Home maintenance ranges from small repairs to major improvements involving roofs, HVAC systems, plumbing, and electrical equipment. Recent U.S. data shows both the scale of this work and the conditions that commonly trigger it: 51.6 million homeowners made improvements during 2021–2023, while millions of occupied housing units reported leaks, pests, uncomfortable temperatures, broken windows, or other problems in 2023.
Contents
- Home improvement participation and spending
- DIY work and disaster repairs
- Common reported maintenance problems
- Cooling breakdowns and indoor comfort
- Where homes use energy
- Household housing and operations spending
Home improvement participation and spending
The Census Bureau’s 2023 Home Improvements Infographic reports that U.S. homeowners completed 140 million improvement projects during 2021–2023. In that period, 51.6 million homeowners made improvements, equal to 59% of homeowners. The total reported spending was $827 billion, and the median homeowner improvement expenditure was $6,500.
Energy efficiency was a substantial part of this activity. Some 14.7 million homeowners made energy-efficiency improvements during 2021–2023. Among homeowners who made improvements, 28% reported an energy-efficiency improvement. This measure identifies participation in the improvement category; it does not state the energy savings produced by those projects.
Project costs varied sharply by type. The median expenditure was $400 for a security-system improvement, $500 for a plumbing-fixture improvement, and $800 for a water-heater, dishwasher, or garbage-disposal improvement. Electrical-wiring or fuse-box work had a median expenditure of $1,000.
| Improvement type | Median expenditure, 2021–2023 |
|---|---|
| Doors and windows | $2,800 |
| 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 |
These are median expenditures, so they describe the midpoint of reported spending for each category rather than a universal price. The same Census source reports median expenditures of $2,800 for doors and windows, $3,000 for flooring, paneling, or ceiling tile, and $2,900 for a driveway or walkway. A porch, deck, patio, or terrace improvement had a median expenditure of $4,800.
Larger building-system and exterior projects were more expensive in the reported period. The median bathroom-remodel expenditure was $5,000, HVAC was $5,500, and a kitchen remodel was $8,000. Roofing had the highest listed median at $10,000. Attached-garage or carport improvements had a median of $4,600.
DIY work and disaster repairs
Homeowners completed 50 million of the 140 million improvement projects recorded during 2021–2023. That was 36% of improvement projects. Professionals performed the remaining 64%. The project share is not the same as the share of total spending: the supplied Census measure counts projects, while project prices vary considerably by type.
The 2023 AHS also counted occupied housing units with repairs connected to specific disasters. The 2023 Home Improvements Infographic counted 663,000 occupied housing units with fire-related disaster repairs. It counted another 129,000 occupied housing units with tornado- or hurricane-related disaster repairs.
Appliance and equipment work was common within improvement activity. Water heaters, dishwashers, or garbage disposals were included in 32% of improvement projects during 2021–2023. This category groups several types of work, so the statistic should not be read as the percentage for water heaters alone.
The DIY figure also needs context. It describes who performed improvement projects, not whether the work was routine maintenance, a repair, a remodel, or disaster recovery. It also does not establish the quality, duration, or cost of the work. For readers planning a project, the data is most useful as a measure of how widespread homeowner-performed improvement work was during the period.
Common reported maintenance problems
The Census Bureau’s 2023 AHS Infographic: Housing Quality records conditions reported for occupied U.S. housing units in 2023. The most common listed issue was signs of mice or rats inside during the previous 12 months, reported by 15.7 million occupied housing units.
Temperature and water problems were also widespread. Some 13.2 million occupied housing units were uncomfortably hot for at least 24 hours. Water leakage from outside the home was reported by 11.8 million units, while 11.2 million reported water leakage from inside the home. Another 10.0 million units were uncomfortably cold for at least 24 hours.
The AHS counted 7.2 million occupied housing units with open cracks or holes inside the home. Foundation crumbling or open cracks or holes were reported for 4.9 million units, and 4.1 million units had a broken window. These categories are reported housing conditions; they do not provide a repair diagnosis or identify the cause of the problem.
