What it costs to renovate an apartment unit in New York City (2026)

The short answer

Example one standard unit (850 sq ft, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath), priced by DoorWalk's cost table, rate card version 1.10 (2026-10-28), New York City against the national average. Every price is a low to high range and includes 10% for surprises.

The midpoints are $6,851, $21,849 and $34,040 in New York City, and $5,866, $19,083 and $30,947 nationally. The gap between low and high is wide on purpose: a walk cannot see behind walls, so the table gives a range instead of one number.

What the standard unit is

DoorWalk needs a size to price a unit. When a floor plan has none, it uses 850 square feet, two bedrooms and one bath. That is the unit priced here, so you can compare cities on one yardstick. Your own units will differ. Measure one unit per floor plan and the range narrows.

What each scope includes

The three scopes are built from DoorWalk's ready-made improvement options. Each is a list of items from the cost table, so the price is never a guess.

• Light refresh: a full interior repaint (walls, ceilings, doors and trim) and six new LED light fixtures, plus a ceiling fan with a light in each bedroom.
• Medium renovation: the light refresh, plus luxury vinyl plank flooring throughout, a classic kitchen refresh (painted cabinets, new pulls, laminate counters, new sink and faucet) and a classic bath refresh (tub reglazed, regrouted and recaulked, new mirror and accessories).
• Full renovation: the light refresh and the new flooring, plus a premium kitchen (new shaker cabinets, quartz counters, tile backsplash, stainless appliances) and a premium bath (new vanity, toilet, tub surround, shower valve and trim).

These scopes are finishes. Failed roofs, leaking plumbing and electrical problems are not in them. The walk finds those, and they are priced as their own fixes, bones first.

Where the money goes

Example each piece of the standard unit, before the 10% for surprises, rate card version 1.10.

Each figure is rounded to the whole dollar, so a column can differ from a scope total by a dollar. Flooring and a premium kitchen carry most of the cost. Paint is mostly labor.

Why New York City costs more

In DoorWalk's cost table, only labor changes by city. Materials use one national price. The labor factor comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: its May 2025 survey puts the average hourly wage for construction and extraction trades at $39.49 in the New York City area and $31.42 across the country, so New York City labor is 25.7% higher. The table uses each trade's own wage where the survey publishes it. See the BLS wage data.

That is why the gap is not the same everywhere. Work that is mostly labor moves the most. The low end of interior paint is 20% higher in New York City than nationally. The low end of a premium kitchen, which is mostly appliances and cabinets, is only 6% higher.

Why a real bid can differ

A cost table is a starting point for your offer and your budget, not a quote. A contractor knows things the table does not, so ask each bidder these questions:

• Does the price cover getting materials and people into the building and out again, such as elevators, stairs and parking?
• Does the building set hours or rules for work, and who pulls any permit the work needs?
• Is the price per unit, and does it hold when you renovate many units in a row?
• What does the bid leave out, and how are surprises handled?

The guide on comparing contractor bids shows how to line bids up against your estimate.

How DoorWalk prices your unit

Pick New York City as the market for your property and DoorWalk prices every accepted fix from this same table. You walk, confirm the list, and see a range with a confidence level for each fix. One measured unit stands in for every unit of its floor plan. Open the example property to see the Costs screen, and read how to estimate renovation cost per unit for the method. Prices for other markets are in renovation cost per unit by scope.