The short version: The most-cited home repair statistics for 2026, every one checked against its original source: 59-86% of homeowners are delaying repairs over cost, average home-maintenance spending topped $10,000 a year, hidden ownership costs average $21,400, roughly 1 in 10 Americans report a home-improvement scam (average loss $2,426), and 82% of contractors wait 30+ days to get paid. Sources and sample sizes below — cite freely.
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Find a verified pro near you →Most “home repair statistics” pages recycle each other. Numbers drift, sources vanish, and a stat that started as one vendor’s 2022 survey ends up quoted as a universal fact. This page does it differently: every statistic below was verified against its original source, with the publisher, year, sample size, and method noted — including the limits. Where a widely repeated number failed verification, we say so.
Use these numbers in your own articles and reports; the citation format at the bottom makes it easy. And if the statistics convince you to stop postponing that repair, post the job on AllBetter and compare independent bids.
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Quick answer: What do the 2026 home repair statistics show?
Cost anxiety dominates: 59% of homeowners report delaying repairs they can’t afford (Today’s Homeowner, n=1,000) and 86% delayed for financial reasons in ConsumerAffairs’ survey (n=1,078). Average annual home maintenance hit $10,147 (Thumbtack index), hidden homeownership costs average $21,400/yr (Bankrate, 2025), and about 1 in 10 Americans report a home-improvement scam (JW Surety Bonds).
How many homeowners are delaying repairs?
A majority, in every survey that asks. Today’s Homeowner’s September 2023 survey of 1,000 U.S. homeowners found 59% delaying repairs because they can’t afford them, with 31% holding $1,000 or less in repair savings and 11% holding nothing. ConsumerAffairs’ homeowner survey (n=1,078, fielded around 2022) found 86% delaying repairs for financial reasons, a median affordable out-of-pocket of just $500, and only 12% confident they could cover repairs without borrowing.
| Statistic | Figure | Source, year, sample |
|---|---|---|
| Delaying repairs they can’t afford | 59% | Today’s Homeowner, Sept 2023, n=1,000 |
| Delayed repairs for financial reasons | 86% | ConsumerAffairs, ~2022, n=1,078 |
| Repair savings of $1,000 or less | 31% (11% have $0) | Today’s Homeowner, Sept 2023 |
| Median affordable out-of-pocket repair | $500 | ConsumerAffairs, ~2022 |
| Confident they could pay without borrowing | 12% | ConsumerAffairs, ~2022 |
All of these are vendor-commissioned consumer surveys — directionally consistent, but attribute them rather than stating them as census facts. One caution from our verification pass: a widely shared claim that “67.5% of homeowners have less than $5,000 saved for repairs” does not appear in the Today’s Homeowner survey it is usually attributed to. Don’t cite it.
What does home maintenance actually cost per year?
Ready to get it done? Post your job on AllBetter, compare verified bids, and pay only when you approve the finished work.
Find a verified pro near you →Two very different measurements, both worth knowing. Thumbtack’s Home Care Price Index (built from 2M+ projects on its platform) put annual maintenance for a single-family home at $10,147 as of Q2 2024. Bankrate’s June 2025 Hidden Costs of Homeownership study — a data analysis of taxes, insurance, utilities, and maintenance — put the average hidden cost of owning at $21,400 per year, ranging up to $34,573 in Hawaii. Angi’s 2024 State of Home Spending survey found homeowners self-reporting $12,050 in average annual home spending, down 12% from $13,667 the prior year.
| Measure | Figure | Source, year, method |
|---|---|---|
| Annual maintenance, single-family home | $10,147 | Thumbtack Home Care Price Index, Q2 2024, platform data (2M+ projects) |
| Hidden annual cost of owning | $21,400 avg (HI highest: $34,573) | Bankrate, June 2025, cost-data analysis |
| Self-reported annual home spending | $12,050 (down 12% YoY) | Angi State of Home Spending, 2024, survey |
| Emergency-call multipliers | evening ~1.5x, weekend ~2x, holiday ~3x | Today’s Homeowner cost guide, 2025 |
If quotes for the same repair keep confusing you more than the averages do, that spread has structural causes — we break them down in why contractor quotes vary so much.
How common are home-improvement scams?
Common enough to plan around. A JW Surety Bonds survey found roughly 1 in 10 Americans reporting a home-improvement scam, with an average loss of $2,426 (the figure is also cited by the National Council on Aging). Roto-Rooter’s 2024 State of Home Repair survey (n=1,000) found 16% of homeowners have little or no trust in repair providers. And the transparency gap feeds the anxiety: Roofing Contractor’s 2025 surveys found only about 25% of roofing contractors publish pricing online, while 78% of homeowners say they’re more likely to call a contractor who does (that homeowner survey was co-sponsored by ROOFLE, which sells pricing software — disclosed accordingly).
