How We Build Our Ranges

Cost sites disagree, often by a factor of two, because they measure different jobs. We don't pick one and copy it. We line up several published sources for the same scope, blend them into our own range, adjust for region with our own index, and check the result against a line-item build. Every figure on the site is labeled so you can tell which is which.

Two labels, used honestly

• Sourced Quoted from a published source. The figure appears as written in the cited source. We quote only a few headline figures per source and never reproduce another site's tables.
• Estimate Our own calculation. Blended ranges, regional adjustments, line-item breakdowns and calculator results. They're built from cited sources, but the number itself is ours, so it is never labeled Sourced.

How a range is built

1. Define the job. Each guide prices a reference project, such as a full, same-layout remodel of a 150 sq ft kitchen or 2,000 sq ft of asphalt roof.
2. Collect comparable figures. We take each source's low, midpoint and high for a matching scope. A source that publishes one benchmark number (like the Cost vs. Value report's spec projects) contributes that single figure.
3. Convert to the same basis. Totals become per-square-foot rates (or the reverse) using the source's stated size, or our stated reference size when the source gives none. Each guide says which conversions it used.
4. Blend. We pool the figures. The median becomes our Typical; the middle half (25th to 75th percentile) becomes our Low–High. Then we round.
5. Check it. We compare Typical with our own line-item build (below) and report the gap on each guide.

Worked example: full kitchen remodel

For a 150 sq ft kitchen that's $26,250 – $52,500, typical $37,500. See the kitchen guide.

Our regional cost index

We don't republish regional price tables. The 2025 Cost vs. Value report prices the same defined projects in each of the nine Census divisions.^[3] For each division we divide each project's regional cost by its national average and average those ratios. The interior index uses the three bathroom projects and the basement project; the roofing index uses the asphalt and metal roof projects, because roofing prices swing more by region. The exterior index (siding, windows and decks) uses six projects: vinyl and fiber-cement siding, vinyl and wood windows, and wood and composite decks. The additions index (additions and ADUs) uses five new-space projects: the accessory dwelling unit, the midrange and upscale primary suite additions, and the midrange and upscale bathroom additions. Calculators multiply our national ranges by the index for the region you pick.

Estimate Derived, not published. Cross-checks: for the four divisions where the report also has kitchen figures, the kitchen-only ratio lands within 4 points of our interior index. Federal wage data (below) is a looser check: it agrees on direction (above or below the U.S. average) in 7 of 8 sample states, but the size of the gap differs, because one state isn't its whole division and wages are only one part of total cost.

Wage ratios use BLS May 2025 state and national medians for carpet installers, floor layers, tile and stone setters, and roofers.^[4]

How we build line-item estimates

Each guide includes a line-item budget for its reference project, priced the way an estimator would:

• Labor = estimated hours × the trade's national median wage from the Bureau of Labor Statistics^[4] × a 1.7 labor burden for payroll taxes, workers' comp and insurance (our assumption). Hours are our estimates for a straightforward job.
• Materials are our stated allowances for midrange products.
• Installed prices come from a cited source, usually the midpoint of its range, and already include the installer's margin.
• Overhead and profit of 20% is added to labor and materials only (our assumption). Permits and fees pass through.

Burden plus overhead turns a median wage into a billed rate about 2.0 times the wage. For comparison, HomeGuide lists electricians at $50–$130 an hour and plumbers at $45–$150,^[1] and Angi lists roofers at $40–$90 per worker per hour.^[5] Our implied rates fall inside those ranges.

Wages: BLS OEWS national medians.^[4] BLS data is public domain. Billed rate = wage × 1.7 × 1.20.

What our numbers can't do

• They're national planning ranges adjusted by broad region, not quotes for your house or ZIP code.
• Sources update at different times and define scopes differently. We state our conversions, but any blend inherits its sources' limits.
• Line-item builds assume no hidden damage and midrange selections. Real bids usually land higher.

Editorial policy

• Independent. No contractor, manufacturer or lead-generation company pays for placement or influences our numbers. We don't sell leads or pass visitor details to anyone.
• Cited and dated. Every guide lists its sources with access dates and shows when its figures were last checked.
• Original writing. Our explanations are our own. We quote sources sparingly, with credit, and link to them.
• Disclosed money. We plan to sell our own planning templates and may add clearly labeled affiliate links. Neither changes a published figure.
• Corrections. Found a number that looks wrong? Email [email protected] with the page and, if you can, a source. We review every correction and update the page and its date.
• Updates. We recheck figures when major sources publish new editions, and at least once a year.