mouldings

Why would you put mouldings on the ceiling .... ?????

It's a crown molding at the top of the wall.

So it's a house in suburbia. Don't you think it's a better idea to ask people in and around that particular town what the going labor rates are?

It's not a house in suburbia,alanhart. It's a 750sq ft apt on the UWS.

I know it's crown moulding for the top of the wall, but I am not planning on using the typical crown mouldings. I have something different on hand that I just need some to install. Standard baseboard for bottom.

Oh, good ... I'm glad you're leaving a nice 90-degree angle of painted plaster where the ceiling meets the wall.

Presumably your "something different" will be placed where the picture-frame moulding goes in UWS prewar apartments, about a foot down from the ceiling, making the ceiling feel a bit like a planetarium dome ... spacious and uplifting. Especially if you paint the ceiling and down to the picture-frame moulding white, and the walls below the picture frame moulding a color (pistachio). The moulding itself can either be an accent color or the same as the wall color, depending. So many options. Just please not crown moulding.

Unless it's a townhouse, of course.

apt55 - crown is usually slightly more than base (labor). It also depends on what mouldings are to be installed. A one piece crown vs 3-piece base and you will now likely pay more for the base install.