The 2026 Remodeling Cost Index.
An independent, source-built benchmark for what home improvement actually costs in 2026. We price 6 project types across 28 U.S. metros from federal wage data, a licensed cost book, current material prices, and the real permit fee in each city. Free to cite, with a ready-made citation line below.
What the 2026 data shows.
- Across 6 project types and 28 metro markets, national averages run from $1,658 for water heater installation to $30,362 for kitchen remodel.
- Whole House Painting has the widest geographic gap: $14,801 in New York versus $8,361 in San Antonio, a 77% difference.
- New York is the most expensive metro for remodeling overall, about +32% versus national across tracked projects. San Antonio is the most affordable, about -12%.
- Contractor margin, the gap between a typical quote and the cost to deliver, runs roughly 14% to 20% depending on metro, leanest in Springfield and widest in Austin.
- Every figure is modeled from BLS wages, Craftsman labor hours, FRED material price indices, and verified city permit fees, not survey self-reports or scraped quotes.
National averages by project.
| Project | U.S. Average | Typical Range | Lowest Metro | Highest Metro | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchen Remodel | $30,362 | $27,208 to $33,759 | San Antonio $26,536 | New York $38,647 | 46% |
| Bathroom Remodel | $24,388 | $21,856 to $27,115 | San Antonio $20,993 | New York $32,449 | 55% |
| Central HVAC System | $10,563 | $9,835 to $12,178 | Springfield $9,648 | New York $12,814 | 33% |
| Whole House Painting | $9,899 | $9,060 to $11,984 | San Antonio $8,361 | New York $14,801 | 77% |
| Concrete Patio Installation | $3,726 | $3,346 to $4,135 | San Antonio $3,308 | New York $5,120 | 55% |
| Water Heater Installation | $1,658 | $1,578 to $1,981 | San Antonio $1,517 | New York $2,019 | 33% |
Anatomy of a kitchen remodeling price.
A national-average kitchen remodel, traced from the first labor hour to the fair price. This is the chain behind every number on this page.
Cost to deliver is what a licensed contractor spends to do the job and keep the lights on, before profit, the break-even below the fair range. The margin is the gap between that break-even and a typical quote, not a markup we add.
Every tracked market.
The metro average for each trade's headline project, sorted by overall premium versus national. Scroll for all trades.
Built, not guessed.
Each price starts from a Craftsman bill of materials, takes the real BLS metro wage for the trade that does the work, pulls materials to current with FRED producer price indices, adds the verified permit fee for the scope, and applies a per-trade overhead benchmark from the NAHB Cost of Doing Business study. No surveys, no averaged quotes, no scraped numbers. Read the full methodology.
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Source: <a href="https://thefatbook.com/cost-index/">The 2026 Remodeling Cost Index | TheFatBook</a>About the cost index.
What is the 2026 Remodeling Cost Index?
It is an independent benchmark of what common home improvement projects cost to deliver in 2026, covering 6 project types across 28 U.S. metro markets. Each figure is built from BLS wages, Craftsman labor hours, FRED material price indices, and verified city permit fees.
How often is it updated?
The index is rebuilt on a source review before each published refresh, currently the 2026-07-21 release. Wages, material indices, and permit fees are re-pulled from their primary sources each cycle.
Can I cite or republish these numbers?
Yes, free with attribution under a Creative Commons BY-NC license. Use the citation block on this page, or the embed snippet, both of which credit and link back to the live data.
How are the numbers calculated?
Bottom up. A Craftsman bill of materials sets the labor hours and material list, BLS metro wages price the labor, FRED indices bring materials to current, the city permit fee is added, and a per-trade NAHB overhead benchmark yields the cost to deliver. The contractor margin shown is the gap between that floor and a typical quote.