Home repair costs in Houston, TX

The house this page is using

If you are pricing a water heater, a mini-split, or a move to Houston, start with the house this page uses as an example: built around 1988, about 1,950 square feet. slab-on-grade houses, attic air handlers, high humidity You will see a low, a typical, and a high. A fair bid for that same job should land inside the range. A bid far above the high number is either a different job or a number you should question.

Jobs people actually price in Houston

A straightforward 40-gallon electric water heater replacement in Houston typically costs $1,720, with a range of $1,340 to $2,300. A window air conditioner for one room is typically $610. A single-zone mini-split for the example home is typically $7,330, from a cooling sketch of about 57,700 Btu/h. A local move for a two-bedroom household is typically $1,460. Those are installed or move-day figures, not a re-pipe, not a whole-house air conditioner, and not a cross-country truck.

An 80,000 Btu gas furnace, same ducts, typically costs $4,510 in Houston. A roof on the example home — planning area 2,243 square feet, not a measurement — typically costs $14,920 to tear off and reshingle. Open-attic cellulose aimed at R-49 typically costs $3,240. A planning year of gas heat is about $500 at the $1.50 a therm you typed in the bar. Heat-pump heat at the local electric rate is about $550. Cooling is about $1,040. Each of those has its own page so the numbers are not mashed into one “home cost.”

What is local here, and what is not

Houston is in IECC climate zone 2A. A typical year here has about 1,430 heating degree days and 3,050 cooling degree days, against 4,000 and 1,400 in the national reference. Local labor is 0.96 times a national crew, which is 4% lower. Planning electricity is 14.6¢ per kilowatt-hour, 2.2¢ below 16.8¢. CenterPoint delivers electricity; the retail plan is chosen separately. The planning rate is a retail-blend figure, not your contract.

Houston failures are moisture and the attic. Air handlers sit in 130°F attics, condensate lines clog, and a slab means a water-heater leak is a flooring project. Labor prices are near or under the national factor, so the high column is almost never 'expensive city' — it is mold, a flooded pan, or a panel that cannot take a heat pump.

Rent, sitting next to the repair on purpose

A one-bedroom planning rent is $1,300 a month. A two-bedroom is $1,650. These are not listings. They sit next to the repair prices so a low labor rate is not mistaken for an affordable city. On a $72,000 household income, that two-bedroom is about 28% of gross monthly income. Put your own income in the move calculator. If you rent, a window unit and a move are usually your decision. A water heater, an electrical panel, or a mini-split on the outside wall belongs to the owner. Use the range to read their quote.

How to use this without fooling yourself

Set your city to Houston at the top of the page, then open the calculator for the job you are actually pricing. Your square footage replaces the 1,950 square foot example. The gas line follows the price per therm in that same bar. Low means an easy version of the same scope. Typical means the example house. High means the same machine with worse access, a code fix, or a second trip. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Planning model: IECC climate zone, degree-day normals, a metro labor factor, and a residential rate used only for operating-cost context. Installed costs start from published national ranges and scale the labor share. Rents are planning medians, not listings. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Ask for the written scope before you compare any bid with the high number.