Water heater replacement cost: what owners paid
When owners hired someone for a water heater, the middle half paid $900 to $2,000 and the typical job cost $1,400. Counting do-it-yourself jobs, the typical job was $1,000.
What owners paid
$1,400
The typical job when owners hired it out. The middle half paid $900 to $2,000.
Every job, do-it-yourself included: $1,000 typical.
Hired out, by home size: the typical job and the middle half
- Under 1,500 sq ft$1,200$760 to $2,000
- 1,500 to 2,499 sq ft$1,300$950 to $2,000
- 2,500 sq ft or more$1,600$1,000 to $2,500
Lowest big metro, $1,000: Miami. Highest, $1,900: New York City, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey 2023, the latest release: work owners did in about 2021–2023. Our percentiles from the survey’s public use file, checked October 11, 2026.
When owners hired the work out
66% of these jobs were hired out. Each bar runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile of what those owners paid, so half of the jobs sit inside it; the tick is the median.
- United States$1,400$900–$2,000
- New York City$1,900$1,200–$2,000
- San Francisco$1,900$1,200–$3,000
- Seattle$1,900$1,200–$3,000
- Washington DC$1,900$1,000–$3,000
- Boston$1,800$1,100–$2,500
- Dallas$1,800$1,100–$2,500
- Atlanta$1,500$1,000–$2,100
- Los Angeles$1,500$1,000–$2,500
- Riverside$1,500$1,000–$2,200
- Chicago$1,300$1,000–$2,000
- Phoenix$1,300$800–$2,000
- Detroit$1,200$740–$1,500
- Houston$1,200$800–$2,000
- Philadelphia$1,200$1,000–$2,000
- Miami$1,000$700–$1,500
The hired-out figures as a table, with margins of error
Scroll the table sideways to see every column on a small screen.
| Homes | Sample jobs | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Every home size | 1,786 | $900 ±$19 | $1,400 ±$205 | $2,000 ±$0* |
| Under 1,500 sq ft | 470 | $760 ±$133 | $1,200 ±$255 | $2,000 ±$58 |
| 1,500 to 2,499 sq ft | 733 | $950 ±$133 | $1,300 ±$127 | $2,000 ±$45 |
| 2,500 sq ft or more | 506 | $1,000 ±$0* | $1,600 ±$237 | $2,500 ±$274 |
| New York City | 49 | $1,200 ±$356 | $1,900 ±$228 | $2,000 ±$793 |
| San Francisco | 82 | $1,200 ±$154 | $1,900 ±$234 | $3,000 ±$629 |
| Seattle | 72 | $1,200 ±$371 | $1,900 ±$293 | $3,000 ±$762 |
| Washington DC | 86 | $1,000 ±$243 | $1,900 ±$210 | $3,000 ±$559 |
| Boston | 102 | $1,100 ±$182 | $1,800 ±$116 | $2,500 ±$404 |
| Dallas | 63 | $1,100 ±$275 | $1,800 ±$355 | $2,500 ±$1,616 |
| Atlanta | 56 | $1,000 ±$515 | $1,500 ±$412 | $2,100 ±$921 |
| Los Angeles | 67 | $1,000 ±$171 | $1,500 ±$251 | $2,500 ±$595 |
| Riverside | 76 | $1,000 ±$206 | $1,500 ±$238 | $2,200 ±$475 |
| Chicago | 75 | $1,000 ±$134 | $1,300 ±$323 | $2,000 ±$283 |
| Phoenix | 98 | $800 ±$237 | $1,300 ±$328 | $2,000 ±$285 |
| Detroit | 73 | $740 ±$241 | $1,200 ±$219 | $1,500 ±$292 |
| Houston | 82 | $800 ±$324 | $1,200 ±$107 | $2,000 ±$230 |
| Philadelphia | 76 | $1,000 ±$162 | $1,200 ±$240 | $2,000 ±$173 |
| Miami | 45 | $700 ±$276 | $1,000 ±$86 | $1,500 ±$270 |
* A margin of $0 means every replicate estimate landed on the same round figure: owners tend to report round amounts such as $10,000.
What these figures cover: Water heaters added or replaced, as the Census survey asks it: tank and tankless, gas and electric, every size together. Dishwashers and garbage disposals are counted on their own.
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. The public file rounds costs.
What moves the price
- Type and size: a tank by its gallons, a tankless unit by its flow rate; a heat pump water heater costs more to buy.
- Fuel: switching from electric to gas, or to a tankless gas unit, can mean a new gas line or new venting.
- Items the local code asks for at replacement: an expansion tank, earthquake straps, a drain pan or a new shut-off valve.
- Access: a unit in an attic or a tight closet takes longer to swap.
- Removing and hauling away the old unit, and the permit.
Before you compare quotes
Ask every contractor to price the same scope, in writing. Do the quotes name the same unit (type, fuel, gallons or flow rate, model) and list the code items, removal, haul-away and permit?
Put the quotes side by side in the quote worksheet, or keep every price for the project in a budget worksheet.