How Much Should Your Bathroom Remodel Cost?

The study found even higher budgets for bathroom upgrades in many metropolitan areas. Orange County, Calif., homeowners invested an average of $17,100, even higher than New Yorkers' $16,000 but not as high as San Franciscans' $18,600 for new bathroom plumbing fixtures, vanities, stone, tile and lighting. Renovated kitchens cost significantly less for homeowners in Oklahoma City, Okla., and Dallas, who paid an average of $6,100 and $9,100 to renovate in their respective cities.

How popular are bathroom remodels?

Bathrooms are the second-most popular remodeling project among U.S. homeowners surveyed, behind kitchen renovation. Thirty-seven percent of Houzz homeowners surveyed remodeled their kitchen in the past five years, and another 48% are planning to remodel their kitchen in the next two years. Interestingly, bathroom remodels are the No. 1 project among homeowners in Los Angeles and Miami, where kitchens falling to second position. Houzz also calculates which remodeling projects are most popular among a community of 10 million monthly users by looking at the number and type of images homeowners are saving to their ideabooks. These data also show that bathrooms have the second-largest volume of images saved, just 14% less than kitchen images.

Who's doing the work?

A full three-quarters of all homeowners who renovated a bathroom in the past five years hired a professional to do some or all of the work. From plumbing to electrical to constructing a new footprint, bathroom remodels are significant investments that typically require the help of a licensed professional. Fifty-seven percent of homeowners on Houzz are planning to hire a general contractor; about a third plan to hire a bathroom designer; and another third will be working with an architect.