The Most Expensive US Cities to Remodel in 2026
Published June 10, 2026 · RemodelFinder Research · Download the full dataset (CSV, 837 cities)
Where you live changes what a remodel costs more than what you build. We ranked 301 US cities by combining two public datasets: construction wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and ZIP-level home values from Zillow. The result is a single cost index where 1.00 is the typical US market.
The short version:
- Honolulu, HI is the most expensive city in America to remodel, at 48% above the national baseline. A typical kitchen remodel there runs about $40,000.
- Wichita Falls, TX is the most affordable of the 301 cities we ranked, at 26% below the baseline. The same kitchen remodel costs about $19,900 there. That is a 2.0x spread for identical work.
- The coasts dominate. 23 of the 25 priciest cities sit in coastal states, where high home values and high wages stack on top of each other.
- Labor is the quiet driver. The Chicago metro has the highest construction wages in the country (48% above the US median) yet Chicago ranks 93th overall because its home values stay moderate. Wage data explains cost differences that home prices alone cannot.
The 50 Most Expensive Cities to Remodel
| # | City | vs. US baseline | Typical kitchen remodel | Typical roof replacement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honolulu, HI | +48% | $40,000 | $17,000 |
| 2 | San Jose, CA | +46% | $39,500 | $16,800 |
| 3 | Berkeley, CA | +46% | $39,500 | $16,800 |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | +46% | $39,500 | $16,800 |
| 5 | Richmond, CA | +46% | $39,500 | $16,800 |
| 6 | San Francisco, CA | +46% | $39,500 | $16,800 |
| 7 | Bellevue, WA | +45% | $39,300 | $16,700 |
| 8 | Puyallup, WA | +45% | $39,300 | $16,700 |
| 9 | Renton, WA | +45% | $39,300 | $16,700 |
| 10 | Seattle, WA | +45% | $39,300 | $16,700 |
| 11 | Tacoma, WA | +45% | $39,300 | $16,700 |
| 12 | Boston, MA | +45% | $39,100 | $16,700 |
| 13 | Cambridge, MA | +45% | $39,100 | $16,700 |
| 14 | Newton, MA | +45% | $39,100 | $16,700 |
| 15 | Everett, WA | +44% | $38,800 | $16,500 |
| 16 | Jersey City, NJ | +43% | $38,700 | $16,500 |
| 17 | New York, NY | +43% | $38,700 | $16,500 |
| 18 | Newark, NJ | +43% | $38,700 | $16,500 |
| 19 | Paterson, NJ | +43% | $38,700 | $16,500 |
| 20 | White Plains, NY | +43% | $38,700 | $16,500 |
| 21 | Yonkers, NY | +43% | $38,700 | $16,500 |
| 22 | Santa Rosa, CA | +43% | $38,600 | $16,400 |
| 23 | Beaverton, OR | +42% | $38,200 | $16,300 |
| 24 | Portland, OR | +42% | $38,200 | $16,300 |
| 25 | Vancouver, WA | +42% | $38,200 | $16,300 |
| 26 | Sacramento, CA | +41% | $38,000 | $16,200 |
| 27 | Anchorage, AK | +40% | $37,900 | $16,100 |
| 28 | Anaheim, CA | +39% | $37,400 | $16,000 |
| 29 | Burbank, CA | +39% | $37,400 | $16,000 |
| 30 | Garden Grove, CA | +39% | $37,400 | $16,000 |
| 31 | Glendale, CA | +39% | $37,400 | $16,000 |
| 32 | Huntington Beach, CA | +39% | $37,400 | $16,000 |
| 33 | Inglewood, CA | +39% | $37,400 | $16,000 |
| 34 | Irvine, CA | +39% | $37,400 | $16,000 |
| 35 | Long Beach, CA | +39% | $37,400 | $16,000 |
| 36 | Los Angeles, CA | +39% | $37,400 | $16,000 |
| 37 | Newport Beach, CA | +39% | $37,400 | $16,000 |
| 38 | Orange, CA | +39% | $37,400 | $16,000 |
| 39 | Pasadena, CA | +39% | $37,400 | $16,000 |
| 40 | Santa Ana, CA | +39% | $37,400 | $16,000 |
| 41 | Santa Clarita, CA | +39% | $37,400 | $16,000 |
| 42 | Santa Monica, CA | +39% | $37,400 | $16,000 |
| 43 | Whittier, CA | +39% | $37,400 | $16,000 |
| 44 | Chula Vista, CA | +37% | $36,900 | $15,700 |
