Clear Estimates Research · cost data for remodeling contractors
Labor drives regional cost variations more than the materials: four common projects in 349 markets
We priced a composite deck, a bathroom remodel, a roof replacement and a two-car garage in all 349 Clear Estimates markets. Materials cost more in some markets than others, but labor varies far more, so the more labor a job takes, the more its price moves.
By Nolan Orfield, PhD, Founder ·
Labor, high-cost vs. low-cost market
+72% to +79%
Materials, high-cost vs. low-cost market
+5% to +16%
Composite deck, spread across markets
21%
Two-car garage, spread across markets
36%
Every estimate has two prices inside it: what the materials cost, and what the labor costs. Where you build moves both. In Labor or materials we tracked how each has changed over time. Here we look at how much each changes from one market to the next, for four jobs contractors bid every week.
What we priced
Four common projects, each a current Clear Estimates project template, priced in all 349 of our markets with local material costs, labor rates and the markup contractors there typically charge.
- Composite deck, 200 square feet: a new deck off the first floor with composite decking, railing, balusters and four steps, on a pressure-treated frame with posts set in concrete.
- Bathroom remodel, 40 square feet, average grade: gutted to the studs and rebuilt in the same layout, with a solid-surface vanity, a fiberglass tub and shower with a tile surround, a new toilet, a tile floor and a new door.
- Roof replacement, 800 square feet of footprint: tear-off and new 30-year dimensional shingles, with flashing and a continuous ridge vent.
- Two-car garage, 500 square feet: a new wood-framed garage on a concrete slab, with two steel doors and openers, vinyl siding, gutters and a 25-year shingle roof. No electrical.
In the typical market, the deck costs about $12,100, the bathroom remodel $20,300, the roof $8,900 and the garage $46,400. Labor is a little over a quarter of the deck's cost and close to 40% of each of the other three.
Materials vary by market. Labor varies more.
Where you build changes what the materials cost. Lumber, concrete and fees cost more in some places than others. The garage's materials run from about $24,700 in Birmingham, Alabama to $36,800 in Honolulu, 49% apart, and even across the middle 80% of markets they differ by 16%. The roof's materials differ by 11% across those markets, and by 28% from the lowest-cost market to the highest.
Labor moves further still. Across the same middle 80% of markets, the labor on every one of the four projects differs by 72% to 79%: the crew for a job in a high-cost market costs about 1.75 times what it costs in a low-cost one. At the extremes, the garage's labor runs from about $12,100 in McAllen, Texas to $35,700 west of Chicago, almost three times as much.
In the garage, the material lines that vary most by market are the concrete footing and slab, the framing lumber and the permit budget. The garage doors, siding and gutters cost about the same everywhere.
The more labor in a job, the more its price moves
Because labor swings more than materials, the share of a job that's labor goes a long way toward predicting how much its price changes from market to market. Across the middle 80% of markets:
- Composite deck, about 28% labor: 21% from the lower end to the upper end.
- Bathroom remodel, about 39% labor: 28%.
- Roof replacement, about 38% labor: 30%.
- Two-car garage, about 39% labor: 36%, the most of the four, because its materials vary more too.
The bathroom and the roof have about the same labor share, and they swing by about the same amount. The deck, the most material-heavy of the four, holds steadiest, though it still costs 47% more in the highest-cost market than in the lowest.
Where the same garage costs more
The two-car garage, the project whose price varies most, costs about $45,400 in the median ZIP code. It costs the most around Chicago, New York and northern New Jersey, the San Francisco Bay Area and Boston, and in Alaska and Hawaii, where both labor and materials run high. It costs the least across Arkansas, Mississippi and much of Texas and the Southeast. By market, it runs from about $38,200 in Fort Smith, Arkansas to about $66,000 west of Chicago and in Honolulu.
What it means for your bids
Rules of thumb travel badly, and they travel worst on labor-heavy jobs. A deck price from a neighboring market may land close. A bathroom or garage price is more likely to miss, because so much of what changes from one market to the next is the cost of the crew. For a bid you can stand behind, start from local labor rates as well as local material prices.
To see what these four projects cost where you work, find your market.