Home Improvement Spending Price History
1980–2025 · Joint Center for Housing Studies / Census Bureau
Average annual household spending on home improvements and repairs in the United States from 1980 to 2025. Americans have always loved a good renovation project, but the dollars involved have gotten serious. The typical homeowner spent about $1,250 a year in 1980 — enough to redo a bathroom on a budget. By 2022, that figure had ballooned to $7,400, fueled by pandemic-era nesting, HGTV culture, and aging housing stock that simply needed the work. The slight pullback since then reflects higher interest rates making home equity loans pricier, but spending remains historically elevated.
Price in 1980
$1,250.00
Price in 2025
$7,100.00
Total Change
+468.0%
Years Tracked
45
Home Improvement Spending Over Time
Compare to inflation: The chart above shows nominal (not inflation-adjusted) prices. Use the toggle to switch to inflation-adjusted values when available, or try the inflation calculator to convert any amount between years.
Key Insights
- Home improvement spending surged from $1,250 in 1980 to a peak of $7,400 in 2022 — nearly a 6x increase that outpaced general inflation by a wide margin.
- The 2008 recession crushed remodeling budgets, with spending dropping from $4,750 in 2007 to $3,650 in 2010 — a 23% decline as homeowners hunkered down and credit dried up.
- The pandemic triggered the biggest spending spike in the dataset's history: a 24% jump from $5,950 in 2020 to $7,400 in 2022, as locked-down homeowners poured money into their spaces.
- Spending has cooled about 4% since the 2022 peak, settling around $7,100 in 2025, but that's still nearly double what Americans were spending as recently as 2016.
Year-by-Year Data
| Year | Price (USD per year) | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | $1,250.00 | — |
| 1981 | $1,350.00 | +8.0% |
| 1982 | $1,400.00 | +3.7% |
| 1983 | $1,500.00 | +7.1% |
| 1984 | $1,650.00 | +10.0% |
| 1985 | $1,800.00 | +9.1% |
| 1986 | $1,950.00 | +8.3% |
| 1987 | $2,050.00 | +5.1% |
| 1988 | $2,150.00 | +4.9% |
| 1989 | $2,250.00 | +4.7% |
| 1990 | $2,100.00 | -6.7% |
| 1991 | $1,980.00 | -5.7% |
| 1992 | $2,050.00 | +3.5% |
| 1993 | $2,200.00 | +7.3% |
| 1994 | $2,400.00 | +9.1% |
| 1995 | $2,550.00 | +6.3% |
| 1996 | $2,700.00 | +5.9% |
| 1997 | $2,850.00 | +5.6% |
| 1998 | $3,050.00 | +7.0% |
| 1999 | $3,250.00 | +6.6% |
| 2000 | $3,450.00 | +6.2% |
| 2001 | $3,550.00 | +2.9% |
| 2002 | $3,700.00 | +4.2% |
| 2003 | $3,900.00 | +5.4% |
| 2004 | $4,200.00 | +7.7% |
| 2005 | $4,600.00 | +9.5% |
| 2006 | $4,900.00 | +6.5% |
| 2007 | $4,750.00 | -3.1% |
| 2008 | $4,200.00 | -11.6% |
| 2009 | $3,800.00 | -9.5% |
| 2010 | $3,650.00 | -3.9% |
| 2011 | $3,700.00 | +1.4% |
| 2012 | $3,900.00 | +5.4% |
| 2013 | $4,100.00 | +5.1% |
| 2014 | $4,300.00 | +4.9% |
| 2015 | $4,550.00 | +5.8% |
| 2016 | $4,800.00 | +5.5% |
| 2017 | $5,100.00 | +6.3% |
| 2018 | $5,400.00 | +5.9% |
| 2019 | $5,600.00 | +3.7% |
| 2020 | $5,950.00 | +6.3% |
| 2021 | $6,800.00 | +14.3% |
| 2022 | $7,400.00 | +8.8% |
| 2023 | $7,200.00 | -2.7% |
| 2024 | $7,050.00 | -2.1% |
| 2025 | $7,100.00 | +0.7% |
Sources & Methodology
Estimates based on the Joint Center for Housing Studies' Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity and Census Bureau's American Housing Survey data. Figures represent average annual per-household spending on home improvements, repairs, and maintenance, including both contractor and DIY projects. Spending is reported in current-year dollars.
Primary source: Joint Center for Housing Studies / Census Bureau
For a full explanation of how we collect and adjust data, see our methodology page.