Cite the numbers behind American remodeling, with the receipts.
A public cost index across 39 US metros and 6 trades. Every figure traces to a named public source and a reproducible method, so you can quote it and defend it to an editor. Free to cite, free to embed. Need a specific number on deadline? We pull it.
For example: The median kitchen remodeling runs $30,352 nationally, $26,297 in Miami to $41,262 in San Francisco.
Copy-paste, already attributed
Every line recomputes from the current release, so it is never stale. Click to copy the sentence with its citation baked in.
Kitchen Remodeling costs vary most by metro in the 2026-07-26 FatBook Cost Index: a $14,965 gap between Miami ($26,297) and San Francisco ($41,262).
The median kitchen remodeling project runs $30,352 nationally, from $26,297 in Miami to $41,262 in San Francisco, across 39 metros (TheFatBook Cost Index, 2026-07-26).
The median bathroom remodeling project runs $24,370 nationally, from $20,850 in Miami to $34,256 in San Francisco, across 39 metros (TheFatBook Cost Index, 2026-07-26).
The median hvac project runs $10,561 nationally, from $9,574 in Springfield, MO to $13,181 in San Francisco, across 39 metros (TheFatBook Cost Index, 2026-07-26).
The median painting project runs $9,899 nationally, from $8,325 in San Antonio to $14,893 in New York, across 39 metros (TheFatBook Cost Index, 2026-07-26).
The median outdoor living & hardscapes project runs $3,726 nationally, from $3,221 in Miami to $5,135 in New York, across 39 metros (TheFatBook Cost Index, 2026-07-26).
Charts you can embed
Built live from the current release and free to embed with attribution. Open a chart, copy the snippet, paste it into your CMS. It updates every time we publish, so the figure in your story never goes stale.
Kitchen Remodeling · Cost by metro
<iframe src="https://thefatbook.com/embed/kitchen-remodeling-by-metro/" width="600" height="550" style="border:0;max-width:100%" title="Kitchen Remodeling: cost by metro, TheFatBook"></iframe>Free to embed with attribution to TheFatBook. The source link is baked into the frame.
Kitchen Remodeling · National range
<iframe src="https://thefatbook.com/embed/kitchen-remodeling-national-range/" width="600" height="210" style="border:0;max-width:100%" title="Kitchen Remodeling: national range, TheFatBook"></iframe>Free to embed with attribution to TheFatBook. The source link is baked into the frame.
Bathroom Remodeling · Cost by metro
<iframe src="https://thefatbook.com/embed/bathroom-remodeling-by-metro/" width="600" height="550" style="border:0;max-width:100%" title="Bathroom Remodeling: cost by metro, TheFatBook"></iframe>Free to embed with attribution to TheFatBook. The source link is baked into the frame.
Bathroom Remodeling · National range
<iframe src="https://thefatbook.com/embed/bathroom-remodeling-national-range/" width="600" height="210" style="border:0;max-width:100%" title="Bathroom Remodeling: national range, TheFatBook"></iframe>Free to embed with attribution to TheFatBook. The source link is baked into the frame.
HVAC · Cost by metro
<iframe src="https://thefatbook.com/embed/hvac-by-metro/" width="600" height="550" style="border:0;max-width:100%" title="HVAC: cost by metro, TheFatBook"></iframe>Free to embed with attribution to TheFatBook. The source link is baked into the frame.
HVAC · National range
<iframe src="https://thefatbook.com/embed/hvac-national-range/" width="600" height="210" style="border:0;max-width:100%" title="HVAC: national range, TheFatBook"></iframe>Free to embed with attribution to TheFatBook. The source link is baked into the frame.
Painting · Cost by metro
<iframe src="https://thefatbook.com/embed/painting-by-metro/" width="600" height="550" style="border:0;max-width:100%" title="Painting: cost by metro, TheFatBook"></iframe>Free to embed with attribution to TheFatBook. The source link is baked into the frame.
Painting · National range
<iframe src="https://thefatbook.com/embed/painting-national-range/" width="600" height="210" style="border:0;max-width:100%" title="Painting: national range, TheFatBook"></iframe>Free to embed with attribution to TheFatBook. The source link is baked into the frame.
Outdoor Living & Hardscapes · Cost by metro
<iframe src="https://thefatbook.com/embed/outdoor-living-by-metro/" width="600" height="550" style="border:0;max-width:100%" title="Outdoor Living & Hardscapes: cost by metro, TheFatBook"></iframe>Free to embed with attribution to TheFatBook. The source link is baked into the frame.
Outdoor Living & Hardscapes · National range
<iframe src="https://thefatbook.com/embed/outdoor-living-national-range/" width="600" height="210" style="border:0;max-width:100%" title="Outdoor Living & Hardscapes: national range, TheFatBook"></iframe>Free to embed with attribution to TheFatBook. The source link is baked into the frame.
Plumbing · Cost by metro
<iframe src="https://thefatbook.com/embed/plumbing-by-metro/" width="600" height="550" style="border:0;max-width:100%" title="Plumbing: cost by metro, TheFatBook"></iframe>Free to embed with attribution to TheFatBook. The source link is baked into the frame.
