Which U.S. cities are best for tackling home improvement projects and starting fresh this season?
With warmer weather just around the corner, Home Gnome ranked 2025’s Best Cities for Tackling Home Improvements.
We compared the 498 biggest U.S. cities based on four categories. We looked at the average age of homes, access to designers and contractors, and average costs, among 44 total metrics.
Explore our ranking (by large, midsize, and small cities) below. To learn how we ranked the cities, see our methodology.
Image Credit: Jacob Wackerhausen/istockphoto.
Quick Stats
- Upgrade Alley: When it comes to hammering down home improvement budgets, New York (No. 12 large), Newark, New Jersey (No. 6 large), and Auburn, Alabama (No. 91 small), nail the top spots, pouring the biggest percentage of their income into upgrading their digs.
- Builders Paradise: Southern California and New Jersey dominate Builder Access, with Norwalk, California (No. 1 midsize) and South Gate (No. 1 small), leading their respective rankings. Jersey City (No. 2 large) and Newark, New Jersey (No. 6 large), solidify the Garden State’s presence, while Miami (No. 1 large) and Irving, Texas (No. 8 large), bring competition from other regions.
- Stocked and Ready: Miami (No. 1 large) boasts the best supply access, with San Francisco (No. 4 large) and Louisville, Kentucky (No. 75 large), following close behind. Smaller cities like Doral, Florida (No. 15 small) and Clifton, New Jersey (No. 9 small), also offer strong supplier networks, ensuring homeowners have the materials they need to tackle DIY renovations.
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The Leaderboard
See how each city fared in our ranking:
Use the tabs above the table here to switch between large, midsize, and small cities for fair comparisons.
City Size Definitions:
- Large: 250,000+ population
- Midsize: 100,000 to 249,000 population
- Small: Under 100,000 population
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2025’s Best Cities for Tackling Home Improvements
Detroit, MI
- Large-City Rank: 90
- Overall Score: 12.83
- Builder Access Rank: 43
- Supply Access Rank: 74
- Designer and Engineer Access Rank: 59
- Cost and Cost Inflators Rank: 90
Image Credit: Brian Sevald / istockphoto.
Toledo, OH
- Large-City Rank: 89
- Overall Score: 14.12
- Builder Access Rank: 89
- Supply Access Rank: 67
- Designer and Engineer Access Rank: 84
- Cost and Cost Inflators Rank: 89
Image Credit: Mshake / istockphoto.
Cleveland, OH
- Large-City Rank: 88
- Overall Score: 16.38
- Builder Access Rank: 62
- Supply Access Rank: 24
- Designer and Engineer Access Rank: 51
- Cost and Cost Inflators Rank: 88
Image Credit: istockphoto/Sean Pavone.
Milwaukee, WI
- Large-City Rank: 87
- Overall Score: 17.22
- Builder Access Rank: 76
- Supply Access Rank: 42
- Designer and Engineer Access Rank: 72
- Cost and Cost Inflators Rank: 85
Image Credit: benkrut / istockphoto.
Tucson, AZ
- Large-City Rank: 86
- Overall Score: 18.01
- Builder Access Rank: 51
- Supply Access Rank: 46
- Designer and Engineer Access Rank: 65
- Cost and Cost Inflators Rank: 82
Image Credit: Sean Pavone / iStock.
Albuquerque, NM
- Large-City Rank: 85
- Overall Score: 18.03
- Builder Access Rank: 68
- Supply Access Rank: 55
- Designer and Engineer Access Rank: 79
- Cost and Cost Inflators Rank: 81
Image Credit: Sean Pavone/istockphoto.
Fort Wayne, IN
- Large-City Rank: 84
- Overall Score: 18.06
- Builder Access Rank: 86
- Supply Access Rank: 49
- Designer and Engineer Access Rank: 74
- Cost and Cost Inflators Rank: 80
Image Credit: ChrisBoswell / istockphoto.
Indianapolis, IN
- Large-City Rank: 83
- Overall Score: 18.29
- Builder Access Rank: 60
- Supply Access Rank: 71
- Designer and Engineer Access Rank: 45
- Cost and Cost Inflators Rank: 79
Image Credit: Sean Pavone / istockphoto.
Memphis, TN
- Large-City Rank: 82
- Overall Score: 18.44
- Builder Access Rank: 85
- Supply Access Rank: 81
- Designer and Engineer Access Rank: 86
- Cost and Cost Inflators Rank: 76
Image Credit: Nclauzing / istockphoto.
Kansas City, MO
- Large-City Rank: 81
- Overall Score: 18.49
- Builder Access Rank: 53
- Supply Access Rank: 84
- Designer and Engineer Access Rank: 57
- Cost and Cost Inflators Rank: 78
2025’s Worst Cities for Tackling Home Improvements full ranking.
Image Credit: istockphoto/Sean Pavone.
The Best Cities for Tackling Home Improvements
No. 1 Large City Rank: Miami, Florida | Overall score: 40.76Builder Access Rank – Large Cities: 7Supply Access Rank – Large Cities: 1Designer and Engineer Access Rank – Large Cities: 13
Cost and Cost Inflators Rank – Large Cities: 21
- Big-City Builders: In the large city ranking, California dominates the top 10 with 4 cities, while Texas secures a spot with Irving (No. 8) and follows up with Austin (No. 19) and Dallas (No. 24). Miami claims No. 1, boasting the best supply access with a wealth of hardware, flooring, and paint suppliers — all while maintaining relatively low costs.
