2026 Home Project Cost Index: What Home Projects Cost in 100 US Metros
The same home project can legitimately cost 35% more in one American metro than another. A standard roof replacement that runs $9,450 in McAllen costs $12,720 in San Francisco — same shingles, same square footage. This index ranks all 100 of the largest US metros by what home projects actually cost there, using the federal government's own regional price data applied to researched national baselines.
Key findings
- Most expensive metro: San Francisco, CA — 115.6 on the index (U.S. average = 100). A typical roof replacement runs $12,720.
- Least expensive metro: McAllen, TX — 85.9. The same roof: $9,450.
- The affordability gap is bigger than the price gap. Measured against local median household income, a new roof costs the equivalent of 9 weeks of income in Miami, FL but only 4 weeks in San Jose, CA — high-cost coastal metros aren't always the hardest hit once incomes are counted.
- 43 of 100 metros price above the national average; the median metro on our index sits at 98.2.
Where a new roof takes the biggest bite out of local income
Sticker price is only half the story. Dividing each metro's roof-replacement cost by its median household income (Census ACS) shows where projects genuinely strain budgets:
| Rank | Metro | Roof cost | ≈ Weeks of median income |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami, FL | $12,560 | 9 |
| 2 | Bakersfield, CA | $11,100 | 9 |
| 3 | Lakeland, FL | $10,680 | 9 |
| 4 | New Orleans, LA | $10,190 | 9 |
| 5 | El Paso, TX | $9,890 | 9 |
| 6 | McAllen, TX | $9,450 | 9 |
| 7 | Fort Myers, FL | $11,250 | 8 |
| 8 | Fresno, CA | $11,240 | 8 |
| 9 | Orlando, FL | $11,150 | 8 |
| 10 | Tampa, FL | $11,100 | 8 |
At the other end, the easiest metros: San Jose, CA (4 weeks), Bridgeport, CT (5 weeks), Washington, DC (5 weeks), San Francisco, CA (5 weeks), Des Moines, IA (6 weeks).
The full index: all 100 metros
Index = local price level relative to the U.S. average (100), from BEA Regional Price Parities. Costs shown for two benchmark projects; every figure links to the full local guide.
| # | Metro | Index | Roof replacement | AC installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | 115.6 | $12,720 | $8,670 |
| 2 | Miami, FL | 114.2 | $12,560 | $8,570 |
| 3 | Los Angeles, CA | 113.6 | $12,500 | $8,520 |
| 4 | New York, NY | 112.6 | $12,390 | $8,450 |
| 5 | San Diego, CA | 111.9 | $12,310 | $8,390 |
| 6 | Seattle, WA | 111.1 | $12,220 | $8,330 |
| 7 | Oxnard, CA | 110.5 | $12,160 | $8,290 |
| 8 | San Jose, CA | 110.4 | $12,140 | $8,280 |
| 9 | Washington, DC | 108.9 | $11,980 | $8,170 |
| 10 | Boston, MA | 108.3 | $11,910 | $8,120 |
| 11 | Bridgeport, CT | 106.9 | $11,760 | $8,020 |
| 12 | Sacramento, CA | 106.7 | $11,740 | $8,000 |
| 13 | Riverside, CA | 106.4 | $11,700 | $7,980 |
| 14 | Denver, CO | 105.8 | $11,640 | $7,940 |
| 15 | Portland, OR | 105.4 | $11,590 | $7,910 |
| 16 | Stockton, CA | 105.1 | $11,560 | $7,880 |
| 17 | Minneapolis, MN | 104.8 | $11,530 | $7,860 |
| 18 | New Haven, CT | 104.6 | $11,510 | $7,850 |
| 19 | Baltimore, MD | 104.5 | $11,500 | $7,840 |
| 20 | Modesto, CA | 104.1 | $11,450 | $7,810 |
| 21 | Chicago, IL | 103.6 | $11,400 | $7,770 |
| 22 | Phoenix, AZ | 103.3 | $11,360 | $7,750 |
| 23 | Dallas, TX | 103.1 | $11,340 | $7,730 |
| 24 | Hartford, CT | 102.7 | $11,300 | $7,700 |
| 25 | Philadelphia, PA | 102.6 | $11,290 | $7,700 |
| 26 | Worcester, MA | 102.5 | $11,270 | $7,690 |
| 27 | Sarasota, FL | 102.4 | $11,260 | $7,680 |
| 28 | Fort Myers, FL | 102.3 | $11,250 | $7,670 |
| 29 | Fresno, CA | 102.2 | $11,240 | $7,670 |
| 30 | Providence, RI | 101.8 | $11,200 | $7,640 |
| 31 | Orlando, FL | 101.4 | $11,150 | $7,610 |
| 32 | Charleston, SC | 101 | $11,110 | $7,580 |
