A cross-trade reference of 34 verified statistics on what rental property repair and maintenance cost per square foot, comparing seven trades that price by area on the same unit: interior painting, roof repair, window repair, bed bug treatment, pool maintenance, lawn mowing and whole-property maintenance, plus HVAC as the trade whose own guide says it cannot be priced that way. Every figure is drawn from a named public source, Angi for trade pricing and Belong's work-order analysis for the maintenance baseline, and independently checked against the original before publishing.
Key statistics
6 highlights from this report
Key statistics
Key takeaways
Per square foot is the only unit that lets a portfolio compare trades, and once you do, the spread is enormous: a penny to six cents for mowing, two to six dollars for paint, up to sixty dollars for glass. The reason is what the square foot is of. Mowing prices the lot, paint prices the wall, glass prices the pane, and pest control prices the room. Against a whole-year maintenance baseline of $0.90 to $1.30 per square foot, one repaint is two to five years of budget, which is why the interval matters more than the rate.
Interior painting costs $2 to $6 per square foot; $2.75 for walls, $4.70 all-in
Roof repair is $3.50 to $12 per square foot, linear from 100 to 1,000 square feet
Window repair is $25 to $60 per square foot, the highest of any trade compiled
Whole-property maintenance runs $0.90 to $1.30 per square foot per year
Bed bug treatment is $4 to $7.50 per square foot; heat $1 to $3, fumigation $4 to $8
HVAC is the exception: Angi says there is no direct per-square-foot requirement
Seven trades, one unit
Every figure below is Angi's, from its 2026 cost guides, except the whole-property maintenance baseline, which is Belong's work-order analysis. Bars are on a log-style scale because the trades span three orders of magnitude; the "of what" column is the reason.
Sources: Angi lawn care, pool maintenance, room and interior painting, roof repair, bed bug treatment and window repair cost guides (2026); Belong work-order analysis for whole-property maintenance, as compiled in RapidEye's maintenance cost research. Bar position is logarithmic; length is proportional to the range on that scale.
How we built this report
Every figure below was compiled in August 2026 from named public sources and checked against the original document before publishing.
- Compiled from primary sources
Seven contractor pricing guides from the same publisher, so the trades are priced on a comparable basis, plus a published work-order analysis for the whole-property baseline. Each figure was verified for its own trade page on this site before being placed on the common unit here.
- Only explicitly stated figures
We include only per-square-foot numbers a source states directly, or, for roofing, that follow arithmetically from a size table the source publishes; the one derived figure is labelled as such. Where we do further arithmetic it is a labelled worked example with the inputs shown.
- The unit is stated every time
A square foot of lot, wall, roof, room and window are different things, and the page says which one each rate applies to. Comparing them is the point; conflating them is the error to avoid.
- Independent review
Written by one co-founder, reviewed by the other before publishing.
Scope caveat: contractor cost figures are guide-level national ranges, not an audited survey, and vary by market and job. This page is the cross-trade comparison only; each trade's full pricing, failure frequency and lifespan lives on its own reference, linked from each section, and is not repeated here.
Cost per square foot, by the numbers
All 34 figures, grouped by trade, each from a named public source and independently verified against the original.
Painting: the square foot of wall
According to Angi (angi.com), professional interior painting is priced at $2 to $6 per square foot, averaging $2.75 per square foot for walls and $4.70 including walls, trim and ceilings. By surface: walls $1 to $2, smooth ceilings $1 to $3, accent walls $2 to $6, hard-to-reach areas $6, and baseboard and trim $1 to $3 per linear foot. Paint is the trade where the per-square-foot rate is most often the actual quote, and the surface it applies to, the wall, is the largest continuous area a rental repairs on a cycle.
Statistic 1
Professional interior painting costs $2 to $6 per square foot.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 2
The national average is $2.75 per square foot for walls, or $4.70 per square foot including walls, trim and ceilings.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 3
By surface: walls $1 to $2 per square foot, smooth ceilings $1 to $3, accent walls $2 to $6, hard-to-reach areas $6.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 4
Baseboard and trim are priced at $1 to $3 per linear foot; painting a ceiling adds $1 to $6 per square foot.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 5
By home size at $2 to $6 per square foot: 1,000 square feet $2,000 to $6,000, 2,500 square feet $5,000 to $15,000.
