Bathroom remodel cost in San Francisco: what owners paid (2023 survey)
San Francisco owners paid a median $10,000 for a bathroom remodel: $5,000 above the U.S. median, tied for the highest of 13 big metros (Census Bureau, 2023). When owners hired it out, the middle half paid $6,000 to $19,000.
What San Francisco owners paid
$10,000
This is historical spending: work done in about 2021 to 2023 on owner-occupied homes, reported in the 2023 survey.
Margin of error ±$2,972: at 90% confidence the San Francisco median lies between $7,028 and $12,972.
Hired out: $11,400 typical, from 50 hired-out jobs in the survey sample.
How San Francisco compares
- U.S. median, same work
- $5,000
- Rank, highest first
- Tied at 1 of 13
San Francisco: $10,000. The highest of the big metros.
2 of the 15 metros have no published figure for this work, so the rank counts the other 13.
What San Francisco bathroom remodel permits declared
San Francisco’s building permits for in-kind remodels of one bathroom in one- and two-family houses issued from October 2025 to September 2026 declared a median of $15,500; the middle half declared $12,000 to $25,000 (85 permits).
This is the cost of the work as the applicant estimated it on the permit, not an invoice or a final price. It counts only the city’s permits to remodel one bathroom in kind, like for like, so a remodel that moves walls or adds a bathroom is not in it. Set it beside your written quotes.
The permits’ median is above the $10,000 median from the Census survey shown above. The survey counts every job owners reported for work done in about 2021 to 2023, do-it-yourself work and small jobs included; these are permits issued from October 2025 to September 2026, each job priced by its applicant.
Source: City and County of San Francisco, Building Permits (DataSF), read .
- 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 San Francisco-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 San Francisco
San Francisco prices a building permit from the value of the work: from $2,000 to $50,000, a $310 plan review fee plus $28.35 for each further $1,000, and a $266 issuance fee plus $8.56 for each further $1,000. Plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits are priced separately (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.