Home decoration sits inside a much larger U.S. improvement and repair market. Spending reached $609 billion in 2023, while average consumer-unit spending on furnishings and equipment was $2,508. The figures below separate remodeling, furnishings, DIY work, project types, financing, and household patterns so the numbers are easier to use for planning a home project.
Contents
- Market size and household spending
- Which projects attract the most spending
- DIY compared with professional work
- Kitchen and room renovation costs
- How homeowners pay for projects
- Differences by age, household, and region
Market size and household spending
The U.S. home remodeling market reached $609 billion in 2023, covering improvements and repairs to existing owner-occupied and rental housing. That was a 51% increase from $404 billion in 2019. The market’s average annual growth rate was 10.8% from 2019 to 2023, compared with a 4.2% historical average from 1995 to 2019. After inflation, the market expanded 27% between 2019 and 2023. These market totals include more than decorative projects alone, so they provide context rather than a direct measure of household decoration purchases. (Improving America’s Housing 2025)
Improvement and repair spending declined 0.3% in 2023, but remained 86% above the prior 2006 peak in nominal terms. Improvements to owner-occupied homes totaled $405 billion, or about two-thirds of total remodeling-market spending. Average improvement spending was $4,700 per U.S. homeowner in 2023. The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity later projected owner-occupied renovation and repair spending to rise 1.2% year over year during 2025; this is a forecast, not a measured result. (Improving America’s Housing 2025; Improving America’s Housing 2025: Key Facts; Modest Gains in 2025 Outlook for Home Remodeling)
Consumer spending on furnishings and equipment was more narrowly defined. Average U.S. consumer-unit spending in this category was $2,508 in 2023, down 3.8% from 2022. It represented 3.2% of average annual consumer-unit expenditures, compared with 4.0% in 2021 and 3.6% in 2022. The category totaled $2,346 in 2020, $2,701 in 2021, and $2,606 in 2022. Housing overall absorbed 32.9% of average consumer-unit expenditures in 2023, with furnishings and equipment accounting for 3.2 percentage points. (Consumer expenditures in 2023)
Household operations were counted separately by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Average consumer-unit spending on household operations was $1,985 in 2023, equal to 2.6% of average expenditures. That distinction matters when comparing decoration purchases with services and other operating costs. (Consumer expenditures in 2023)
Which projects attract the most spending
Replacement work led U.S. homeowner improvement spending in 2023. Roofing, windows, HVAC, and similar replacement projects accounted for $197 billion, or 49% of improvement expenditures. Discretionary projects, including kitchen and bath remodels and room additions, represented 30%, equal to $121 billion. Outside-property improvements such as fencing, sheds, landscaping, and recreational structures represented 15%, or $63 billion. Disaster repairs accounted for the remaining 6%, or $24 billion. (Improving America’s Housing 2025)
The Census Bureau’s 2021–2023 measure offers a project-level view. Among 51.6 million U.S. homeowners who improved their homes during that period, 59% completed a project. The median improvement expenditure was $6,500. Among homeowners who made improvements, 28% reported energy-efficiency improvements, 32% reported water-heater, dishwasher, or garbage-disposal work, 25% reported HVAC work, and 21% reported flooring, paneling, or ceiling-tile work. (2023 Home Improvements Infographic)
| 2023 homeowner improvement category | Spending | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Replacement projects | $197 billion | 49% |
| Discretionary projects | $121 billion | 30% |
| Outside-property improvements | $63 billion | 15% |
| Disaster repairs | $24 billion | 6% |
The categories describe improvement expenditures, not every household purchase of furniture or decoration. They also show why a home decoration plan may overlap with maintenance, energy work, outdoor projects, and repairs.
