How we price bathroom remodeling.
Every price on TheFatBook is built from a v3 Bill-of-Materials model. We multiply Craftsman National Estimator labor hours by BLS OEWS regional wages and a burden rate to get loaded labor cost. We add materials adjusted with FRED Producer Price Index data, city permit facts from our permits dataset where available, and NAHB-benchmarked contractor overhead. The result is cost-to-deliver. Compared against verified market pricing, the gap is the contractor margin and the savings opportunity.
Data sources: BLS, NKBA, Remodeling Magazine, Craftsman
Reference URLs: BLS OEWS · FRED PPI · PermitCalculator.com
Markets: 5 metros + national average
Services tracked: 20
Headline service: Bathroom Remodel (Mid-Range)
Index version: 2026.Q2
Update cadence: source review before each published cost-index refresh; visible pages currently updated May 2026
Cost index author: David Olson, Founder of TheFatBook
Methodology reviewer: Leonard "Chuck" Thompson, LC Thompson Construction Co.
Permit data: from permitcalculator.com, our sister project covering verified building-department fees and contacts.
Bathroom Remodel (Mid-Range), derived end-to-end.
The same 12 steps apply to every service in every metro. Numbers below use the national-average record for Bathroom Remodel (Mid-Range); metro-specific numbers (wage, permit, PPI) replace the national values city-by-city.
Craftsman labor hours
Labor hours come from the Craftsman National Estimator, the industry standard cost-estimating reference. For Bathroom Remodel (Mid-Range), the BOM specifies 79.1 labor hours.
BLS wage and burden rate
Hourly wage rates come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (BLS OES) for the relevant trade and metro. National average for this trade: $28.84/hr. Burden rate (FICA, workers' comp, unemployment, insurance) adds 39.8% for a loaded wage of $40.32/hr.
Labor cost
Materials, PPI-adjusted
Material costs come from the Craftsman BOM and are multiplied by the relevant FRED Producer Price Index series to inflation-adjust to the current quarter. Current PPI multiplier: 1.0828. For Bathroom Remodel (Mid-Range): $5,465.
Permit fee
Permit fees come from permits_compiled.json, our independently maintained dataset of building-department fee schedules across U.S. metros. National-typical permit fee for this scope: $255.
Direct cost
Contractor overhead
Overhead (general & administrative, marketing, supervision) is benchmarked against the NAHB Cost of Doing Business study. Materials are pass-through, so overhead applies only to labor + permit.
Cost to deliver
What it actually costs a contractor to do the job, before profit.
Verified floor
The lowest verified bid we observe in the market for this scope. Functions as a counter-offer anchor in negotiation. National floor for this service: $9,599.
Typical contractor bid
Market average from contractor pricing. National typical bid: $14,612 (range $13,187 to $15,860).
Contractor gross margin
The portion of the typical bid that exceeds cost-to-deliver. Higher margin = more room to negotiate.