Bathroom remodel cost in Chicago: what owners paid (2023 survey)
Chicago owners paid a median $6,000 for a bathroom remodel: $1,000 above the U.S. median, tied for tenth-highest of 13 big metros (Census Bureau, 2023). When owners hired it out, the middle half paid $4,000 to $15,000.
What Chicago owners paid
$6,000
This is historical spending: work done in about 2021 to 2023 on owner-occupied homes, reported in the 2023 survey.
Margin of error ±$2,755: at 90% confidence the Chicago median lies between $3,245 and $8,755.
Hired out: $8,800 typical, from 54 hired-out jobs in the survey sample.
How Chicago compares
- U.S. median, same work
- $5,000
- Rank, highest first
- Tied at 10 of 13
Chicago: $6,000. The big-metro medians run from $4,571 to $10,000.
2 of the 15 metros have no published figure for this work, so the rank counts the other 13.
- New York City$10,000
- San Francisco$10,000
- Seattle$10,000
- Riverside$9,000
- Washington DC$9,000
- Los Angeles$8,727
- Phoenix$7,000
- Miami$6,857
- Atlanta$6,400
- Chicago$6,000
- Philadelphia$6,000
- Dallas$5,000
- Detroit$4,571
No published figure: Boston, Houston.
- Seattle$13,000$8,000–$30,000
- Boston$11,400$5,000–$20,000
- Los Angeles$11,400$7,000–$20,800
- Riverside$11,400$6,500–$20,000
- San Francisco$11,400$6,000–$19,000
- New York City$10,500$5,900–$12,000
- Washington DC$10,000$5,000–$15,000
- Detroit$9,100$5,000–$15,000
- Philadelphia$9,100$5,000–$14,000
- Chicago$8,800$4,000–$15,000
- Phoenix$8,000$4,500–$16,000
- Atlanta$7,000$5,700–$18,000
- Dallas$7,000$2,500–$15,000
- Miami$7,000$3,500–$12,000
- Houston$6,900$3,000–$12,000
A metro is shown when at least 30 hired-out jobs in the survey sample stand behind it.
What it covers
Remodeling an existing bathroom, counted apart from adding a new one.
The Census category is “Bath” within “Remodeling”: what Chicago-area homeowners told the Census Bureau they paid, every size of job together.
Before you compare quotes
Ask every contractor to price the same scope, in writing. A quote outside the hired-out range above is a reason to ask what it covers, not proof that it is wrong. Does the quote change room area, layout, systems or finishes, and which changes are included?
The permit in Chicago
Unincorporated Cook County charges $73.50 for alterations and remodeling up to $5,000 of contract cost, plus $18.50 for each further $1,000; the City of Chicago sets its own fees (schedule checked October 12, 2026). The building department decides whether your remodel needs a permit and which one. Ask whether the quote includes the permit and who files it.
Measure your job with the material calculator. Then put the quotes in the matching quote worksheet to see each one's scope beside its price.