| 45 | San Diego, CA | +37% | $36,900 | $15,700 |
| 46 | Salinas, CA | +36% | $36,700 | $15,600 |
| 47 | Worcester, MA | +36% | $36,700 | $15,600 |
| 48 | Providence, RI | +35% | $36,500 | $15,500 |
| 49 | Madison, WI | +35% | $36,400 | $15,500 |
| 50 | Greenwich, CT | +35% | $36,300 | $15,500 |
The 25 Most Affordable Cities to Remodel
| # | City | vs. US baseline | Typical kitchen remodel | Typical roof replacement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wichita Falls, TX | -26% | $19,900 | $8,500 |
| 2 | Fort Smith, AR | -26% | $20,000 | $8,500 |
| 3 | Columbus, GA | -26% | $20,000 | $8,500 |
| 4 | Laredo, TX | -26% | $20,100 | $8,600 |
| 5 | Lubbock, TX | -25% | $20,300 | $8,600 |
| 6 | Albany, GA | -25% | $20,300 | $8,600 |
| 7 | Montgomery, AL | -25% | $20,400 | $8,700 |
| 8 | Jackson, MS | -24% | $20,400 | $8,700 |
| 9 | Macon, GA | -24% | $20,600 | $8,800 |
| 10 | Waco, TX | -23% | $20,700 | $8,800 |
| 11 | Shreveport, LA | -23% | $20,800 | $8,800 |
| 12 | Corpus Christi, TX | -23% | $20,800 | $8,800 |
| 13 | Mobile, AL | -23% | $20,800 | $8,900 |
| 14 | Beaumont, TX | -22% | $21,000 | $8,900 |
| 15 | Memphis, TN | -22% | $21,100 | $9,000 |
| 16 | Amarillo, TX | -22% | $21,100 | $9,000 |
| 17 | Valdosta, GA | -22% | $21,100 | $9,000 |
| 18 | Abilene, TX | -22% | $21,100 | $9,000 |
| 19 | Johnstown, PA | -22% | $21,200 | $9,000 |
| 20 | Pineville, KY | -21% | $21,200 | $9,000 |
| 21 | Bimble, KY | -21% | $21,200 | $9,000 |
| 22 | Lake Charles, LA | -21% | $21,300 | $9,100 |
| 23 | Longview, TX | -21% | $21,400 | $9,100 |
| 24 | Huntington, WV | -21% | $21,400 | $9,100 |
| 25 | Birmingham, AL | -21% | $21,400 | $9,100 |
How the Index Works
The index blends the two things that actually move remodeling prices: what local tradespeople earn and what local homes are worth.
- Labor (45%): median construction wages per metro area from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Survey, divided by the national median. Wage data is metro-level, which is why suburbs often score close to their core city. Contractors in Tacoma compete in the same labor market as contractors in Seattle.
- Materials and overhead (55%): the average Zillow median home value across each city's ZIP codes, divided by the national median ($282,455), capped between 0.70 and 1.50. Home values track local material pricing, permitting costs, and what contractors can charge.
- Eligibility: rankings include the 301 cities with at least 5 ZIP codes of data, so a single wealthy ZIP cannot put a small town on the list. The downloadable CSV covers all 837 cities, including smaller ones.
- One caveat: the cap on the home-value component makes estimates for ultra-high-value markets like San Francisco conservative. If anything, the true gap between the coasts and everywhere else is wider than this index shows.
Typical project costs apply the index to national benchmarks from the Remodeling Magazine Cost vs. Value report (kitchen remodel: $27,000, roof replacement: $11,500). City pages on this site localize against state medians instead, because within a state that is the more accurate comparison. This report re-normalizes everything against national baselines so cities can be compared across state lines. Full detail on the underlying data: our methodology.
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Cite freely with attribution to RemodelFinder and a link to this page. The full CSV covers 837 cities under a CC-BY-4.0 license. Need a custom cut for your metro, county-level numbers, or a different project type? Ask directly, the person who built the dataset answers.