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Bathroom Remodel Cost Calculator

A bathroom remodel costs $3,500–$25,000 for an average 35–50 sq ft bathroom, installed. Scope drives most of that: $3,500–$7,500 for a minor renovation, $5,300–$15,000 for a partial remodel, $8,800–$25,000 for a full one.

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2026 national range

$3,500–$25,000/ total

Professional bathroom remodel — materials and labor installed — for an average-sized 35 to 50 sq ft bathroom, 2026 US national average. Excludes permits, demolition and any change that moves plumbing or walls; those are priced separately in the calculator.

Minor renovation — flooring, vanity, paint, fixtures$3,500–$7,500
Partial remodel — replace tub, shower, sink, toilet, vanity, tiling$5,300–$15,000
Full remodel — everything out, layout and luxury materials possible$8,800–$25,000

Educational calculators — always consult a licensed professional before making financial decisions.

Your bathroom remodel

01Bathroom size

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15120

02Scope

About $150–$300 per sq ft. Replacing some of the major elements — tub, shower, sink, toilet, vanity — plus tiling.

03Plumbing changes

Every fixture stays on its existing supply and drain. This is what a standard quote assumes.

04Add-ons

Add demolition and disposal ($600–$2,300)

Add permits and inspections ($100–$1,000)

Add tub-to-shower conversion ($1,000–$15,000)

Add a new vanity ($400–$4,000)

Add a heated floor ($500–$2,800)

Add an exhaust fan ($150–$550)

Total Bathroom Remodel Cost

$6,657 – $14,300

Partial remodel — 40 sq ft

Cost per square foot$166 – $358

Remodel work alone$6,057 – $12,000

The spread between the two ends is real, not padding — it is the difference between stock fixtures fitted to the existing layout and custom materials on a reworked one. Get three quotes and expect them to land at different points inside this band.

Where the money goes

Where Your Money Goes

Partial remodel — 40 sq ft86%

$6,057 – $12,000

Demolition and disposal14%

$600 – $2,300

Partial remodel — 40 sq ft$6,057 – $12,000

Demolition and disposal$600 – $2,300

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Scope matters more than materials

The instinct is to budget by picking fixtures, but the tier of work sets the number long before the tile does. The published per-square-foot rates run roughly $100–$150 for a minor renovation, $150–$300 for a partial remodel, and $250–$500 for a full one — a 3× spread on the same room before anyone has chosen a faucet.

Scope	What changes	Typical total
Minor renovation	Flooring, vanity, paint, fixtures. Nothing moves.	$3,500–$7,500
Partial remodel	At least one major fixture replaced, plus tiling.	$5,300–$15,000
Full remodel	Everything out. Layout and luxury materials possible.	$8,800–$25,000

Totals are for a 35–50 sq ft bathroom. A powder room costs less in total and more per square foot; a primary bathroom scales the other way.

Small bathrooms cost more per square foot

Halving the floor area does not halve the bill. A bathroom of any size needs a toilet, a sink, ventilation, waterproofing and a plumber who has to show up regardless — so the fixed costs are spread across fewer square feet. A 15 sq ft powder room runs about $1,500–$2,250 for a minor renovation and $3,750–$7,500 for a full one.

It cuts the other way too. Because the fixture count barely changes between a 35 sq ft hall bath and a 60 sq ft one, the extra area is mostly floor, wall and tile — the cheapest part of the job per square foot. Growth in a bathroom budget usually comes from the fixture list and the layout, not from the room being larger.

Moving plumbing is the decision that costs

Keeping every fixture on its existing supply and drain is what makes a remodel predictable. Drains rely on gravity and have to fall at a set rate, so relocating a toilet or a shower is not a matter of running a new pipe — it means opening the floor, re-cutting the fall, and sometimes moving a vent stack. That is the point at which a finish job becomes a framing job.

Sinks and vanities are more forgiving because they sit higher and drain into the same wall. If you want a different layout, have a plumber look at the existing drain runs before you commit to a floor plan — it is a far cheaper conversation before demolition than after.

What the quote usually leaves out

Demolition and disposal, $600–$2,300. Frequently a separate line. Ask explicitly whether stripping the old bathroom out and hauling it away is in the price.
Permits and inspections, $100–$1,000. Usually triggered once plumbing or electrical moves. The inspection is what protects you at resale.
What is found behind the walls. Rotten subfloor under the tub, failed waterproofing, or supply pipes worth replacing while they are accessible. This is the usual reason a final invoice exceeds the estimate.
A contingency. Hold back 10–20% on any full remodel of an older bathroom. If it is not needed, it is not spent.

