Flood damage repair cost: what owners paid
When owners hired someone for flood damage repairs, the middle half paid $4,300 to $20,000 (a rough range: the survey sample holds few of these jobs) and the typical job cost $14,000.
What owners paid
$14,000
The typical job when owners hired it out. The middle half paid $4,300 to $20,000.
Only 50 hired-out jobs in the survey sample stand behind this figure, so read it as rough: its margin of error is ±$5,431.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey 2023, the latest release: work owners did in about 2021–2023. Checked . Hired-out figures: our percentiles from the survey’s public use file.
When owners hired the work out
78% of these jobs were hired out. The survey sample is too small for a hired-out figure in any one metro.
The hired-out figures as a table, with margins of error
| Homes | Sample jobs | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Every home size | 50 | $4,300 ±$3,952 | $14,000 ±$5,431 | $20,000 ±$7,917 |
How these figures are made: from the Census Bureau's 2023 American Housing Survey public use file, each job counted with its survey weight and a 90% margin of error from the survey's replicate weights. A job is hired out when the owners said someone outside the household did most of the work. Leaving out do-it-yourself jobs is why these figures usually sit above the every-job medians in the Census table below. The public file also rounds costs, so its every-job median can differ a little from the published one.
Every job in each big metro, do-it-yourself included
The typical (median) job in each of the survey's 15 metro areas, highest first, from the Census Bureau's published table. The margin of error is the Census Bureau's 90% range around each median.
No published figure: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, Riverside, Seattle, Washington DC.
What these figures cover: Repairs after flood damage, from drying out a room to replacing floors and walls.
The figures as a table, with margins of error
Scroll the table sideways to see every column on a small screen.
| Metro area | Typical job (median) | Margin of error (90% confidence) |
|---|---|---|
| Boston | $22,000 | Not published |
| Phoenix | $22,000 | Not published |
| San Francisco | $14,000 | ±$6,188 |
| Atlanta | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Chicago | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Dallas | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Detroit | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Houston | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Los Angeles | Not published | Not published |
| Miami | Not published | Not published |
| New York City | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Philadelphia | Not published | Not published |
| Riverside | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Seattle | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Washington DC | Not published | Not published |
Source: Census Bureau and HUD, 2023 American Housing Survey, Table 16, category “Flood” under “Disaster Repairs”. Checked October 13, 2026. The metro values and margins of error use the survey's metropolitan areas, not city limits. A metro with no published figure stays blank; we never fill it in from its neighbors.
Why do cost guides disagree?
They measure different things. An estimate prices one defined job at today's rates; these figures are what owners actually paid, across every size and kind of job in the category. Do-it-yourself jobs mostly pay for materials, which is why this page keeps hired-out jobs apart. A full job on a large house can sit well above the typical figure, and a small one well below it. Your own quotes, compared line by line, are the price that counts. Seven reasons cost guides disagree, each with its figures.
Before you compare quotes
Ask every contractor to price the same scope, in writing. What damage is documented and which specialist work is outside the written quote?
Keep the quotes themselves in a budget worksheet.