Plumbing · National range
<iframe src="https://thefatbook.com/embed/plumbing-national-range/" width="600" height="210" style="border:0;max-width:100%" title="Plumbing: national range, TheFatBook"></iframe>Free to embed with attribution to TheFatBook. The source link is baked into the frame.
Where every number comes from
This is the ledger your editor will ask for. Each figure is built from these inputs and nothing else: no survey of contractor guesses, no scraped listing averages, no black box. Open any component to see the exact method, how to check it against the primary source yourself, and what it feeds. Coverage: 39 metros × 6 trades × 219 priced services, current release 2026-07-26.
Labor wages · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
We take the metro-area median wage for the specific trade occupation and load it with labor burden (payroll taxes, insurance, workers' comp) to reach a true hourly cost, applied per metro. Wages are never blended across trades.
Labor hours · Craftsman National Construction Estimator (licensed edition)
Task-level man-hour standards for each installation step, held constant across metros so that geographic cost differences come only from wages, materials, and permits, not from moving the hours around.
Materials · Producer Price Index series via FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
Base material costs are moved by the relevant PPI series so the level tracks real producer prices rather than a stale list, then rolled into each assembly.
Permits · Verified municipal fee schedules, read line by line off each city's adopted ordinance
The permit line is read directly from the city's published fee schedule for the specific job value. Where a fee cannot be verified against the primary source, the line is held, never estimated or back-filled.
Overhead & margin · NAHB Cost of Doing Business (overhead) + our own margin model
Overhead is loaded per trade from NAHB cost-of-doing-business benchmarks. The fair-margin band on top is our model, not NAHB, and is shown separately from break-even cost so cost-to-deliver and profit are never conflated.
Compilation · FatBook Cost Index engine
The inputs above are combined by a deterministic engine: the same inputs produce the same figures every time. No survey of estimates, no scraped listing averages, no manual nudging of a published number.
Every published figure is reproducible from these inputs. Ask for the exact generation date and source release behind any number and we will give it. When a number cannot be traced to its primary source, we hold it rather than publish an estimate. Full build on the methodology page.
No thumb on the scale
Every figure is computed from public and licensed data alone: federal wages, producer prices, standard labor hours, permit schedules, and industry overhead benchmarks. No contractor, listing, or advertiser is ever an input to a published number.
We run a free contractor directory, but a place in it cannot be bought. A contractor earns the Elite badge only from the ratings their own homeowners give them, and nothing a contractor does moves a price, makes a bid look cheaper, or changes a ranking. The methodology is reviewed by an independent builder paid a flat rate, with no stake in any contractor, supplier, or number we publish.
Angles that are ready to quote
Cost by metro and trade — what a kitchen, bath, roof, or HVAC job runs in a given city, and how much is labor vs. materials vs. permits. Labor rates by metro — the tradesperson wage behind the bill. Permit fees — what cities actually charge. Bid fairness — break-even cost to deliver vs. a fair margin, the framework behind our Bid Fairness Checker.
Construction cost glossary →
Plain-English definitions for labor burden, margin vs markup, break-even cost, and the rest of the vocabulary behind our numbers. Link a definition straight from your story.
However your desk wants it cited
Plain / editorial
TheFatBook Remodeling Cost Index, Jul 2026 release (2026). https://thefatbook.com/cost-index/APA
TheFatBook. (2026). FatBook remodeling cost index (Jul 2026 release). Retrieved from https://thefatbook.com/cost-index/MLA
TheFatBook. "FatBook Remodeling Cost Index." TheFatBook, Jul 2026, thefatbook.com/cost-index/.Chicago
TheFatBook. "FatBook Remodeling Cost Index." Jul 2026. https://thefatbook.com/cost-index/.All we ask: attribute to TheFatBook and link the page you took the figure from. Charts are free to embed with the same attribution.
Need a figure for a story?
Email the specific number you need, the cost of a job in a metro, a labor-rate breakdown, a national trend, and we will pull it from the dataset and send it with the method, usually the same day. On deadline, say so and we will move.
David Olson, founder of TheFatBook and the data engineer behind the cost index, is available for comment and custom data pulls. Cite as “TheFatBook Remodeling Cost Index” with a link to thefatbook.com/cost-index/.
Common questions
Can I cite TheFatBook cost figures in an article?
Yes, free of charge. Cite any number on the site with attribution to TheFatBook and a link to the page it came from. The underlying method is public on the methodology page, so your editors can check the source.
Where do the numbers come from?
Every figure traces to a named public source: Bureau of Labor Statistics metro wages with labor burden, producer price indices for materials, Craftsman national labor-hour standards, verified city permit fee schedules, and NAHB overhead benchmarks. Nothing is a survey of estimates or a guess.
How current is the data?
The index is rebuilt on a published cadence (current data version 2026-07-26) and every page recomputes from the latest release. Ask for the exact generation date of any figure and we will give it.
Can you pull a custom number for my story on deadline?
Yes. Email what you need, the cost of a specific job in a specific metro, a labor-rate breakdown, a national trend, and we will pull it from the dataset and send it with the method, usually the same day.
Can I embed your charts?
Yes. Charts and figures are free to embed with attribution. See the chart-reuse note on the methodology page for the format.