Home improvement is a large U.S. homeowner market shaped by essential replacements, discretionary remodeling, maintenance, and disaster recovery. The measures below distinguish the 2021–2023 American Housing Survey window from annual 2023 estimates and identify whether figures are survey results, estimates, or averages.
Key Home Improvement Spending Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In the 2021–2023 American Housing Survey improvement window, U.S. homeowners spent an estimated $827 billion on improvements.
- In 2023, the American Housing Survey population included an estimated 86.9 million U.S. homeowners.
- During the 2021–2023 improvement window, 51.6 million U.S. homeowners made improvements, equal to 59% of homeowners.
- During the same window, 14.7 million homeowners made energy-efficiency improvements, or 28% of improvement-making homeowners.
- During the 2021–2023 window, owners reported a median improvement expenditure of $6,500 in the United States.
- The 2023 American Housing Survey counted 140 million improvement projects during the 2021–2023 window.
- In 2023, nearly 26 million U.S. homeowners undertook at least one improvement project under Harvard JCHS’s annual measure.
- In 2023, owner-occupied-home improvement spending reached an estimated $405 billion in the United States.
- In the 2021–2023 window, roofing projects had a $10,000 median expenditure among U.S. homeowners with that project.
- In the same window, roofing projects represented an estimated $93.5 billion in U.S. expenditures.
- In 2023, professional improvement spending reached an estimated $340 billion for U.S. owner-occupied homes.
- In 2023, professionally installed work represented 84.1% of aggregate improvement spending for U.S. owner-occupied homes.
- In 2023, replacement projects accounted for 49% of owner-occupied-home improvement spending, or $197 billion.
- In 2023, disaster repairs accounted for 6% of owner-occupied-home improvement spending, or $24 billion.
- In 2023, average improvement spending per owner was $5,400 in the West and $4,200 in the South.
- In 2023, owners age 65 and over contributed 27% of total improvement outlays.
- In 2023, married couples with children spent $6,800 per owner on improvements.
Contents
- National scale and homeowner participation
- Project types and typical costs
- DIY and professional work
- Necessary, discretionary, and disaster projects
- Regional spending and market concentration
- Household and homeowner groups
Home Improvement Spending Statistics: National Scale and Participation
The Census Bureau’s 2023 Home Improvements Infographic reports an estimated $827 billion spent by U.S. homeowners during 2021–2023. This is an aggregate across the three-year AHS improvement window, not a single-year total.
The infographic estimates 86.9 million U.S. homeowners in the 2023 AHS population. Across the improvement window, 51.6 million homeowners made improvements, or 59% of homeowners, while 14.7 million made energy-efficiency improvements, equal to 28% of homeowners who made improvements.
| Measure | Figure | Scope and period |
|---|---|---|
| Homeowners | 86.9 million | United States, 2023 AHS population |
| Homeowners making improvements | 51.6 million; 59% | United States, 2021–2023 AHS window |
| Energy-efficiency participants | 14.7 million; 28% | Improvement-making homeowners, same window |
| Median improvement expenditure | $6,500 | Owners, same window |
The AHS counted 140 million improvement projects during 2021–2023, including an infographic DIY count of 50 million projects. These are project counts rather than counts of unique households.
Harvard JCHS’s Improving America’s Housing 2025 uses a different annual measure: nearly 26 million homeowners undertook at least one improvement project in 2023. The share of owners undertaking improvements was 29.7% in both 2021 and 2023, and the number of owners making improvements rose 16%, or 3.5 million households, from 2019 to 2023.
JCHS estimated owner-occupied-home improvement spending at $405 billion in 2023. That was 54% higher in nominal terms than in 2019, while the report describes a 29% inflation-adjusted increase.
Home Improvement Project Costs and Spending by Type
The Census infographic reports grouped project participation among homeowners who made improvements. Water-heater, dishwasher, or garbage-disposal work was reported by 32%, HVAC work by 25%, and flooring, paneling, or ceiling-tile work by 21% during 2021–2023.