- Midsize Makeover: California also dominates the midsize city ranking, claiming 22 of the top 50 spots. Norwalk (No. 1) leads the way with the best builder access, ranking high for contractor availability across multiple trades, including electricians, roofers, and landscapers.
- Cost vs. Convenience: While Norwalk (No. 1) excels in builder access, it falls in the bottom half for affordability among midsize cities. Frisco, Texas (No. 59) and Santa Clara, California (No. 16), offer the lowest costs for home improvement projects among cities of similar sizes.
- Blueprint for Success: South Gate (No. 1) and Buena Park, California (No. 2), stand out for their dense network of builders, designers, and engineers. Unexpectedly, cities like Clifton, New Jersey (No. 9), Flower Mound, Texas (No. 43), and Plymouth, Minnesota (No. 37), crack the top 50, proving that access to skilled professionals isn’t just a big-city advantage.
- Affordable Upgrades: Redwood City (No. 17), Mountain View (No. 26), and Newport Beach (No. 30), are California’s most affordable small cities for home improvements, but they offer middle-of-the-road supply access. Redmond, Washington (No. 20) and Miami Beach, Florida (No. 27), offer both budget-friendly options and easy access to home improvement resources.
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The Worst Cities for Tackling Home Improvements
- Renovation Roadblocks: Detroit, Michigan (No. 90), Cleveland (No. 88), and Toledo, Ohio (No. 89), rank among the worst large cities for home improvements, burdened by some of the oldest housing stock in the country. High costs further stall renovations, with Detroit among the worst for pricey architect and engineer rates relative to local wages.
- Remodeling Rough Spots: Many of the lowest-ranking midsize cities, including Rockford, Illinois (No. 238), Independence, Missouri (No. 237), and Athens, Georgia (No. 236), have poor access to design professionals and builders. High costs weigh down these cities, while Kansas City, Kansas (No. 231), stands out with relatively strong supply access despite its low overall ranking.
- Small-City Setbacks: Flint, Michigan (No. 170), Bloomington, Illinois (No. 143), and Fort Smith, Arkansas (No. 146), all rank near the bottom but offer a few standout qualities. Flint has stronger supply access with high concentrations of remodeling contractors and siding and paint suppliers. Bloomington benefits from relatively low residential engineering costs, while Fort Smith is among the more affordable cities for home improvements.
Image Credit: Jacob Boomsma / iStock.
Behind the Ranking
First, we determined the factors (metrics) that are most relevant to rank the Best Cities for Tackling Home Improvements. We then assigned a weight to each factor based on its importance and grouped those factors into 4 categories:
- Builder Access
- Supply Access
- Designer and Engineer Access
- Cost and Cost Inflators
The categories, factors, and their weights are listed in the table below.
For each of the 500 biggest U.S. cities, we then gathered data on each factor from the sources listed below the table.
To ensure fair comparisons, we divided the cities into 3 ranking groups — large, midsize, and small — based on the NCES Locale Classifications and Criteria. Cities were categorized according to population size, allowing similar-sized cities to be evaluated against each other.
Finally, we calculated scores (out of 100 points) for each city to determine its rank in each factor, each category, and overall. A city’s Overall Score is the average of its scores across all factors and categories. The highest Overall Score ranked “Best” (No. 1) and the lowest “Worst” in each ranking group: Large Cities (1-90), Midsize Cities (1-238), and Small Cities (1-170).
Note:
- Large Cities: The “Worst” among individual factors may not be No. 90 due to ties.
- Midsize Cities: The “Worst” among individual factors may not be No. 238 due to ties.
- Small Cities: The “Worst” among individual factors may not be No. 170 due to ties.
- Johns Creek, GA, and South Fulton, GA, were excluded from the ranking due to insufficient data.
Image Credit: Jacob Boomsma/iStock.
Nailed It: DIY Home Upgrades
The U.S. home improvement market is booming, with spending on renovations and repairs climbing steadily. However, rising costs for labor and materials are leaving many homeowners struggling to keep up, with 92% reporting outstanding repairs.
Home renovations are increasingly driven by necessity rather than luxury, with replacement projects like roofing, electrical work, and plumbing now making up 48% of home improvement spending. Meanwhile, discretionary upgrades, such as room additions, have dropped to under 31%.
Rising costs haven’t stopped homeowners from tackling projects themselves. DIY remodeling spending has hit over $66 billion, with demand surging for products like soft-surface flooring, electrical supplies, and lawn and garden upgrades.
With the median U.S. home now over 4 decades old and around 12% of houses built before 1940, many homeowners are taking matters into their own hands.
Image Credit: xphotoz/Istockphoto.
Looking for DIY inspiration? Explore easy and affordable ways to upgrade your home
- Refresh your space with affordable and easy-to-install peel-and-stick vinyl tiles or laminate planks.
- Swap outdated lighting fixtures for modern pendant lights, install dimmer switches, or use LED strip lighting.
- Give your kitchen or bathroom a facelift with peel-and-stick backsplash tiles — no grout, no mess, and minimal tools required.
- Improve your home’s curb appeal with a fresh coat of paint for the front door, DIY landscaping, or modern house numbers.
- Maximize space with floating shelves, over-the-door organizers, or DIY closet systems.
- Upgrade to energy-efficient window treatments, apply weatherstripping, or install a smart thermostat to lower utility costs.
Related: 2025’s Most Expensive Cities to Heat a Home in Winter
Related: Annual Cost of Maintaining a Home: How to Set Your Budget
This article originally appeared on Homegnome.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org
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