A compiled reference of 25 verified statistics on what restoration work costs. It covers water, fire, and mold restoration prices from two cost guides, what homeowners insurance claims actually pay for each peril, the 24-to-48-hour mold clock, the disasters driving the work, and the industry that does it. Every figure names its source (the Fixr and Servpro cost guides, the Insurance Information Institute, FEMA's flood data, NFPA fire research, the EPA, NOAA's disaster records, IBISWorld, IICRC standards, and the big restoration companies' own pages) and was independently checked against the original before publishing.
Key statistics
6 highlights from this report
Key statistics
Key takeaways
Restoration pricing is a story about time. A wet floor is a small extraction job on day one, a $3,500 mold job by week two, and a five-figure structural repair after that. The disasters driving the work keep getting more frequent, so the fastest response is the cheapest one.
A typical water damage restoration job costs $3,000. The worst class runs up to $100,000.
The average fire and lightning insurance claim is $83,991.
About 1 in 60 insured homes files a water damage claim every year, averaging $13,954.
Mold can start growing within 24 to 48 hours of water damage.
The US now averages 23 billion-dollar disasters a year, up from 9.
Restoration is a $7.1 billion industry with more than 60,000 businesses.
How we built this report
Every figure was compiled in August 2026 from named public sources and verified against the original before publishing.
- Compiled from primary sources
Contractor cost guides, insurance industry claim data, federal flood and mold guidance, national fire research, and disaster records.
- Only explicitly stated figures
We include only numbers a named source states directly, and attribute each one inline where it appears.
- Disagreements shown, not averaged
Where sources give different numbers, we show both rather than blending them into a false single figure.
- Independent review
Written by one co-founder, reviewed by the other before publishing.
A note on reading these numbers. Cost-guide figures are national estimates, and Servpro's guide is a restoration vendor's own numbers, so read them as a large operator's estimate. Insurance claim figures are 2018-2022 averages and will be higher today. Company location and size figures are company-reported. Confirm any figure against the named source before relying on it.
Restoration costs, by the numbers
All 25 figures, grouped by theme. Each one names its source and was independently verified.
Water damage restoration
Two guides price the same work. Fixr (fixr.com) publishes contractor-cost estimates updated in January 2025. Servpro (servpro.com), the biggest name in the business, publishes its own cost guide. We show both; they land close together.
Statistic 1
Water damage restoration typically costs $3,000, with most jobs between $1,200 and $5,000.
Fixr cost guide (updated January 2025)
Statistic 2
Servpro's own guide puts the national average at $3,865, with most repairs between $450 and $16,000.
Servpro published cost guide
Statistic 3
The dirtier the water, the higher the price. Fixr prices extraction at $3.75 to $4.25 per square foot for clean water, $4.10 to $6.50 for gray water, and $7 to $7.50 for black water.
Fixr cost guide (updated January 2025)
Statistic 4
Servpro's per-square-foot version says the same thing: $3.50 for minor clean-water damage, $5.25 for moderate, $7.50 for severe black-water damage.
Servpro published cost guide
Statistic 5
By damage class, restoration runs $150 to $400 for Class 1, $500 to $1,000 for Class 2, $1,000 to $3,000 for Class 3, and $20,000 to $100,000 for Class 4. Restoration companies charge $70 to $200 per hour.
Fixr cost guide (updated January 2025)
What this means: The class ladder is the whole cost story. The same leak is a $150 to $400 job caught early and a $20,000-plus job caught late. Catching leaks early is a detection problem; our water leak detection statistics report covers that side.
Fire and smoke
Fire is rarer than water and far more expensive. Fixr (fixr.com) prices the restoration work; the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA (nfpa.org), counts the fires.
Statistic 6
Fire damage restoration averages $11,900, with most jobs between $3,000 and $40,000 and large jobs reaching $50,000.