Angi (2026)
What this means: the walls-only and all-in rates differ by 71 percent, and which one a quote is for is the first thing to establish. Full repaint pricing, interval and lifespan are in our repaint cost reference.
Roofing: the square foot of roof
According to Angi (angi.com), roofers quote by the square, 100 square feet, and its size table is linear: 100 square feet of repair costs $350 to $1,200, and 1,000 square feet $3,500 to $12,000, so the rate is $3.50 to $12 per square foot at every size in the table. Material moves the average per incident from $400 for flat single-ply to $1,800 for slate, and shape moves it from $300 for a gable to $6,000 or more for a butterfly.
Statistic 6
Repairing 100 square feet of roof costs $350 to $1,200; 200 square feet $700 to $2,400; 500 square feet $1,750 to $6,000; 1,000 square feet $3,500 to $12,000.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 7
That table works out to $3.50 to $12 per square foot at every size listed.
RapidEye Research, derived from Angi's size table (2026)
Statistic 8
A roofing square is 10 by 10 feet, or 100 square feet, and is the unit many roofers quote by.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 9
By material, average repair cost runs from $400 for flat, foam or single-ply to $1,800 for slate.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 10
Roof replacement costs $5,900 to $12,900 against $395 to $1,966 for a repair.
Angi (2026)
What this means: roofing and painting occupy the same $2 to $12 band, but a roof is repaired in patches and a wall repainted whole, so the per-job totals diverge sharply. Full roofing pricing, lifespan and the winter premium are in our roof repair reference.
Windows: the square foot of glass
According to Angi (angi.com), window repair runs $25 to $60 per square foot of window, the highest rate of any trade compiled here, because glass repair is priced at about $200 a pane and windows are small. A single pane is $75 to $200 and a window with four or more panes $1,250 to $3,250, and labor accounts for more than half of most bills.
Statistic 11
Window repair is priced at roughly $25 to $60 per square foot of window.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 12
Average glass repair runs about $200 per pane: 1 pane $75 to $200, 2 panes $200 to $400, 3 panes $600 to $1,100, 4 or more $1,250 to $3,250.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 13
Window repair costs $405 on average, in a normal range of $178 to $633.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 14
For glass and interior-part replacement, labor accounts for more than half of the total cost.
Angi (2026)
Worked example
A 3-by-4-foot double-hung window is 12 square feet. At Angi's $25 to $60 per square foot that is $300 to $720, which brackets its two-pane repair band of $200 to $400 and its double-hung type band of $180 to $600, per RapidEye Research. The three pricing methods agree within a factor of two, which is unusually tight for a contractor guide.
What this means: the per-square-foot rate looks alarming next to paint until you remember the unit is a pane, not a wall. Full window pricing, lifespan and the emergency multiplier are in our window repair reference.
Pests and pools: the square foot of room and water
According to Angi (angi.com), bed bug extermination costs $4 to $7.50 per square foot, or $200 to $400 per room, and the method sets the rate: heat $1 to $3 per square foot, chemical $2 to $5, steam $2 to $7.50, freezing $3 to $6, fumigation $4 to $8. Pool maintenance is priced by the year, at $1.50 to $2.50 per square foot annually or per 1,000 gallons, with a small pool under 10,000 gallons at $800 to $1,200 a year and a large one over 20,000 gallons at $1,800 to $3,000.
Statistic 15
Bed bug extermination costs $4 to $7.50 per square foot, or $200 to $400 per room.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 16
By method per square foot: heat $1 to $3, chemical $2 to $5, steam $2 to $7.50, freezing $3 to $6, fumigation $4 to $8.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 17
By bedroom count: $300 to $650 for one, $700 to $1,000 for two, $1,050 to $1,450 for three.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 18
Pool maintenance is priced at $1.50 to $2.50 per square foot annually, or per 1,000 gallons.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 19
A small pool under 10,000 gallons costs $800 to $1,200 a year to maintain; a large pool over 20,000 gallons $1,800 to $3,000.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 20
Pool maintenance costs $236 per visit on average; routine cleaning $80 to $150 and chemical balancing $15 to $35.
