Home improvement costs by project
What U.S. homeowners paid for 27 kinds of work, nationally and in 15 big metros, from the Census Bureau's 2023 American Housing Survey. Then put the quotes you get side by side.
Priced at today’s prices
Our estimate for one job, itemized: the parts at stores’ posted prices with the day they were read, the crew’s time at what the trade costs an employer where you live, and the trade’s overhead share, each one yours to change. Type a quote to see what it pays for.
- A tile floor: tile, thinset and grout, and a tile setter’s day where you live
- Painting rooms: the paint for your rooms, and a painter’s day where you live
- Drywall: board, compound and tape for your rooms, and a drywall installer’s day where you live
- A new roof: shingles, underlayment, the dumpster, the permit and the crew
- A new water heater: the tank, the permit and a plumber’s hours
- A new furnace: the furnace, the permit and the installers’ hours
- New central air: the outdoor unit and coil, the permit and the installers’ hours
What owners paid
The typical (median) job for work done in about 2021 to 2023 when owners hired someone, with the middle half of those jobs; where the survey has too few hired-out jobs, every job and the range of the big-metro medians. These are what owners paid, not today's bids. Why cost guides disagree, with seven reasons and their figures. Every project in one table, with margins of error, the big metros and a CSV file to cite. How far material prices have moved since: building material prices.
Exterior work
Attached garages and carports$5,700Hired out; middle half $3,000 to $20,000
Decks, porches and patios$7,000Hired out; middle half $3,000 to $15,000
Roofing$10,000Hired out; middle half $6,000 to $15,000
Siding$6,900Hired out; middle half $3,000 to $14,000
Windows and doors$4,200Hired out; middle half $1,600 to $9,800- Chimneys and outdoor stairs$3,000Hired out; middle half $1,200 to $6,500
Rooms and remodeling
Bedroom additions$16,300Hired out; middle half $7,700 to $40,000
Bathroom additions$19,100Hired out; middle half $13,000 to $33,000- Recreation room additions$23,300Hired out; middle half $16,000 to $35,800
Kitchen additions$41,700Hired out; middle half $22,500 to $111,000- Bathroom remodel$8,000Hired out; middle half $4,000 to $14,700
- Kitchen remodel$12,000Hired out; middle half $5,000 to $25,000
Interior systems and finishes
Insulation$2,500Hired out; middle half $1,300 to $4,000
Water pipes$1,800Hired out; middle half $600 to $4,000- Plumbing fixtures$990Hired out; middle half $490 to $2,400
Electrical wiring and panels$1,500Hired out; middle half $640 to $3,800- Home security systems$720Hired out; middle half $400 to $2,000
Flooring, carpet, paneling and ceiling tile$4,000Hired out; middle half $2,000 to $7,000
Heating and cooling (HVAC)$6,000Hired out; middle half $3,500 to $9,000
Water heaters, dishwashers and disposals$1,000Hired out; middle half $570 to $1,600
Driveways, fences and buildings
Disaster repairs
Single jobs and new houses
Jobs the survey's table counts together with others, priced on their own from the survey's records: what owners paid when they hired the work out. And what a new house costs to build, from the Census Bureau's construction survey.
Building a house$404,000Median contract price, houses started in 2025, land not included- Central air conditioning$6,900Typical hired-out job; middle half $4,000 to $9,700
- Furnaces and heating equipment$5,000Typical hired-out job; middle half $3,000 to $7,500
- Water heaters$1,400Typical hired-out job; middle half $900 to $2,000
- Septic tanks$5,200Typical hired-out job; middle half $2,900 to $10,000
Compare your own quotes
A typical figure is a check, not a price. Put the quotes you get side by side, or build a project budget for work across several trades. Every comparison is in compare quotes.
- Water heater quote comparisonCompare the equipment, removal, connections and access included in written water-heater quotes.
- HVAC quote comparisonPut HVAC equipment, duct work, controls and the start-up checks beside each quoted price.
Solar panel quote comparisonCompare the system, roof work, electrical scope and contract terms in written solar quotes.- Window replacement quote comparisonCompare each window opening, whether the frame is replaced, the trim and wall repair, and disposal in written window quotes.
- Septic system quote comparisonCompare septic system quotes: the design and permit, the tank, the drain field, the digging and what happens to the old system.
Work the survey does not cover
The home improvement survey does not price new construction: building a house has its own page from the Census Bureau's construction survey, but barndominiums, tiny houses and other new buildings have no official figure, so keep the prices you get together in the budget worksheet. The survey's table publishes no metro median for septic tanks or pools, courts and recreational structures. Septic tanks have their own page from the survey's records; pools are counted with courts and other recreational structures, so we publish no pool figure. A missing figure stays unknown rather than being assigned a neighboring value.