Related calculators

Pricing a single element rather than the whole room? The tile flooring calculator covers floor and wall tile, and the underfloor heating calculator prices a heated floor with its running cost. For a whole-house view, the home renovation cost guide shows where a bathroom sits against the other rooms. Renovating in India instead? Use the India bathroom renovation calculator, which prices in rupees against Indian labour rates.

By RealCost Editorial TeamReviewed by RealCost Editorial TeamLast updated September 5, 2026 with September 2026 data

A bathroom remodel is priced component by component, and the components vary enormously — a toilet swap runs $350–$800 while a shower installation runs $1,000–$15,000. Scope, not square footage, is what moves the total. Nationally, a midrange bath remodel costs $26,138 and returns $20,915 at resale, or 80 percent.

Why bathrooms are priced by component

A bathroom is the densest room in a house. In 35 to 50 square feet it concentrates plumbing supply and waste, ventilation, electrical, waterproofing and finish carpentry — which is why cost tracks what you are changing rather than how big the room is.

Component ranges this calculator prices

Component	Installed range
Toilet installation	$350–$800
Vanity	$400–$4,000
Countertop	$250–$3,000
Exhaust fan	$150–$550
Bidet installation	$250–$1,000
Bathtub replacement	$800–$4,600
Heated floor, including new flooring	$500–$2,800
Tiling	$400–$8,000
Shower installation	$1,000–$15,000
Tub-to-shower conversion	$1,000–$15,000

This page's own dataset. The headline band for a full remodel is $3,500–$25,000 at a 35–50 sq ft basis.

Read the spread on the bottom three rows. Tiling and showers each span more than a tenfold range, and together they can account for most of a remodel. That is where the estimate is won or lost — not in the fixtures, which are comparatively predictable.

The line that separates a $5,000 bathroom from a $25,000 one

One decision dominates: whether you move plumbing. Leaving every fixture where it is keeps the job in the realm of finishes. Moving a toilet, a shower drain or a vanity means opening the floor, re-running supply and waste, and re-inspecting — and the cost is not proportionate to how far anything moves.

This is why a tub-to-shower conversion carries the same $1,000–$15,000 band as a shower installation. At the bottom of that band you are fitting a shower into the existing tub footprint and reusing the drain. At the top you are relocating the drain, rebuilding the substrate, waterproofing and tiling. The fixture is a minor part of either number.

The practical rule that falls out of this: if the budget is tight, keep the layout. A bathroom with new tile, a new vanity, a new toilet and the original plumbing locations reads as fully renovated and sits at the low end of every band above.

What a bathroom returns, by scope

The 2025 Cost vs. Value report prices standardised bathroom projects across 119 US markets. The pattern is consistent and it rewards restraint.

National averages, 2025 Cost vs. Value

Project	Job cost	Resale value	Recouped
Bath Remodel, Midrange	$26,138	$20,915	80%
Bath Remodel, Universal Design	$42,183	$25,812	61%
Bath Remodel, Upscale	$81,612	$34,000	42%
Bathroom Addition, Midrange	$60,645	$32,347	53%
Bathroom Addition, Upscale	$111,255	$40,526	36%

Journal of Light Construction, 2025 Cost vs. Value Report, national averages.

An upscale remodel costs 3.1 times the midrange one and returns 1.6 times the resale value. Every step up in scope recovers a smaller share, which is the same shape the report shows for kitchens — and it is the strongest argument for spending less than the room seems to invite.

The universal-design line is worth separating out. At 61 percent it recovers less than a midrange remodel, but resale is the wrong frame for it: grab bars, a curbless shower and a wider door are bought to let someone stay in the house, and the return on that is not measured by an appraiser.

Labour, and what this estimate excludes

Bathrooms are labour-dense because they are trade-dense — plumbing, electrical, tile and carpentry in one small room, usually in sequence rather than in parallel, which is why the schedule is long relative to the size.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts tile and stone setters (SOC 47-2044) at 35,850 employed nationally, with a mean hourly wage of $28.49 and a 10th-to-90th-percentile range of $17.86 to $41.40. Carpenters (SOC 47-2031) run $31.55 mean hourly across 670,090 workers. Both sit near or below the $65,360 annual mean across all construction and extraction occupations.