Part of what makes trust hard is that ownership itself is opaque: brands that look like competitors can share a parent company, which is why we published who really owns your three contractor quotes and the Homeowner’s Field Guide to the Roll-Up Scam.
What do the contractor-side numbers show?
The other half of every repair transaction is under its own pressure. Rabbet’s 2024 Construction Payments Report found 82% of contractors waiting 30+ days to get paid (up from 49% two years prior); QuickBooks’ January 2025 survey of 2,487 small businesses found 56% owed money, averaging $17,500 outstanding — the full picture is in contractor payment delays in 2026. On the customer-acquisition side, industry breakdowns put purchased leads at $5-$150+ each, paid win or lose, and Angi’s FY2024 10-K shows 81% of its revenue came from ads and leads — the arithmetic is in what contractor leads really cost in 2026. Slow payment in, high acquisition cost out: both pressures end up somewhere in somebody’s quote.
How AllBetter fits this picture
Most of the anxiety in these numbers traces to two unknowns: is the price fair, and is the money safe. AllBetter answers both structurally. You post the job once with a written scope and independent local pros bid on it — typically 3 bids in about 10 minutes — so price discovery happens in front of you. Every pro completes Stripe Identity verification before they can be paid, your money sits in escrow until you approve the finished work. Posting and comparing bids is free — a small service fee applies when you book, covering escrow payment protection.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of homeowners are delaying home repairs?
Between 59% (Today’s Homeowner, Sept 2023, n=1,000) and 86% (ConsumerAffairs, ~2022, n=1,078) depending on the survey and question wording. Both are vendor-commissioned surveys; cite the source and year.
How much does home maintenance cost per year in 2026?
Thumbtack’s index put single-family annual maintenance at $10,147 (Q2 2024, platform data); Bankrate’s 2025 study put total hidden ownership costs at $21,400 a year on average.
How common are contractor scams?
Roughly 1 in 10 Americans report experiencing a home-improvement scam, with an average loss of $2,426, per a JW Surety Bonds survey also cited by the National Council on Aging.
How long do contractors wait to get paid?
82% wait 30+ days per Rabbet’s 2024 Construction Payments Report; QuickBooks’ January 2025 survey found the average small business owed $17,500.
Can I cite these statistics in my own article?
Yes — cite the original source named next to each statistic (publisher, year, sample size where given). If you find this compilation useful, a link back to this page is appreciated but not required.
Stop guessing what a fair price looks like
Post your job once and compare independent bids on the same written scope — typically 3 bids in about 10 minutes.
- Independent local pros compete on your identical scope
- Every pro Stripe Identity verified before payout
- Escrow protection: money moves only when you approve the work
Posting and comparing bids is free — a small service fee applies when you book, covering escrow payment protection.
Sources
- Today’s Homeowner, home repair survey (Sept 2023, n=1,000, ±3%) — 59% delaying repairs; 31% with ≤$1,000 saved — todayshomeowner.com
- ConsumerAffairs, homeowner repair-delay survey (~2022, n=1,078) — 86% delaying; median affordable out-of-pocket $500 — consumeraffairs.com
- Thumbtack, Home Care Price Index (Q2 2024; platform data, 2M+ projects) — single-family annual maintenance $10,147 — thumbtack blog
- Bankrate, Hidden Costs of Homeownership Study (June 2025) — $21,400/yr average; Hawaii highest at $34,573 — bankrate.com
- Angi, 2024 State of Home Spending Report (survey; GlobeNewswire, Jan 2025) — $12,050 average annual spend, down 12% — globenewswire.com
- JW Surety Bonds, home-improvement scam survey (cited by NCOA) — ~1 in 10 scammed; avg loss $2,426 — ncoa.org
- Roto-Rooter, State of Home Repair in 2024 (n=1,000) — 16% little/no trust in repair providers — rotorooter.com
- Roofing Contractor, May 2025 surveys (homeowner survey co-sponsored by ROOFLE + Owens Corning) — ~25% publish pricing; 78% prefer those who do — roofingcontractor.com
- Today’s Homeowner, emergency plumbing cost guide (2025) — evening ~1.5x, weekend ~2x, holiday ~3x — todayshomeowner.com
- Rabbet, 2024 State of Construction Payments — 82% of contractors wait 30+ days — rabbet.com
- QuickBooks/Intuit, small business payments survey (Jan 2025, n=2,487) — 56% owed money, avg $17.5K — quickbooks.intuit.com
By Tarik Khribech, Founder of AllBetter. MS in Computer Science (Elmhurst University); previously at Citi and Discover; founded ChoreRelief in 2016 and relaunched it as AllBetter in 2020.
