The cost index · National

What a project costs, then and now.

Your project, repriced. If your cost in , the index suggests it would cost around $8,800–$9,700 today, a 54.4% increase.
labor +40.1% (55%)
materials +62% (35%)
demand +105.8% (10%)
or view national data
National pulse

Where home costs are headed.

Jul 2026 readingUPDATED MONTHLY
+2.6%
Year-over-year change
Home services in National cost about 3% more than they did a year ago — a moderate pace, slightly above general inflation.
Cumulative change
since 2014
+71.0%
INDEXED TO 2020-2024 BASE PERIOD
SOURCES: BLS · CENSUS · FHFA · FRED
Home services cost over time
Cumulative cost change since 2021
0%+11%+22%+33%+27.9%202120222023202420252026
Materials
+3.0%
YoY · FRED/PPI
Labor
YoY · BLS/OEWS
Demand
+1.3%
YoY · Census
Home Values
+3.4%
YoY · FHFA
Project Bids
YoY · Internal
Methodology

How it
works.

THE Home Index is a weighted composite of five components, each tracking a different driver of residential construction cost. Four components draw from public government data — the same series used by professional cost estimators. The fifth, project bid pricing, fills in as Home Index marketplace volume grows.

Every input is transparent and auditable. Click any source below to verify the underlying data yourself.

Component
Source
Updated
Coverage
Status
Labor
Median hourly wages for residential trades — plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs, carpenters, roofers, painters.
Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) and Employment Cost Index (ECI)U.S. Bureau of Labor Statisticsbls.gov/oes
Annual (OEWS), Quarterly (ECI)
National + metro-level
Active
Materials
Producer Price Index for residential construction inputs — lumber, drywall, copper, steel, fixtures.
PPI for Construction Materials & ComponentsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · FRED series WPUID612, WPU081View on FRED
Monthly
National
Active
Project Bids
Average accepted bid prices from verified contractors on the Home Index marketplace, by project type.
Internal marketplace dataHome Index proprietary
Real-time
Launch markets, expanding
Building
Demand
Total residential construction spending and improvement spending — a proxy for how busy contractors are.
Total Residential Construction SpendingU.S. Census Bureau · FRED series TLRESCONS, TLRESIMPRNSView on FRED
Monthly
National + regional
Active
Home Values
House Price Index, national and metro-level, captures local market pressure that influences project pricing.
FHFA House Price Index (national + MSA)Federal Housing Finance Agencyfhfa.gov/data/hpi
Quarterly
National + metro
Active

What this index is — and isn’t

What it is

A leading indicator of cost pressure on residential home services, built from transparent public data sources used by professional cost estimators. It moves directionally with real project costs and is updated monthly.

What it isn't

It is not a price quote, a guarantee, or a substitute for getting bids on your specific project. Local conditions, project scope, and contractor pricing all vary in ways no index can fully capture.

Where it's strong

National materials and labor data are backed by large sample sizes from federal statistical agencies. Year-over-year changes and long-run trends are reliable. The methodology is fully auditable.

Where we're still building

Project bid pricing — the most direct measure of what contractors actually charge — fills in as marketplace volume grows. Until then, project costs are inferred from the four input components above.