DIY compared with professional work
Professional installation dominated owner-occupied-home improvement expenditures in 2023. Professionally installed improvements accounted for 84.1% of spending, while DIY projects represented 15.9%. Professional improvement spending grew 28% from 2021 to 2023, reaching $340 billion. DIY improvement outlays fell 2% over the same period, to $64 billion. (Improving America’s Housing 2025; Improving America’s Housing 2025: Key Facts)
The typical DIY improvement project cost $2,600 in 2023, compared with $7,800 for the average professionally installed project. DIY spending allocated 36% to discretionary projects, 40% to replacement projects, 19% to outside-property projects, and 5% to disaster repairs. Professional spending allocated 29% to discretionary projects and 50% to replacements. The available figures describe spending allocation, not the number of projects in each category. (Improving America’s Housing 2025)
DIY’s share has also changed over time. It represented about one-quarter of aggregate improvement expenditures during the mid-2000s remodeling boom, compared with 15.9% in 2023. That comparison uses the source’s historical description and should not be read as a direct annual series for every intervening year. (Improving America’s Housing 2025)
Kitchen and room renovation costs
Kitchen renovation is one of the clearest examples of how project scope changes spending. In Houzz’s 2024 project data, the median U.S. kitchen remodel cost $60,000, up from $55,000 in the prior year. The top 10% of kitchen remodels cost at least $180,000. These are project medians and thresholds from Houzz’s data, not a universal price for every kitchen. (Expanding Kitchens Take Space From Other Rooms to Accommodate Changing Lifestyles, Houzz Study Finds)
Space changes were common among surveyed U.S. homeowners. Thirty-five percent expanded their kitchen footprint during a renovation. Among surveyed kitchen renovators, 29% gave up dining-room space and 12% gave up living-room space to enlarge the kitchen. Another 18% added a home addition to create more kitchen space. (Expanding Kitchens Take Space From Other Rooms to Accommodate Changing Lifestyles, Houzz Study Finds)
For large kitchens, median spending on major remodels grew 9%, from $66,000 in 2023 to $72,000 in 2024. Median spending on minor remodels increased 75%, from $20,000 to $35,000 over the same period. The different rates show why “kitchen renovation” should be split by project scale when comparing budgets. (Expanding Kitchens Take Space From Other Rooms to Accommodate Changing Lifestyles, Houzz Study Finds)
Professional help was common: 86% of surveyed U.S. homeowners used a professional for their kitchen renovation. This survey result is specific to the surveyed kitchen-renovation group and does not replace the broader 2023 DIY and professional spending estimates. (Expanding Kitchens Take Space From Other Rooms to Accommodate Changing Lifestyles, Houzz Study Finds)
How homeowners pay for projects
Savings were the primary funding source for 76% of U.S. home-improvement projects in 2023. Home-equity-based financing was primary for 5%, credit cards for 6%, homeowner-insurance settlements for 4%, and contractor-arranged financing for 2%. These percentages describe the primary source reported for projects, not necessarily every payment method used. (Improving America’s Housing 2025)
Average project spending varied by primary funding source. Projects paid from savings averaged $5,000, compared with $4,000 for projects primarily paid by credit card. Average spending rose to $10,600 for contractor-arranged financing, $13,000 for home equity, and $14,900 for homeowner-insurance settlements. The higher averages likely reflect project mix and scale, but the source does not establish a causal relationship. (Improving America’s Housing 2025)
More than half of U.S. home-improvement projects cost $2,000 or less in 2023, and 82% of those smaller projects were paid with cash. Home equity funded 15% of spending on kitchen and bath remodels and outside attachments such as porches, decks, and garages. (Improving America’s Housing 2025)
Differences by age, household, and region
Older homeowners represented a larger share of the improvement market in 2023 than in 2003. Homeowners age 65 and over accounted for 27% of U.S. improvement-market spending in 2023, up from 14% in 2003, and spent $110 billion on improvements. The number of homeowners in this age group increased 36% between 2013 and 2023. (Improving America’s Housing 2025: Key Facts; Improving America’s Housing 2025)
Younger owners also showed measurable growth. Owners under age 35 spent $34 billion on improvements in 2023, up 51% from 2015. They numbered 7.9 million households in 2023, a 15% increase from 2015. Homeowners of color accounted for 23% of aggregate U.S. improvement expenditures in 2023, up from 14% in 2003. Real improvement spending by immigrant homeowners increased from $18 billion in 2003 to $51 billion in 2023. (Improving America’s Housing 2025: Key Facts)
Regional averages also differed in 2023. Average annual improvement spending per owner was $5,400 in the West, $5,200 in the Northeast, $4,400 in the Midwest, and $4,200 in the South. Across the 35 U.S. metropolitan markets available in the American Housing Survey, average annual per-owner spending from 2015 to 2023 ranged from $3,200 to $7,200. The metropolitan range covers the stated AHS markets and should not be treated as a ranking of every U.S. metro area. (Improving America’s Housing 2025)