How much does a home renovation cost in 2026?

Angi’s 2026 data puts whole-home work at $15 to $150 per square foot depending on scope, and SoFi puts the national whole-home average between $19,000 and $88,000. Room by room, Angi reports kitchens at $14,600–$41,500, bathrooms at $6,600–$17,600, and basements at $12,000–$34,500.

What share of a renovation goes to labor?

For a full bathroom remodel, Angi and This Old House both land at 40% to 65% of the total. Kitchens run close behind because of plumbing and electrical work. Projects that move walls, drains, or panels sit at the high end of the band; cosmetic refreshes sit at the low end.

Which renovation has the best return on investment?

Per Zonda’s 2025 Cost vs. Value report, the garage door replacement leads at 268% of cost recouped, followed by the steel entry door at 216% and manufactured stone veneer at 208%. The best interior project is the minor kitchen remodel at 113%; the worst is the major upscale kitchen at 36%.

How much contingency should I budget for a renovation?

SoFi’s 2026 guidance says 10% to 20% above the bid. This worksheet uses 15% by default, and it is the line most homeowners skip, then meet anyway, usually around the time the contractor opens a wall.

Does a renovation raise the home’s value?

Usually by less than it costs. NAR’s 2025 Remodeling Impact report finds a complete kitchen recovers about 60% of its cost, a full bathroom 50%, and a new steel front door 100%. Only 18% of remodelers said preparing to sell was the reason; the rest remodeled for their own use.

Home › Home Renovation Cost Calculator

Form HR-27 · The Renovation Worksheet

Home Renovation Cost Calculator

Contractors quote the job. This worksheet quotes the budget: pick the room, the finishes, and the scope, and the ledger posts your bid range, the labor split, and what the resale math says.

The project

Square footage Measure wall to wall, or take the room preset as a starting point.

Finishes & scope

Add the 15% contingency buffer SoFi’s 2026 guidance says budget 10–20% above the bid. The worksheet takes 15%.

Your budget (optional) My all-in budget Leave or set to 0 to skip the budget verdict.

All-in estimate, buffer included $30,188 Range $24,754 – $35,621 incl. 15% buffer

Where the money goes

Labor vs. materials on the bid, before the buffer.

LaborAngi/This Old House put full-bath labor at 40–65% of the total$11,813
Materialsfixtures, tile, cabinets, finishes$14,438
Cost per square foot$175
Typical timeline6–10 weeks

STRETCHED SPLITS THE DIFFERENCE

Two verdicts, two jobs: whether the bid fits your wallet, and whether the project pays you back at resale. They rarely agree.

The allowance trap. Bids look comparable because the allowances are blank lines — cabinets “TBD”, tile “allowance $8/sq ft”. Compare allowances plus labor, not the headline number.

Estimates only, built from 2026 national figures (Angi, SoFi, This Old House) and the 2025 Cost vs. Value report. Your market, your house, and your contractor’s backlog move every number. Not financial advice.

How the worksheet prices your project

Every estimate starts from a midrange base rate per square foot, drawn from 2026 national reporting: Angi puts kitchens at $75 to $250 per square foot and whole-home work at $15 to $150; SoFi’s 2026 guide lands whole-home averages between $19,000 and $88,000. The worksheet’s defaults sit inside those bands, not on their edges.

Room	Base rate / sq ft	Labor share	Source
Kitchen	$175	45%	Angi 2026 ($14,600–$41,500)
Bathroom	$150	50%	Angi 2026 ($6,600–$17,600)
Basement	$50	40%	Angi 2026 ($12,000–$34,500)
Bedroom	$50	35%	Angi 2026 ($12,000–$28,000)
Living room	$40	35%	Angi 2026 ($5,000–$10,000)
Whole home	$35	40%	SoFi 2026 ($19,000–$88,000)

Three multipliers then move the base. Budget finishes (refresh, don’t replace) price at 0.72×; upscale (custom, high-end) at 1.45×. Moving walls costs money in three trades at once: minor layout changes add 18%, a full gut with relocation adds 38%. Doing your own demolition and painting shaves 12%; keeping the pros to the licensed trades shaves 28%. The 15% contingency follows SoFi’s 10–20% guidance and applies to the whole bid, because surprises do not respect line items.

What the resale panel is really saying

The resale values come from two datasets. Zonda’s 2025 Cost vs. Value report surveyed real estate professionals in 119 markets: a minor kitchen remodel recoups 113% of its cost, a midrange bathroom 80%, a basement 71%, and a major upscale kitchen 36%. The National Association of Realtors’ 2025 Remodeling Impact report adds bedroom-category projects at 83% and notes that only 18% of remodelers renovate to sell. The worksheet applies each project’s measured recoup rate to your bid — a $26,250 midrange kitchen bid at 60% puts roughly $15,750 back into the home’s value.

The honest read: those figures measure perceived resale value, not money in your pocket, and the report itself says the methodology has limits. Treat the resale panel as a sorting hat, not an appraisal.

How much does a home renovation cost in 2026?: Angi’s 2026 data puts whole-home work at $15 to $150 per square foot depending on scope, and SoFi puts the national whole-home average between $19,000 and $88,000. Room by room, Angi reports kitchens at $14,600–$41,500, bathrooms at $6,600–$17,600, and basements at $12,000–$34,500.
What share of a renovation goes to labor?: For a full bathroom remodel, Angi and This Old House both land at 40% to 65% of the total. Kitchens run close behind because of plumbing and electrical work. Projects that move walls, drains, or panels sit at the high end of the band; cosmetic refreshes sit at the low end.
Which renovation has the best return on investment?: Per Zonda’s 2025 Cost vs. Value report, the garage door replacement leads at 268% of cost recouped, followed by the steel entry door at 216% and manufactured stone veneer at 208%. The best interior project is the minor kitchen remodel at 113%; the worst is the major upscale kitchen at 36%.
How much contingency should I budget for a renovation?: SoFi’s 2026 guidance says 10% to 20% above the bid. This worksheet uses 15% by default, and it is the line most homeowners skip, then meet anyway, usually around the time the contractor opens a wall.
Does a renovation raise the home’s value?: Usually by less than it costs. NAR’s 2025 Remodeling Impact report finds a complete kitchen recovers about 60% of its cost, a full bathroom 50%, and a new steel front door 100%. Only 18% of remodelers said preparing to sell was the reason; the rest remodeled for their own use.

Keep reading

How much does a kitchen remodel cost in 2026?The $14,600 question, line by line, with the resale math.
How much does a bathroom remodel cost?Why the shower costs more than everything visible combined.
How much does a home renovation cost?The full 2026 price map, room by room.
Which renovations pay back at resale?The 2025 Cost vs. Value data, ranked.
How to budget for a renovationThe two-budget method and the allowance trap.