Fixr cost guide (updated January 2025)
Statistic 7
Smoke cleanup runs $200 to $1,200 and soot removal $400 to $1,700. Odor treatments add $200 to $550 per floor for thermal fogging and $300 to $600 per floor for ozone.
Fixr cost guide (updated January 2025)
Statistic 8
US fire departments responded to an estimated 1.38 million fires in 2024. Those fires caused 3,920 civilian deaths, 11,780 injuries, and $19 billion in property damage.
NFPA, US fire loss research (2024 data, published 2025)
Statistic 9
A fire was reported every 23 seconds in 2024, and a home structure fire every 96 seconds. Structure fires were 34% of all fires but caused $15.3 billion, 83%, of the property damage.
NFPA, US fire loss research (2024 data, published 2025)
What this means: Fire restoration is four times the price of water restoration on the averages above, and the insurance data in group 4 says the same: a fire claim pays six times a water claim. Prevention and early smoke detection carry the weight here.
Mold and the 48-hour clock
Mold is the penalty for slow response. The EPA (epa.gov) sets the clock, and Fixr (fixr.com) prices what happens when you miss it.
Statistic 10
Water-damaged areas and items must be dried within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth.
US EPA, mold and moisture guidance
Statistic 11
Mold remediation averages $3,500, with a typical range of $1,500 to $9,000 and a rate of $10 to $30 per square foot.
Fixr cost guide (updated August 2025)
Statistic 12
By location: a bathroom runs $500 to $1,500, a basement $1,500 to $4,000, an attic $1,500 to $9,000, and a whole home $10,000 to $30,000.
Fixr cost guide (updated August 2025)
Statistic 13
The EPA says a moldy patch under about 10 square feet is usually a job you can handle yourself. Servpro puts the added cost at $1,200 to $3,800 when mold takes hold after water damage.
US EPA guidance; Servpro published cost guide
What this means: The mold clock is shorter than most vacancy gaps. A turnover crew that photographs every unit every few days operates inside the EPA's window; an empty unit between tenants does not. Rental-specific mold costs are in our mold remediation cost statistics report.
What insurance claims actually pay
The Insurance Information Institute, Triple-I (iii.org), publishes claim frequency and severity by peril for 2018 through 2022. FEMA's FloodSmart program (floodsmart.gov) covers the flood side, which standard homeowners policies do not.
Statistic 14
Water damage and freezing claims averaged $13,954 and hit 1.61 of every 100 insured homes per year. That is about 1 in 60 homes, every year.
Insurance Information Institute, homeowners claims data (2018-2022)
Statistic 15
Fire and lightning claims averaged $83,991 but hit only 0.24 of every 100 insured homes. Fire is six times the severity of water at a fraction of the frequency.
Insurance Information Institute, homeowners claims data (2018-2022)
Statistic 16
Wind and hail is the most frequent peril at 2.82 claims per 100 insured homes, averaging $13,511. Theft claims averaged $5,024.
Insurance Information Institute, homeowners claims data (2018-2022)
Statistic 17
5.5% of insured homes experienced a claim in 2022, down from 6.5% in 2020.
Insurance Information Institute, homeowners claims data
Statistic 18
FEMA's FloodSmart program has stated that just one inch of water in a home can cost more than $25,000 in damage. Flood damage is not covered by standard homeowners insurance.
FEMA, FloodSmart program materials
Statistic 19
FEMA's flood data put 2024 flood damage at $8,801,648,062, with $3,895,813,964 of it in communities not considered high-risk. There were 587 flooding disasters in 2024, not counting named hurricanes and tropical storms.
FEMA, FloodSmart cost-of-flooding data (2024)
What this means: The portfolio math is simple. At 1.61 water claims per 100 homes, an operator with 200 units should expect about three water damage claims a year, every year. And 44% of 2024's flood damage happened outside high-risk zones, so "we are not in a flood zone" is not a plan.
The disasters behind the demand
NOAA (climate.gov) tracked billion-dollar weather and climate disasters for 45 years, through 2024. The trend explains why restoration capacity gets scarce after big events.
