How We Estimate

Every cost range on ProjectPriced is built the same transparent way. This page explains where our numbers come from, how we adjust them for your city, how often we update them, and — importantly — what they are not.

Where the national ranges come from

For each material or system we set a national low-to-high range for a typical project — for roofing, that baseline is a roughly 1,800 sq ft (18-square) roof; for HVAC and siding, a typical 2,000 sq ft home; for windows, a typical 10-window home. Those ranges are derived from market research across several sources:

• Published manufacturer and supplier pricing for materials and equipment.
• Contractor and installer pricing data, including per-square, per-ton, per-window and per-square-foot installed rates.
• Industry cost surveys and remodeling cost reports.
• Efficiency, capacity and grade tiers that materially change price (for example SEER2 for HVAC, glass package for windows, or shingle grade for roofing).

We publish a band rather than a single figure on purpose: two homes on the same street can pay very different prices for the "same" project once size, pitch, material grade, access and finish choices are accounted for.

How we adjust for your city

Our metro pages start from the national range and apply a single, transparent regional multiplier that reflects local labor and material costs relative to the national average (1.0). A market that runs about 20% above the national average, for instance, carries a 1.20 multiplier; a lower-cost market might be 0.92. The same multiplier is applied consistently across materials so the local ranges stay internally comparable. This is a deliberately simple, explainable adjustment — not a claim of neighborhood-level precision.

How our calculators work

Our calculators multiply a typical per-unit installed cost (per square, per ton, per window or per square foot) by the size you enter, the regional factor for your city, and — for roofing — a complexity factor. The solar calculator also shows the amount after the 30% federal solar tax credit. Each calculator states its formula in plain language on the page. Results are planning ranges, not quotes.

How often we update

We review our cost ranges periodically as material and labor prices move, and we date our guides by year so you can see how current they are. When market conditions shift materially, we revise the underlying ranges and the regional multipliers.

What these numbers are not

They are not quotes, bids or guarantees. We have not seen your home, your roof pitch, your electrical panel or your local permit schedule. Our ranges are a budgeting and sanity-check tool: use them to plan and to evaluate the quotes you receive. The only way to know your real price is a written quote from a licensed contractor. If you ever spot a figure that looks off, tell us at [email protected] — we take corrections seriously.