Recreation room addition cost: what owners paid
When owners hired someone for a recreation room addition or renovation, the middle half paid $16,000 to $35,800 (a rough range: the survey sample holds few of these jobs) and the typical job cost $23,300. Counting do-it-yourself jobs, the typical U.S. job was $10,000, and across 4 big metros it ran $3,000 to $20,000.
What owners paid
$23,300
The typical job when owners hired it out. The middle half paid $16,000 to $35,800.
Only 32 hired-out jobs in the survey sample stand behind this figure, so read it as rough: its margin of error is ±$4,864.
Every job, do-it-yourself included: $10,000 typical.
Every job by big metro, do-it-yourself included: lowest $3,000 in Atlanta, highest $20,000 in Dallas.
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
54% 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 | 32 | $16,000 ±$17,208 | $23,300 ±$4,864 | $35,800 ±$43,130 |
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’s every-job median for this work is $16,000, against the $10,000 the Census Bureau published: with 57 sample jobs behind it, read both as rough.
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: Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Riverside, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC.
What these figures cover: Adding or renovating a recreation or family room.
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) |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas | $20,000 | ±$5,554 |
| New York City | $6,000 | Not published |
| Los Angeles | $4,998 | Not published |
| Atlanta | $3,000 | Not published |
| Boston | 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 |
| 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 |
| Miami | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Philadelphia | Not published | Not published |
| Phoenix | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Riverside | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| San Francisco | Not published | Not published |
| Seattle | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Washington DC | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
Source: Census Bureau and HUD, 2023 American Housing Survey, Table 16, category “Recreation Room” under “Room Additions and Renovations”. 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.
Measure your job with the calculator.
Before you compare quotes
Ask every contractor to price the same scope, in writing. What room area, access, systems and finish level are included?
Record the measurements in the quantity calculator. Keep the quotes themselves in a budget worksheet.