If you live in a small Georgetown rowhouse, you might only need a few lights around the windows and on the roofline. But if you live in a larger Colonial-style home with a yard, you might pay more to line the entire roof and wrap lights around your trees. Here’s how much you can expect to pay per lighting project in Washington, D.C.

Roofs

Installing Christmas lights on your roof can cost between $230 and $1,870. Costs can increase by 20% for more dangerous jobs because they require special equipment such as an extended-height ladder or scaffolding. The same is true for hanging Christmas lights on gutters.

Driveways

You’ll pay around $90 to $2180 to install lights around your driveway. Adding lights to a driveway is a subtle but effective way to enhance your pathway without breaking the budget.

Trees

The cost to wrap lights around a tree is between $120 and $2,340 per tree on average. Small trees cost up to $310, while trees that are 30 feet or more in height could cost upward of $2,340

You can expect to pay between $16 and $31 to wrap each shrub or bush in your yard. You’ll need five to 10 strands of lights per bush. With shrubs and bushes, you can choose small, cone lights or larger, brighter bulbs—whatever fits your overall design aesthetic.  

Christmas Light Type

Christmas lights can cost between $7.80 and $110 per 25-foot strand if you buy them yourself, and $0.60 to $3.10 per linear foot if you purchase them through an installation company. There are four major types of lights available for professional Christmas light installations.

Christmas Light Installation Add-ons

Don’t forget to budget for additional holiday set-ups, such as house projections or inflatables.

Projections

Christmas light projectors run the gamut from $20 to $230, depending on the intricacy of the display—some cover a portion of the home, and others showcase a whole-home LED snowscape display. 

Additional Outdoor Decorations

Light-up novelty decor has always been a favorite for the Christmas season, and you can expect to pay between $30 and $470 for festive lawn decorations, with an additional $55 per piece installation cost. 

Timers

Installing a light timer costs between $15 and $80. Your installer may not charge extra to add the timer to the installation, but you can often do the installation yourself. 

Smart Lights

Smart lights cost between $55 and $80 per 25 linear feet. The type of bulb shape you choose impacts the total cost, and bundling a higher number of lights per package can lower the price per foot toward the lower end of this price range. Smart lights are perfect for homeowners who want to customize the colors, effects, and brightness of their Christmas lights with the simple press of a button on their smartphones.

Permanent Installation 

Expect to pay around $5,460 for a permanent Christmas light installation. This high up-front price could save you money in the long run, especially if you typically hire a professional installer to set up, remove, store, or fix your Christmas lights every year. Permanent lights use LED bulbs and can last six to 10 years. 

Christmas Lights Removal Costs

While removing holiday lights is often part of the installation package, the cost for removal alone falls between $160 and $620 on average, or $0.80 per linear foot.

Christmas Light Rental Costs

Some homeowners detest storing Christmas lights or don’t have the space for them once the holiday season ends. One way to avoid untangling strands is to rent lights from the installation company. On average, Christmas light rental costs range from $390 to $940.

Christmas Light Installation Pro Costs

Hiring a pro to install your Christmas lights ensures they’re hung safely and look aesthetically pleasing. Learn more about the cost of hiring a Christmas light installation pro in Washington, D.C.

Labor

Professional contractors charge between $3.10 and $7.80 per linear foot for Christmas light installation, not including materials. This price range covers removal and sometimes maintenance during the agreed-upon display time frame. Labor costs to hire someone to decorate your house for Christmas may be higher in the D.C. area, due to the cost of living being 39% higher than the national average. Your exact location in the city and the local demand for Christmas light installation can also impact your labor costs.

Your contractor will determine the cost of your project by measuring and estimating the linear footage of your home, accounting for rooftops, roof edges, trees, yards, and extra features. Contractors may charge more or less per foot depending on how difficult the area is to access. 

Electrical Wiring

If your home needs new electrical wiring before you can install lights, you’ll spend around $80 to $160 per hour to hire a local electrician to do the job. This service is unlikely to be included in your Christmas light installer’s services, as most installers aren’t qualified to do electrical work. However, your pro may provide you with extension cords if needed.

If you do need to alter your home’s wiring or add an electrical line, you’ll need a permit. The Washington, D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs requires you to obtain a supplemental systems installation permit for electrical installations. This can add to the project cost.

Tipping

You might be wondering, do you tip Christmas light installers? The answer is yes, it’s customary to tip holiday light installers for a job well done. If you’re happy with the service and love your professional Christmas light installation, tipping between 10% and 20% of the total bill is appropriate.

Does Christmas Light Installation Increase Home Value?

There are many home improvement projects that boost your home’s value, but installing Christmas lights is not typically one of them. These lights can certainly boost your home’s curb appeal, but they’re unlikely to fetch you a higher selling price when you put your house on the market.

However, installing permanent lights may have a slight impact on your home’s value. They can improve your home’s curb appeal year-round and let you change the light colors to match the season. They can also be more efficient as they use LED lights rather than incandescent ones.

How Angi Gets Its Cost Data

Home is the most important place on earth, which is why Angi has helped more than 150 million homeowners transform their houses into homes they adore. To help homeowners with their next project, Angi provides readers with the most accurate cost data and upholds strict editorial standards. We survey real Angi customers about their project costs to develop the pricing data you see, so you can make the best decisions for you and your home. We pair this data with research from reputable sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, academic journals, market studies, and interviews with industry experts—all to ensure our prices reflect real-world projects. 

Want to help us improve our cost data? Send us a recent project quote to [email protected]. Quotes and personal information will not be shared publicly.