Statistic 20
2024 brought 27 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters costing about $182.7 billion, the fourth-costliest year on record, with at least 568 deaths.
NOAA, billion-dollar disasters analysis (2024)
Statistic 21
Since 1980 the US has had 403 billion-dollar disasters costing more than $2.915 trillion. The long-term average is 9 events a year; the 2020-2024 average is 23.
NOAA, billion-dollar disasters analysis (through 2024)
What this means: Disaster frequency has more than doubled against the long-term average. After a regional event, every restoration crew is booked at once, which is exactly when prevention and early detection pay the most.
The industry that does the work
IBISWorld (ibisworld.com) sizes the industry, the IICRC (iicrc.org) writes its standards, and the biggest firms report their own scale. Company figures here are company-stated.
Statistic 22
US damage restoration services are roughly a $7.1 billion industry with 60,020 businesses, growing at a 4.5% annual rate over the five years to 2025.
IBISWorld, damage restoration industry research
Statistic 23
Servpro reports more than 2,000 locations nationwide and dates to 1967. Paul Davis reports more than 300 franchises in the US and Canada and dates to 1966.
Servpro and Paul Davis company pages (company-reported)
Statistic 24
BELFOR calls itself the world's largest disaster restoration company, with more than 14,000 employees and operations described at roughly $3 billion in scale.
BELFOR company pages (company-reported)
Statistic 25
The work is standardized: ANSI/IICRC S500 for water damage restoration is in its Fifth Edition (2021), and ANSI/IICRC S520 for mold remediation is in its Fourth Edition (2024).
IICRC, S500 and S520 standards pages
What this means: Sixty thousand firms averaging about $118,000 in revenue each, plus a handful of giants. Capacity is thin and local, which is one more reason the cheap fix is the one that happens before the restoration truck is needed.
Cite this study
Academic or press use: copy a ready-made reference. RapidEye is the publisher.
Quick FAQ
How much does water damage restoration cost?
Two guides land close together: Fixr says $3,000 typical with most jobs between $1,200 and $5,000, and Servpro's own guide says $3,865 on average with most repairs between $450 and $16,000. Per square foot, Servpro prices $3.50 for minor clean-water damage up to $7.50 for severe black-water damage.
How much does fire damage restoration cost?
Fire restoration averages $11,900, with most jobs between $3,000 and $40,000, per Fixr's cost guide. The insurance data is steeper: the average fire and lightning homeowners claim paid $83,991 between 2018 and 2022, per the Insurance Information Institute.
How much does mold remediation cost?
Mold remediation averages $3,500, with a typical range of $1,500 to $9,000 and a rate of $10 to $30 per square foot, per Fixr. The way to avoid the bill is speed: the EPA says water-damaged areas must be dried within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth.
How common are water damage claims?
Water damage and freezing claims hit 1.61 of every 100 insured homes per year, about 1 in 60, with an average payout of $13,954, per the Insurance Information Institute's 2018-2022 data. Only wind and hail claims are more frequent, at 2.82 per 100.
Data sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these named sources, each checked against the original before publishing.
FixrWater, fire, and mold restoration cost guides (2025)fixr.com
ServproPublished restoration cost guide and company pagesservpro.com
Insurance Information InstituteHomeowners insurance claims facts (2018-2022)iii.org
FEMAFloodSmart flood cost materials and 2024 flood datafloodsmart.gov
NFPAUS fire loss research (2024 data, published 2025)nfpa.org
US EPAMold and moisture guidanceepa.gov
NOAABillion-dollar weather and climate disasters analysis (through 2024)climate.gov
IBISWorldDamage restoration services industry researchibisworld.com
IICRCS500 and S520 restoration standards pagesiicrc.org
BELFORCompany information (company-reported)belfor.com
Paul Davis RestorationCompany information (company-reported)pauldavis.com