Most & least expensive metros
Cheapest and priciest indexed metro for five core homeowner trades. Each cell uses the median declared construction value from metro-scope Real Cost Index benchmarks.
| Trade | Cheapest metro | Priciest metro | Spread | Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrician | Louisville, KY$1,000 | Boston, MA$8,000 | $7,000 | 8.0x |
| Plumber | Miami, FL$1,500 | Boston, MA$7,500 | $6,000 | 5.0x |
| HVAC Technician | Louisville, KY$2,700 | Pittsburgh, PA$15,000 | $12,300 | 5.6x |
| General Contractor | Baltimore, MD$6,800 | San Antonio, TX$410,723 | $403,923 | 60.4x |
| Roofer | Boulder, CO$5,671 | Chicago, IL$31,941 | $26,270 | 5.6x |
By state: general contractor costs
State-scope benchmarks roll up every indexed metro in that state for general-contractor work. Rows are sorted cheapest to priciest by median declared construction value.
| Rank | State | Median | P25-P75 | Permits | Metros |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhode Island | $6,000 | $2,500-$15,000 | 29,029 | 1 |
| 2 | Maryland | $6,800 | $3,500-$20,000 | 785 | 1 |
| 3 | Florida | $9,000 | $2,500-$34,000 | 465,262 | 2 |
| 4 | Vermont | $10,000 | $3,500-$28,500 | 12,945 | 1 |
| 5 | Ohio | $14,026 | $7,281-$32,500 | 15,761 | 3 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | $16,666 | $6,002-$71,250 | 312 | 1 |
| 7 | Hawaii | $20,000 | $5,200-$42,000 | 216,875 | 1 |
| 8 | Nevada | $20,000 | $7,100-$60,000 | 17,263 | 1 |
| 9 | Colorado | $20,394 | $5,000-$90,000 | 52,705 | 1 |
| 10 | Idaho | $30,000 | $6,826-$140,125 | 8,551 | 1 |
| 11 | Virginia | $30,000 | $7,558-$115,500 | 20,413 | 1 |
| 12 | Minnesota | $33,000 | $9,000-$150,000 | 1,420 | 1 |
| 13 | California | $34,490 | $10,000-$131,066 | 105,362 | 2 |
| 14 | Louisiana | $40,000 | $16,075-$205,500 | 1,479 | 1 |
| 15 | Wisconsin | $40,000 | $15,000-$125,000 | 9,933 | 1 |
| 16 | South Carolina | $43,540 | $13,149-$143,365 | 2,117 | 1 |
| 17 | Illinois | $50,000 | $15,000-$120,000 | 149 | 1 |
| 18 | North Carolina | $50,000 | $10,000-$180,000 | 143,930 | 3 |
| 19 | Missouri | $55,353 | $11,809-$201,305 | 13,570 | 1 |
| 20 | Kentucky | $62,000 | $18,000-$150,000 | 55,637 | 1 |
| 21 | New Mexico | $65,000 | $14,728-$185,730 | 38,386 | 1 |
| 22 | New York | $70,000 | $20,000-$236,000 | 8,233 | 1 |
| 23 | Texas | $72,240 | $14,400-$274,426 | 22,785 | 2 |
| 24 | Massachusetts | $100,000 | $25,493-$550,000 | 2,615 | 1 |
| 25 | Washington | $126,000 | $34,500-$417,145 | 72 | 1 |
| 26 | Tennessee | $133,384 | $19,033-$347,304 | 5,239 | 1 |
| 27 | Arizona | $137,994 | $89,064-$193,905 | 68,804 | 1 |
| 28 | Georgia | $140,000 | $30,000-$250,000 | 1,460 | 1 |
| 29 | Oregon | $151,079 | $94,224-$221,115 | 32,264 | 1 |
| 30 | Utah | $212,008 | $38,880-$300,000 | 49,147 | 1 |
Biggest regional gaps
The largest metro gaps are the trade-place pairs where the priciest indexed metro is the highest multiple of the cheapest indexed metro for the same trade.
#1General Contractor
60.4x gapSan Antonio, TX posts the priciest median at $410,723, compared with Baltimore, MD at $6,800. That is a $403,923 spread on the median permit value.
#2Pool Installer
24.2x gapCape Coral, FL posts the priciest median at $60,420, compared with Burlington, VT at $2,500. That is a $57,920 spread on the median permit value.
#3Landscaper
13.9x gapKansas City, MO posts the priciest median at $20,900, compared with Baltimore, MD at $1,500. That is a $19,400 spread on the median permit value.
#4Gas Technician
8.6x gapAtlanta, GA posts the priciest median at $8,600, compared with Dallas, TX at $1,000. That is a $7,600 spread on the median permit value.
#5Electrician
8.0x gapBoston, MA posts the priciest median at $8,000, compared with Louisville, KY at $1,000. That is a $7,000 spread on the median permit value.
Methodology and caveats
- This study reads only the live Real Cost Index via
loadPermitCostIndex(); no ranking values are hand-entered in the article. - ProFix computes the median declared construction value plus interquartile range (P25-P75) for each trade and place. A benchmark publishes only after at least 30 usable permits back that bucket.
- Declared construction value is a public-record floor, not a guaranteed invoice total. It can understate the homeowner's out-the-door price when filings omit markup, bundled labor, emergency premiums, financing, or work outside the permit.
- Medians and interquartile ranges reduce the effect of fee-only placeholders, under-declared jobs, and unusually large remodels that would skew an average.
- Sources: austin-socrata, chicago-permits, dallas-building-permits, las-vegas-permits, burlington-permits, greensboro-permits, durham-permits, boise-permits, cary-permits, boulder-permits, hilton-head-permits, providence-permits, miami-permits, orlando-permits, san-diego-permits, gilbert-permits, louisville-permits, kansas-city-permits, utah-county-permits, milwaukee-permits, albuquerque-permits, lynchburg-permits, baltimore-permits, county-cuyahoga, county-hamilton, county-franklin, county-dekalb, county-boston, county-sacramento, county-nashville, county-new-orleans, county-minneapolis, county-allegheny, county-seattle, san-francisco-permits, san-antonio-permits, los-angeles-permits, detroit-permits, charlotte-permits, memphis-permits, san-jose-permits, portland-permits, fort-worth-permits, honolulu-permits, charleston-permits, mesa-permits, cape-coral-permits, montgomery-county-md-permits, buffalo-permits, wilmington-nc-permits, scottsdale-permits.
- Median + interquartile (P25–P75) declared construction value on real public building permits. Declared valuations are a self-reported public-record proxy for project cost and can run below the out-the-door price; medians and a 30-permit minimum keep each benchmark honest.
Use the underlying data
Cite ProFix Directory (2026), The Most & Least Expensive Places for Home Services (2026). Published 2026-06-17; data snapshot 2026-06-19. Open data is available under CC BY 4.0 with attribution.