| 33 | Tampa, FL | 100.9 | $11,100 | $7,570 |
| 34 | Salt Lake City, UT | 100.9 | $11,100 | $7,570 |
| 35 | Bakersfield, CA | 100.9 | $11,100 | $7,570 |
| 36 | Colorado Springs, CO | 100.7 | $11,080 | $7,550 |
| 37 | Detroit, MI | 100.3 | $11,030 | $7,520 |
| 38 | Spokane, WA | 100.3 | $11,030 | $7,520 |
| 39 | Ogden, UT | 100.3 | $11,030 | $7,520 |
| 40 | Las Vegas, NV | 100.2 | $11,020 | $7,520 |
| 41 | Atlanta, GA | 100.1 | $11,010 | $7,510 |
| 42 | Melbourne, FL | 100 | $11,000 | $7,500 |
| 43 | Allentown, PA | 100 | $11,000 | $7,500 |
| 44 | Albany, NY | 99.6 | $10,960 | $7,470 |
| 45 | Jacksonville, FL | 99.5 | $10,950 | $7,460 |
| 46 | Harrisburg, PA | 98.7 | $10,860 | $7,400 |
| 47 | Houston, TX | 98.6 | $10,850 | $7,400 |
| 48 | Boise, ID | 98.4 | $10,820 | $7,380 |
| 49 | Lancaster, PA | 98.3 | $10,810 | $7,370 |
| 50 | Raleigh, NC | 98.2 | $10,800 | $7,370 |
| 51 | Provo, UT | 98.2 | $10,800 | $7,370 |
| 52 | Austin, TX | 98.1 | $10,790 | $7,360 |
| 53 | Virginia Beach, VA | 97.9 | $10,770 | $7,340 |
| 54 | Richmond, VA | 97.9 | $10,770 | $7,340 |
| 55 | Pensacola, FL | 97.7 | $10,750 | $7,330 |
| 56 | Durham, NC | 97.6 | $10,740 | $7,320 |
| 57 | Charlotte, NC | 97.3 | $10,700 | $7,300 |
| 58 | Madison, WI | 97.3 | $10,700 | $7,300 |
| 59 | Lakeland, FL | 97.1 | $10,680 | $7,280 |
| 60 | Milwaukee, WI | 96.9 | $10,660 | $7,270 |
| 61 | Tucson, AZ | 96.9 | $10,660 | $7,270 |
| 62 | Nashville, TN | 96.3 | $10,590 | $7,220 |
| 63 | Springfield, MA | 96.1 | $10,570 | $7,210 |
| 64 | Buffalo, NY | 95.8 | $10,540 | $7,190 |
| 65 | Indianapolis, IN | 95.7 | $10,530 | $7,180 |
| 66 | Syracuse, NY | 95.7 | $10,530 | $7,180 |
| 67 | Columbus, OH | 95.5 | $10,510 | $7,160 |
| 68 | Albuquerque, NM | 95.5 | $10,510 | $7,160 |
| 69 | Grand Rapids, MI | 95.5 | $10,510 | $7,160 |
| 70 | Cincinnati, OH | 95.4 | $10,490 | $7,160 |
| 71 | St. Louis, MO | 95.1 | $10,460 | $7,130 |
| 72 | San Antonio, TX | 94.7 | $10,420 | $7,100 |
| 73 | Pittsburgh, PA | 94.7 | $10,420 | $7,100 |
| 74 | Cleveland, OH | 93.9 | $10,330 | $7,040 |
| 75 | Columbia, SC | 93.7 | $10,310 | $7,030 |
| 76 | Scranton, PA | 93.6 | $10,300 | $7,020 |
| 77 | Akron, OH | 93.4 | $10,270 | $7,010 |
| 78 | Greenville, SC | 93.3 | $10,260 | $7,000 |
| 79 | Louisville, KY | 93.1 | $10,240 | $6,980 |
| 80 | Greensboro, NC | 92.9 | $10,220 | $6,970 |
| 81 | Lexington, KY | 92.9 | $10,220 | $6,970 |
| 82 | Dayton, OH | 92.7 | $10,200 | $6,950 |
| 83 | New Orleans, LA | 92.6 | $10,190 | $6,950 |
| 84 | Knoxville, TN | 92.6 | $10,190 | $6,950 |
| 85 | Kansas City, MO | 92.5 | $10,180 | $6,940 |
| 86 | Memphis, TN | 92.2 | $10,140 | $6,920 |
| 87 | Winston-Salem, NC | 92 | $10,120 | $6,900 |
| 88 | Omaha, NE | 91.9 | $10,110 | $6,890 |
| 89 | Des Moines, IA | 91.7 | $10,090 | $6,880 |
| 90 | Birmingham, AL | 91.6 | $10,080 | $6,870 |
| 91 | Toledo, OH | 91.5 | $10,070 | $6,860 |
| 92 | Chattanooga, TN | 91.5 | $10,070 | $6,860 |
| 93 | Baton Rouge, LA | 90.8 | $9,990 | $6,810 |
| 94 | Oklahoma City, OK | 90.4 | $9,940 | $6,780 |
| 95 | El Paso, TX | 89.9 | $9,890 | $6,740 |
| 96 | Little Rock, AR | 89.4 | $9,830 | $6,710 |
| 97 | Tulsa, OK | 89.2 | $9,810 | $6,690 |
| 98 | Jackson, MS | 89 | $9,790 | $6,680 |
| 99 | Wichita, KS | 88.9 | $9,780 | $6,670 |
| 100 | McAllen, TX | 85.9 | $9,450 | $6,440 |
Methodology
Local cost = researched national base cost × (BEA Regional Price Parity, all items, 2024 / 100), rounded for display. Income comparisons use Census ACS 5-year (2023) median household income by metro. The full method, every source, and a worked example are on How We Estimate. Figures are informational estimates, not quotes.
Journalists: republish these rankings or charts with credit to HomeCostLens and a link. Custom cuts for your metro: press@homecostlens.com — see the press page.
