Chimney and exterior stair cost in Boston: what owners paid (2023 survey)
Boston owners paid a median $4,114 for chimney, outdoor stair and other exterior work: $2,057 above the U.S. median, third-highest of 5 big metros (Census Bureau, 2023). When owners hired it out, the middle half paid $2,000 to $6,500.
What Boston owners paid
$4,114
This is historical spending: work done in about 2021 to 2023 on owner-occupied homes, reported in the 2023 survey.
Margin of error ±$715: at 90% confidence the Boston median lies between $3,399 and $4,829.
Hired out: $4,300 typical, from 44 hired-out jobs in the survey sample.
How Boston compares
- U.S. median, same work
- $2,057
- Rank, highest first
- 3 of 5
Boston: $4,114. The big-metro medians run from $500 to $4,286.
10 of the 15 metros have no published figure for this work, so the rank counts the other 5.
No published figure: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Riverside, San Francisco.
- Boston$4,300$2,000–$6,500
- Washington DC$3,800$2,200–$4,300
A metro is shown when at least 30 hired-out jobs in the survey sample stand behind it.
What it covers
Chimneys, outdoor stairs and other exterior additions, counted together.
The Census category is “Chimney/stairs/other exterior additions” within “Exterior Additions and Replacements”: what Boston-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. Which exterior component is actually in your quote, and what supporting work is included?
Measure your job with the material calculator. Then put the quotes in your project budget worksheet to see each one's scope beside its price.