·Hidden damage. Bathrooms conceal water damage. Rotten subfloor behind a tub is discovered after demolition, never before, and it is the most common source of change orders.
·Permits and inspection. Moving plumbing or adding circuits normally requires both. Fees are local and are not modelled here.
·Lead paint in older homes. Work disturbing painted surfaces in pre-1978 housing falls under the EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, which requires a certified firm above a minor-repair threshold of 6 square feet interior.
·Being without a bathroom. In a one-bathroom house this is a real cost, and it scales with a schedule that slips.

Methodology

Component ranges are the values held in this page's own cost dataset, at a documented 35–50 sq ft basis, and the total is the sum of the components you select. Resale figures are the 2025 Cost vs. Value national averages, quoted as published. Wage figures are BLS OEWS May 2025. Permit fees, hidden damage and lead-safe work practices are not modelled.

Sources

Journal of Light Construction — 2025 Cost vs. Value Report, National Averages — accessed 2026-09-05
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — OEWS Profile: Tile and Stone Setters (47-2044), May 2025 — accessed 2026-09-05
US EPA — Renovation, Repair and Painting Program — accessed 2026-09-05

Frequently asked questions

How much does a bathroom remodel cost?

A bathroom remodel costs $3,500–$25,000 for an average-sized 35 to 50 sq ft bathroom, materials and labor installed. Scope sets most of the spread: a minor renovation runs $3,500–$7,500, a partial remodel $5,300–$15,000, and a full remodel $8,800–$25,000. Per square foot that works out to roughly $100–$150, $150–$300 and $250–$500 respectively. Angi puts the same project at an average of $12,146 within a $2,500–$30,000 range.

How much does it cost to remodel a small bathroom?

Small bathrooms cost less in total but more per square foot, because the fixture count barely changes. A 3x5 powder room at 15 sq ft runs roughly $1,500 to $2,250 for a minor renovation and $3,750 to $7,500 for a full one. The toilet, sink, ventilation and waterproofing are all still required, so halving the floor area does not halve the bill.

What is the difference between a minor, partial and full bathroom remodel?

A minor renovation keeps every fixture where it is and updates what you see — flooring, vanity, paint and fittings. A partial remodel replaces at least one of the three major fixtures, meaning the toilet, sink, or tub and shower, usually alongside new tiling. A full remodel strips the room back and replaces everything, and is the only tier where changing the layout or using custom materials is realistic.

Does moving plumbing increase bathroom remodel cost?

Substantially. Keeping every fixture on its existing supply and drain lines is what makes a remodel predictable. Moving a sink or vanity within the same wall bay is manageable, but relocating a toilet or shower means new drain runs at the correct fall, opening the floor, and sometimes moving a vent stack — which turns a finish job into a framing job. Get a plumber to look at the drain layout before you commit to a new floor plan.

Do I need a permit to remodel a bathroom?

A like-for-like fixture swap usually does not need one, but moving plumbing or adding electrical circuits normally does. Permits and inspections run $100 to $1,000 depending on the municipality and the declared value of the work. The inspection is what protects you at resale, when unpermitted bathroom work is one of the more common things a buyer's surveyor flags.

What costs are usually left out of a bathroom remodel quote?

Demolition and disposal are frequently quoted separately and run $600 to $2,300. Permits are extra again. Beyond that, the costs that appear once walls are open — rotten subfloor under the tub, failed waterproofing, or supply pipes that should be replaced while accessible — are the usual reason a final invoice exceeds the estimate. Hold back a contingency of 10 to 20% on any full remodel of an older bathroom.

Methodology & sources

The cost figures on this page are generated from a single, sourced cost-data file (Professional bathroom remodel — materials and labor installed — for an average-sized 35 to 50 sq ft bathroom, 2026 US national average. Excludes permits, demolition and any change that moves plumbing or walls; those are priced separately in the calculator.). Angi puts the same project at an average of $12,146 within a $2,500–$30,000 range, or roughly $70–$250 per sq ft, against HomeGuide's $100–$500 per sq ft — so treat the low end as achievable only on a minor refresh. Angi's own "full remodel" tier of $25,000–$80,000 describes a larger primary bathroom than the 35–50 sq ft basis used here, and HomeGuide notes a large primary bath with high-end fixtures can reach $60,000. Demolition runs $600–$2,000 (HomeGuide) or $1,000–$2,300 (Angi) and permits $100–$1,000 (Angi); none of that is in the headline. Last verified August 2026.

HomeGuide — How Much Does a Bathroom Remodel Cost? (2026), written by Jennifer Carlson, updated 20 June 2025 — retrieved 2026-08-16
Angi — How Much Does a Bathroom Remodel Cost? [2026 Data], written by Mariel Loveland, updated 9 July 2026 — retrieved 2026-08-16

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