Angi (2026)
Worked example
A 15-by-30-foot pool is 450 square feet; at $1.50 to $2.50 a year that is $675 to $1,125, inside Angi's $800 to $1,200 small-pool band. The same 450 square feet as a bed bug heat treatment at $1 to $3 is $450 to $1,350, and as fumigation at $4 to $8 is $1,800 to $3,600, per RapidEye Research. Same area, three different things being priced.
What this means: pest and pool pricing sit in the same numeric band as paint but on opposite time bases, one per job and one per year, which is the trap in any per-square-foot comparison. Full pest and pool references: pest control and bed bugs, pool and hot tub maintenance.
Lawn and the whole-property baseline
At the bottom of the scale, according to Angi (angi.com), lawn mowing is priced at $0.01 to $0.06 per square foot, or $50 to $200 per acre, so a quarter-acre lot is $109 to $653 a mow. At the top of the time base, per Belong's analysis of more than 15,000 work orders as compiled in our maintenance cost research, whole-property short-term rental maintenance runs $0.90 to $1.30 per square foot per year. That baseline is what every other rate on this page should be read against.
Statistic 21
Lawn mowing is priced at $0.01 to $0.06 per square foot, or $50 to $200 per acre.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 22
Lawn mowing costs $50 to $205 per service; lawn care $300 a month on average.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 23
Short-term rental maintenance runs $0.90 to $1.30 per square foot per year on real work-order data.
Belong, 15,000-plus work-order analysis, as compiled in RapidEye Research (2026)
Statistic 24
On that baseline a 1,200-square-foot rental budgets $1,080 to $1,560 a year for all maintenance.
RapidEye Research, derived from the Belong baseline
Worked example
A 1,200-square-foot rental's whole annual maintenance budget at $0.90 to $1.30 per square foot is $1,080 to $1,560. One walls-only repaint of the same 1,200 square feet at $2.75 is $3,300, and all-in at $4.70 is $5,640. A single repaint is roughly two to five years of the entire maintenance budget, per RapidEye Research. That is why, on the repaint page, the interval matters more than the rate.
What this means: the per-year baseline is small because it is an average across every year, including the ones where nothing big breaks. The per-job rates above it are what a single bad year looks like. A portfolio budget built only on the baseline is right on average and wrong in the year it matters.
HVAC: the exception
HVAC is the one major trade that does not price by area, and its own guide says so. According to Angi (angi.com), there is no direct per-square-foot requirement for HVAC; the right unit size depends on climate zone, home age, insulation type and window count as well as area. Angi does map unit size to home size as a rule of thumb: a 1.5-ton air conditioner for 600 to 1,000 square feet costs about $2,000, a 2.5-ton for 1,000 to 1,600 square feet $2,900, a 3-ton for 1,600 to 2,000 square feet $3,000, and a 3.5-ton for 2,000 to 2,500 square feet $3,500, before labor. Furnaces run $2,000 to $4,500 for 800 to 1,200 square feet up to $4,000 to $8,000 for 2,500 square feet and above.
Statistic 25
There is no direct per-square-foot requirement for HVAC; climate zone, home age, insulation and windows affect the unit size as much as area.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 26
By home size, air conditioner cost before labor: 1.5 tons for 600 to 1,000 square feet about $2,000; 2.5 tons for 1,000 to 1,600 $2,900; 3 tons for 1,600 to 2,000 $3,000; 3.5 tons for 2,000 to 2,500 $3,500.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 27
By home size, furnace cost before labor: 40,000 to 60,000 BTU for 800 to 1,200 square feet $2,000 to $4,500; 75,000 to 100,000 BTU for 1,500 to 2,000 $2,500 to $5,900; 120,000 to 140,000 BTU for 2,500 and up $4,000 to $8,000.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 28
HVAC replacement costs $7,500 on average, in a range of $5,000 to $12,500 and up to $22,000.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 29
HVAC repair costs $350 on average, with a range of $100 to $3,000, and is priced by part and labor hour, not area.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 30
A bigger home does not always require a relatively larger HVAC system.
Angi (2026)
Worked example
If you divide anyway, Angi's home-size table gives a 1.5-ton unit at $2,000 for 600 to 1,000 square feet, $2.00 to $3.33 per square foot before labor, and a 3.5-ton unit at $3,500 for 2,000 to 2,500 square feet, $1.40 to $1.75, per RapidEye Research. The rate falls as the home grows, which is exactly the non-linearity Angi is warning about: HVAC is sized to load, not floor.