Other reported conditions included mold during the previous 12 months in 3.9 million occupied housing units and exposed wiring in 3.7 million. Broken plaster or peeling paint inside was reported by 2.9 million units. No working toilet at some point during the previous three months was reported by 2.3 million occupied housing units.
| Reported condition | Occupied housing units, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Signs of mice or rats inside | 15.7 million |
| Uncomfortably hot for at least 24 hours | 13.2 million |
| Water leakage from outside | 11.8 million |
| Water leakage from inside | 11.2 million |
| Uncomfortably cold for at least 24 hours | 10.0 million |
| Open cracks or holes inside | 7.2 million |
| Foundation crumbling or cracks or holes | 4.9 million |
| Broken window | 4.1 million |
| Mold in previous 12 months | 3.9 million |
| Exposed wiring | 3.7 million |
Because the AHS measures occupied housing units and uses different reference periods for some conditions, these figures should not be combined into a single count of homes with problems. One home may appear in more than one category, and the categories do not all cover the same time window.
Cooling breakdowns and indoor comfort
The Census Bureau’s 13.2 Million Households Were “Uncomfortably Hot” for 24 Hours or More in 2023 reports that 9.2 million occupied U.S. housing units, or 6.9%, had no air conditioning in 2023. Among occupied units without air conditioning, 1.6 million, or 17.1% of that group, were uncomfortably hot for at least 24 hours.
Air conditioning did not eliminate uncomfortable heat. Among occupied housing units with air conditioning, 11.6 million, or 9.4% of that group, were uncomfortably hot for at least 24 hours. A main cooling-equipment breakdown was reported as a reason for uncomfortable heat by 4.9 million occupied housing units with air conditioning.
Extended outages were part of the breakdown picture. Nearly 3 million households reported one main cooling-equipment breakdown lasting six hours or more, and 1.8 million reported multiple extended cooling-equipment breakdowns. The source presents these as reported household experiences in 2023, not as a forecast of future equipment failure.
Households also identified several other reasons for uncomfortable heat. In 2023, 2.6 million reported inadequate cooling capacity, 1.3 million reported utility interruptions or power outages, 0.7 million reported cooling cost, and 0.7 million reported inadequate insulation as a reason. These reasons can overlap, so they should not be added together as mutually exclusive causes.
Where homes use energy
The Energy Information Administration’s CE3.1ST Annual household site end-use consumption in United States homes by state—totals and averages, 2020 covered 123.53 million U.S. primary occupied housing units. Across the end uses in its table, U.S. homes used 9,481.1 trillion Btu of site energy in 2020.
Space heating accounted for 4,025.6 trillion Btu, or 42% of total site energy use. Water heating accounted for 1,736.9 trillion Btu, or 18%. Air conditioning accounted for 866.1 trillion Btu, or 9%. These three end uses together represented the largest specifically named heating, hot-water, and cooling demands in the supplied EIA breakdown.
Refrigerators accounted for 351.8 trillion Btu, or 4% of total site energy use. The RECS category for other end uses accounted for 2,500.9 trillion Btu, or 26%. The EIA figures are for 2020 and measure site energy consumption; they should not be presented as 2023 or 2026 usage.
For maintenance planning, the end-use pattern provides context for why heating, water heating, and cooling equipment receive attention in home improvement data. It does not show that replacing a particular appliance will produce a specified reduction, and it does not provide project-level payback estimates.
Household housing and operations spending
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer expenditures in 2023 reports average annual housing expenditures of $25,436 per consumer unit in 2023. This broad housing figure includes several categories and is not a home-maintenance-only budget.
Average annual shelter expenditures were $15,499 per consumer unit. Within the reported categories, owned-dwelling expenditures averaged $8,699, while rented-dwelling expenditures averaged $5,370. Utilities, fuels, and public services averaged $4,625.
Household-operations expenditures averaged $1,985 per consumer unit in 2023. These BLS categories describe average consumer spending across consumer units, not the median amount spent by homeowners on repairs. They also should not be added to the Census median improvement expenditure of $6,500, because the measures use different definitions, populations, and reporting frameworks.
Together, the available statistics show three distinct dimensions of home maintenance: the frequency of improvement activity, the prevalence of reported housing conditions, and the ongoing cost and energy context of operating a home. Keeping the measurement period, geography, unit of analysis, and source definition attached to each number is essential when comparing them.