U.S. homeowners spent hundreds of billions of dollars on improvements and repairs in recent survey periods. The data shows how many owners renovate, which projects command the most money, how DIY compares with professional work, and why spending varies by age, income, home value, and region.
Contents
- National spending and participation
- Spending by project type
- DIY versus professional improvements
- Improvement and maintenance trends
- Homeowner demographics and spending
- Regional spending differences
National spending and participation
The 2023 American Housing Survey counted 86.9 million U.S. homeowners. Of those owners, 51.6 million made home improvements, equivalent to 59% of homeowners. Energy-efficiency work reached 14.7 million owners, or 28% of homeowners who made improvements. These figures describe the 2023 survey, while the spending totals below cover the 2021–2023 AHS period.
According to the 2023 Home Improvements Infographic, homeowners spent $827 billion on improvements during that 2021–2023 period. The median homeowner expenditure was $6,500, and the survey recorded 140 million home improvement projects. Homeowners completed 50 million projects themselves, representing 36% of all recorded projects.
The scale looks different in a separate industry measure. The National Association of Home Builders estimated $670 billion in U.S. remodeling projects in 2024, with about 20 million households undertaking remodeling—nearly one-quarter of owner-occupied homes. This is a separate, CES-based industry estimate, not an AHS count, so it should not be added to the Census/HUD total.
Spending by project type
Roofing was the largest listed home improvement category in the AHS data, with $93.5 billion in expenditures during 2021–2023. Kitchen remodels followed at $83.1 billion, and HVAC projects accounted for $82.4 billion. Other major categories included flooring, paneling, and ceiling tile at $68.9 billion; doors and windows at $51.0 billion; and bathroom remodels at $45.2 billion.
Outdoor projects also represented substantial spending. Landscaping and sprinkler systems accounted for $32.8 billion. Porch, deck, patio, and terrace work reached $26.6 billion, while driveways and walkways accounted for $20.9 billion.
The table compares the largest reported categories with their median project expenditures where the AHS provides them.
| Project category | Expenditures, 2021–2023 | Median expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| Roofing | $93.5 billion | $10,000 |
| Kitchen remodels | $83.1 billion | $8,000 |
| HVAC | $82.4 billion | $5,500 |
| Flooring, paneling, and ceiling tile | $68.9 billion | Not stated |
| Doors and windows | $51.0 billion | Not stated |
| Bathroom remodels | $45.2 billion | Not stated |
These category totals measure expenditures across the survey period, whereas the medians describe the typical expenditure for the specified project type. They should not be interpreted as the cost of every project or as a price forecast.
The AHS project categories are useful for showing where household improvement dollars were concentrated, but they do not describe a single-year household budget. The 2021–2023 period spans three survey years, and the median is a midpoint among reported expenditures rather than an average across all projects. A homeowner planning work can therefore use these figures to compare relative project scale while keeping the survey period and measure in view.
DIY versus professional improvements
The Improving America’s Housing 2025 analysis reported $405 billion in aggregate improvement spending on owner-occupied homes in 2023. Professionally installed improvements accounted for $340 billion, or 84.1% of that spending base. DIY improvement expenditures totaled $64 billion, or 15.9%.
The difference is also visible at the project level. A typical DIY project cost $2,600 in 2023, compared with an average professional improvement project cost of $7,800. These are different summary measures—typical versus average—so the figures show relative scale rather than a precise three-to-one price rule.
Project purpose varied by installation method. Discretionary projects made up 36% of DIY improvement spending, while replacement projects made up 40%. For professional work, discretionary projects represented 29% of spending and replacement projects represented 50%. The remaining shares are not assigned here because the cited figures identify only these categories.
Age and home value were associated with the professional share. Owners age 65 and over devoted more than 88% of improvement dollars to professional projects, compared with 76% for owners under age 35. Owners in the highest home-value quintile devoted 90% of improvement spending to professional installations, compared with 73% in the lowest quintile.
Improvement and maintenance trends
Combined improvement and repair spending on owner-occupied homes rose from $328 billion in 2019 to $510 billion in 2023, a 56% nominal increase. For rental homes, improvement and repair spending rose from $76 billion to $99 billion over the same period, a 31% nominal increase.
Owner-occupied improvement spending alone reached $405 billion in 2023. That was 54% higher than in 2019 in nominal terms, or 29% higher after inflation adjustment. Average improvement spending per homeowner rose from $3,300 in 2019 to $4,700 in 2023. The number of homeowners grew 9%, or by 7.4 million households, between those years.
Participation grew as well. Nearly 26 million homeowners undertook at least one improvement project in 2023, up 16%, or 3.5 million households, from 2019. The share of homeowners undertaking at least one improvement project was 29.7% in 2023.
Routine maintenance followed a related but distinct pattern. Spending on maintenance for owner-occupied homes increased from $65 billion in 2019 to $105 billion in 2023, a 61% increase. Average routine-maintenance spending per homeowner rose from $800 to $1,200. The share of homeowners with maintenance spending was 75% in 2023, unchanged from 2019, and about 65 million homeowners pursued maintenance work in 2023, 9% more than in 2019.
Because improvement, repair, and routine maintenance are separate measures in the JCHS analysis, their totals should not be combined without accounting for the definitions and overlap used by the source.
Homeowner demographics and spending
The homeowner population became older over the long term. Owners age 65 and over increased from 24% of homeowners in 2003 to 34% in 2023, a gain of 12 million owners. Their average inflation-adjusted improvement spending rose from $1,800 in 2003 to $3,800 in 2023.
Younger ownership also changed. The number of homeowners under age 35 grew 15% to 8 million between 2015 and 2023, but the 2023 total remained 25% below the mid-2000s housing-boom level. Real aggregate improvement spending by owners under age 35 rose 51% from 2015 to 2023.
The composition of spending shifted across homeowner groups. Homeowners of color accounted for 23% of aggregate improvement expenditures in 2023, up from 14% in 2003. Immigrant homeowners accounted for 13% in 2023, up from 8% in 2003.
Income differences were substantial. Average improvement-and-maintenance spending was $3,100 among homeowners in the lowest income quintile in 2023, compared with $10,900 among homeowners in the highest quintile. These averages describe the stated income groups and do not establish that income alone caused the difference.
Regional spending differences
Average per-owner improvement spending was highest in the West among the four broad regions, at $5,400 in 2023. The Northeast followed at $5,200, while the Midwest averaged $4,400 and the South averaged $4,200.
| Region | Average per-owner improvement spending, 2023 | Share from owners spending at least $50,000 |
|---|---|---|
| West | $5,400 | More than 51% |
| Northeast | $5,200 | 47% |
| Midwest | $4,400 | 38% |
| South | $4,200 | 42% |
High-spending owners accounted for a large share of aggregate regional totals. Owners spending at least $50,000 represented more than 51% of aggregate improvement expenditures in the West, 47% in the Northeast, 42% in the South, and 38% in the Midwest. These percentages refer to aggregate spending, not the percentage of owners who spent at least $50,000.
Across 35 metropolitan areas, annual per-owner improvement spending averaged $4,900 in real terms from 2015 to 2023, with a range of $3,200 to $7,200. Coastal markets such as Boston, San Francisco, and Washington, DC, averaged at least $6,000 annually per owner, while interior markets such as Detroit, Atlanta, and Las Vegas averaged less than $4,000. The metropolitan comparison covers the 2015–2023 period and is expressed in real terms, unlike the nominal dollar amounts identified elsewhere in this article.