What this means: the reason HVAC is the exception is instructive for the whole page. Every other trade prices a surface; HVAC prices a load, and load is set by climate and envelope. It is the trade a per-square-foot budget gets most wrong, and, per our HVAC reference, the one whose failure a guest reports fastest.
Reading across the trades
Put on one unit, the seven trades span from a penny to sixty dollars, a factor of 6,000, and the spread is almost entirely explained by two things: what the square foot is of, and whether the rate is per job or per year. According to Angi (angi.com), labor is more than half of a window bill and can be as much as 50 percent of an HVAC repair, and every trade compiled here carries an emergency premium, from a flat $40 to $80 an hour for HVAC to double or triple time for windows and 1.5 to 3 times for plumbing.
Statistic 31
Across the seven trades, per-square-foot rates span from $0.01 for mowing to $60 for window repair, a factor of 6,000.
RapidEye Research, comparing Angi's 2026 guides
Statistic 32
Two of the seven rates, pool maintenance and whole-property maintenance, are per year; the other five are per job.
RapidEye Research, comparing Angi's 2026 guides and the Belong baseline
Statistic 33
Labor accounts for more than half of a window repair bill and as much as 50 percent of an HVAC repair.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 34
Every trade compiled carries an emergency premium: HVAC a flat $40 to $80 an hour, plumbing 1.5 to 3 times, windows double or triple, roofing $100 to $300 or more, bed bugs $200 to $500.
Angi (2026)
What this means: a per-square-foot budget is a good tool for the surfaces and a bad one for the systems, and it says nothing about timing, which is where the emergency premiums live. Our cross-trade emergency comparison is the other half of this page.
Cite this study
Academic or press use: copy a ready-made reference. RapidEye is the publisher.
Quick FAQ
What does interior painting cost per square foot?
Professional interior painting is priced at $2 to $6 per square foot, according to Angi, averaging $2.75 per square foot for walls alone and $4.70 including walls, trim and ceilings. By surface: walls $1 to $2, smooth ceilings $1 to $3, accent walls $2 to $6, hard-to-reach areas $6 per square foot, and baseboard and trim $1 to $3 per linear foot.
What does roof repair cost per square foot?
Roof repair works out to $3.50 to $12 per square foot at every size in Angi's table: 100 square feet is $350 to $1,200, 200 square feet $700 to $2,400, 500 square feet $1,750 to $6,000 and 1,000 square feet $3,500 to $12,000. Roofers quote by the square, which is 100 square feet.
What does window repair cost per square foot?
Window repair runs $25 to $60 per square foot of window, according to Angi, the highest per-square-foot rate of any trade compiled here, because glass repair is priced at about $200 a pane and windows are small. A single-pane repair is $75 to $200 and a four-or-more-pane window $1,250 to $3,250.
What does bed bug treatment cost per square foot?
Bed bug extermination costs $4 to $7.50 per square foot overall, or $200 to $400 per room, according to Angi. By method: heat $1 to $3 per square foot, chemical $2 to $5, steam $2 to $7.50, freezing $3 to $6 and fumigation $4 to $8.
What does rental maintenance cost per square foot per year?
Real work-order data puts short-term rental maintenance at $0.90 to $1.30 per square foot per year, per Belong's analysis of more than 15,000 work orders as compiled in our maintenance cost research. Against that baseline, a single interior repaint at $2 to $6 per square foot is roughly two to five years of the entire maintenance budget, which is why repaint frequency matters more than repaint price.
Is HVAC priced per square foot?
No. Angi states there is no direct per-square-foot requirement for HVAC; unit size is set by climate zone, home age, insulation and windows as well as area. Angi does map unit size to home size as a guide: a 1.5-ton AC for 600 to 1,000 square feet costs about $2,000, a 3-ton for 1,600 to 2,000 square feet about $3,000, and a 3.5-ton for 2,000 to 2,500 square feet about $3,500, before labor.
Data sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these named public sources, each checked against the original document before publishing.
AngiRoom and interior painting, roof repair, window repair, bed bug treatment, pool maintenance, lawn care and HVAC replacement cost guides (2026)angi.com
BelongRental property maintenance cost analysis from more than 15,000 work ordersbelonghome.com