The following medians are rounded to the nearest $100 and apply to U.S. homeowners with the relevant project:
| Project category | Median expenditure |
|---|---|
| Security system | $400 |
| Plumbing fixtures | $500 |
| Water heater, dishwasher, or garbage disposal | $800 |
| Electrical wiring or fuse box | $1,000 |
| Doors and windows | $2,800 |
| Driveway or walkway | $2,900 |
| Flooring, paneling, or ceiling tile | $3,000 |
| Attached garage or carport | $4,600 |
| Porch, deck, patio, or terrace | $4,800 |
| Bathroom remodel | $5,000 |
| HVAC | $5,500 |
| Kitchen remodel | $8,000 |
| Roofing | $10,000 |
Source for the participation and median-cost measures: 2023 Home Improvements Infographic. The project medians are not directly comparable with JCHS’s average per-owner figures because the definitions and populations differ.
The largest AHS project-category expenditure totals reported in the infographic were $93.5 billion for roofing, $83.1 billion for kitchen remodels, $82.4 billion for HVAC projects, and $68.9 billion for flooring, paneling, and ceiling-tile projects during 2021–2023.
DIY and Professional Home Improvement Spending Data
The AHS infographic divides projects by who completed them: DIY work represented 36% of projects and professionals completed 64% during 2021–2023. This is a project share, not a spending share.
JCHS estimated professional improvement spending at $340 billion in 2023 for U.S. owner-occupied homes. Professional project spending rose 28% nominally from 2021 to 2023, or 14% in real terms after inflation adjustment.
For spending rather than project counts, professionally installed work represented 84.1% of aggregate improvement spending in 2023, compared with 15.9% for DIY work. The professional definition includes labor, materials, profit, and overhead; DIY spending includes owner material costs only and does not impute a value for owner labor.
The typical DIY project cost $2,600 in 2023 under the JCHS estimate. That average should not be substituted for the rounded project-category medians in the Census infographic.
Necessary, Discretionary, and Disaster Repair Spending
JCHS classifies 2023 owner-occupied-home improvement spending by purpose. Replacement projects accounted for 49%, or $197 billion, and include core safety and functionality replacements.
| 2023 category | Share | Spending |
|---|---|---|
| Replacement projects | 49% | $197 billion |
| Discretionary projects | 30% | $121 billion |
| Outside-property improvements | 15% | $63 billion |
| Disaster repairs | 6% | $24 billion |
Discretionary projects include kitchen and bath remodels and room additions as defined by JCHS. Outside-property improvements include fencing, sheds, landscaping, and recreational structures, while disaster repairs cover restoration of basic function and safety and are not all insurance claims.
The disaster-repair share averaged 4.4% of improvement spending in the decade before 2004 and 6.4% in the decade since 2013. These are historical averages, not single-year observations.
Routine maintenance is accounted for separately from improvement spending in JCHS’s framework. Maintenance spending rose from $65 billion in 2019 to $105 billion in 2023, a 61% nominal increase and a 35% real increase.
Regional Home Improvement Spending and Market Concentration
JCHS estimated the following average 2023 improvement spending per owner across U.S. regions:
| Region | Average spending per owner, 2023 |
|---|---|
| West | $5,400 |
| Northeast | $5,200 |
| Midwest | $4,400 |
| South | $4,200 |
These are regional averages for U.S. homeowners and should not be read as project-specific medians. Across 35 U.S. metropolitan markets, annual per-owner improvement spending averaged $4,900 in real terms over 2015–2023, based on the AHS analysis.
The regional, metropolitan, national, and category estimates come from Improving America’s Housing 2025. JCHS dollar aggregates and averages are estimates or tabulations from HUD American Housing Surveys, with real figures adjusted for inflation where stated.
Home Improvement Spending by Household and Homeowner Group
Household composition and age are associated with different levels or contributions in the 2023 JCHS estimates. These measures describe spending averages or aggregate contributions, not universal participation rates.
| Homeowner group | 2023 measure |
|---|---|
| Owners age 65 and over | 27% of total improvement outlays |
| Married couples with children | $6,800 per owner |
| Married couples without children | $5,000 per owner |
| Single-parent households | $3,700 per owner |
| Single-person households | $3,000 per owner |
| Homeowners of color | 23% of market expenditures |
The age measure shows that owners age 65 and over contributed 27% of total improvement outlays in 2023; it does not state their participation rate. The household figures are averages for the named household types, while the homeowners-of-color figure is JCHS’s demographic classification for market expenditures.
Together, these distinctions matter when interpreting home improvement spending statistics: a national aggregate, a project median, a per-owner average, a project share, and a demographic contribution answer different questions. The Census AHS window and JCHS’s annual 2023 estimates should therefore be retained as separate measures rather than combined into one single-year series.