Bathroom remodel cost in Philadelphia: what owners paid (2023 survey)
Philadelphia 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 $5,000 to $14,000.
What Philadelphia 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 ±$2,371: at 90% confidence the Philadelphia median lies between $3,629 and $8,371.
Hired out: $9,100 typical, from 48 hired-out jobs in the survey sample.
How Philadelphia compares
- U.S. median, same work
- $5,000
- Rank, highest first
- Tied at 10 of 13
Philadelphia: $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 Philadelphia-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 Philadelphia
Philadelphia charges $76 for the first 500 sq ft of an alteration to a one- or two-family home and $56 for each further 100 sq ft or, if you ask, 2% of the construction cost, at least $253; surcharges can come on top (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.