Home Renovation Cost Report 2026

The median renovation project in our database costs $3,200. That means half of all home improvement projects come in under that figure. If you're planning a single room update - a bathroom refresh, new flooring, or a paint job - you're likely in that lower half.

The mean is pulled up to $7,057 by big-ticket items: room additions, second stories, pool installations, and ADU builds. These are the projects that cross six figures, and they skew the average significantly. Don't let that number scare you off a more modest renovation.

Regional pricing matters more than most homeowners expect. The same kitchen remodel that costs $25,000 in Indianapolis could run $38,000 in San Francisco or $35,000 in New York City. Before budgeting, check your metro's cost multiplier in the table above - it's the single most important adjustment to make.

One trend worth noting: electrical and smart home upgrades remain the most affordable renovation category by average cost. If you're looking for high-impact improvements on a limited budget, projects like dimmer switches, smart thermostats, and under-cabinet lighting deliver noticeable results for under $500.

This report aggregates data from all 200 project cost guides on Cost to Renovate. Each guide is independently researched using at least two data sources: HomeAdvisor/Angi, Fixr, HomeGuide, Homewyse, and BLS occupational wage statistics.

Category averages are calculated as the mean of national average costs across all projects in that category. Regional multipliers come from BLS metro-area wage data for construction trades, adjusted for local permitting costs and material transport factors.

All cost data reflects 2025-2026 contractor pricing. We update individual guides as new data becomes available and plan to publish this report annually.