228,879 permits · 17 cities · updated 2026-09-04
Everyone quotes you an estimate. This is what people actually declared.
Every remodel in an American city needs a permit, and the permit carries the value of the work. Those filings are public — but nobody shows them to homeowners. We do.
The same job, wildly different cities
| Project | Cheapest city | Priciest city | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| Window Replacement | Los Angeles $3,400 | New York $50,000 | 14.7× |
| Water Heater | Los Angeles $1,000 | New York $13,000 | 13.0× |
| Interior Remodel | Detroit $13,980 | Raleigh $146,901 | 10.5× |
| Home Addition | Anaheim $19,903 | Marin County $200,000 | 10.0× |
| Roof Replacement | Los Angeles $6,000 | New York $50,000 | 8.3× |
| Kitchen Remodel | Everett $8,100 | San Francisco $65,000 | 8.0× |
| Deck or Patio | Corona $5,375 | Marin County $40,000 | 7.4× |
| Swimming Pool | Anaheim $20,000 | Raleigh $142,970 | 7.1× |
| Foundation Repair | Raleigh $7,805 | Chicago $52,850 | 6.8× |
| Bathroom Remodel | Everett $7,000 | Baton Rouge $45,000 | 6.4× |
Cities
Why this is different
Cost guides you find elsewhere start from national averages and scale them by local wage data. That produces a plausible-looking number that nobody actually paid. A permit record is the opposite: one real project, one real address, one declared value. Put thousands of them together and you get the distribution — including how wide it is, which is the part an estimate can never tell you.
One honest caveat: a permit shows the declared value, which can sit below the final invoice, and unpermitted work never appears at all. We explain exactly what that means on the methodology page.