A reference of 37 statistics on replacing the water supply pipes inside US homes: how many owners added or replaced interior water pipes, how that changes with the age of the home, what the job cost when a professional did it and when the household did, how it was paid for, how many homes were built in the galvanized and polybutylene pipe eras, and the whole-house repipe prices published by Angi (angi.com) and two repipe contractors. The survey figures are our own weighted analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau's 2023 American Housing Survey (census.gov), and our totals match the ones the Census Bureau publishes.
Key statistics
6 highlights from this report
Key statistics
Key takeaways
About 1 in 25 owner households added or replaced interior water pipes in two years, and the work is concentrated in homes built before 1980, which hold 64.0% of the jobs but 48.6% of owner homes. What owners report paying ($1,800 median with a professional) sits far below published whole-house repipe prices ($7,500 on average, according to Angi) largely because the survey counts partial jobs and pipe runs added during remodels, not only whole-house repipes; survey costs are also in 2021 to 2023 dollars.
About 3.6 million US owner homes (4.1%) added or replaced interior water pipes in two years.
Homes built before 1980 added or replaced pipes about 3 times as often as homes built since 2000 (5.4% vs 1.8%).
The median pro pipe job cost $1,800; 1 in 10 cost $10,000 or more.
36% of pipe jobs were do-it-yourself, at a median cost of $300.
5.1% of pipe jobs were paid mainly by insurance; 79.1% from cash or savings.
34.3 million US homes were built before 1960, the galvanized pipe era.
How we built this report
Every survey figure on this page is a computation we ran in November 2026 against the raw federal survey files; the published prices were each checked against the publisher's own page the same month.
- Downloaded the public use microdata
We pulled the national public use file of the 2023 American Housing Survey, which the U.S. Census Bureau runs for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Owners are asked about major improvement jobs in the past two years, one of which is whether they added or replaced interior water pipes. 1,170 sampled homes reported that job.
- Applied the survey weights
Every figure is weighted with the household weight, so the estimates describe all 86.9 million owner-occupied US homes (or all 133.2 million occupied homes, where a figure says so) rather than the sample.
- Validated against published totals
Our results match the Census Bureau's own published 2023 figures: 86.9 million owner-occupied homes, 3.6 million interior water pipe jobs, and a median cost of $1,000 and mean of $2,911 across all of those jobs.
- Margins of error from replicate weights
Each figure's 90% margin of error comes from the survey's 160 replicate weights, the method the Census Bureau recommends. Our margin on the job count, about 229,000, matches the one the Bureau publishes. Breakdowns too thin to trust were dropped or are marked.
- Second review
Written by one co-founder, reviewed by the other before publishing.
What the survey counts: owners were asked whether they "added or replaced" interior water pipes as a major job in the past two years, and told not to count routine work such as fixing a broken water pipe. A job can be a whole-house repipe, a partial repipe, or new pipe runs added during a kitchen or bathroom remodel (42.0% of these homes also remodeled or added a kitchen or bathroom), so the $1,800 median is not the price of a whole-house repipe. Costs are what owners reported for the whole job, including any amount insurance covered and excluding their own time. Renters were not asked, and vacant and seasonal homes, including most short-term rentals, are not in these figures. Costs are in the dollars of the year the work was paid for, 2021 to 2023. The age pattern is a correlation, not proof that age alone drives it. Year built is recorded by decade before 2010, and a home built in a pipe era does not necessarily still have that pipe: many have been repiped. Published price ranges are cost-guide and contractor figures, not survey data.
Interior water pipe replacement, by the numbers
All 37 figures, grouped by question. Survey figures are our weighted analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey; prices and pipe-era dates are quoted from their publishers and checked against the originals.
How many homes replace their water pipes
According to the U.S. Census Bureau (census.gov), owners reported about 3.6 million interior water pipe jobs in the two years before their 2023 interview. Each home that reported one reported only one, so that is also 3.6 million homes, or 4.1% of 86.9 million owner-occupied homes. Many of them were doing other work at the same time, which is why this count is wider than whole-house repipes.
Statistic 1
About 3.6 million US owner-occupied homes, 4.1%, added or replaced interior water pipes in two years: about 1 in 25.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 2
Every region falls between 3.9% (Midwest) and 4.6% (Northeast), within each other's margins of error.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 3
55.6% of these homes also added or replaced plumbing fixtures, such as sinks or bathtubs, in the same two years.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 4
42.0% also remodeled or added a kitchen or bathroom (34.3% remodeled a bathroom, 21.2% a kitchen).
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 5
23.4% also added or replaced a water heater.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 6
30.6%, about 1.1 million homes, did no other plumbing fixture, water heater, kitchen or bathroom job in the same two years.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
What this means: pipe work often rides along with a remodel, so the 3.6 million is a ceiling on whole-house repipes in owner-occupied homes, not a count of them. The 1.1 million homes with no fixture, water heater, kitchen or bathroom job are a better guide to stand-alone pipe replacement than the full 3.6 million. For how often pipes leak in the first place, see our older home problems statistics.
Pipe replacement by the age of the home
The share of owner homes that added or replaced interior water pipes was highest for homes built before 1940, at 6.2%, stayed between 4.9% and 5.4% for homes built from 1940 to 1979, then fell with each newer group, to 1.1% for homes built since 2010.
Owner homes that added or replaced interior water pipes in two years, by year built
Share of owner-occupied US homes, 2023 survey.
90% margins of error: plus or minus 0.9, 0.7, 0.6, 0.4, 0.4 and 0.4 points, top to bottom. Source: RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey.
Statistic 7
Homes built before 1980 added or replaced pipes about 3 times as often as homes built since 2000: 5.4% vs 1.8%.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 8
6.2% of homes built before 1940 vs 1.1% of homes built since 2010.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 9
Homes built before 1980 are 48.6% of owner homes but accounted for 64.0% of interior water pipe jobs.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 10
About 1.2 million of the jobs, 32.9%, were in homes built before 1960.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 11
Homes built from 1980 to 1999 added or replaced pipes at 4.0%, about twice the 1.8% rate of homes built since 2000.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
| Year built | Share | 90% margin | Homes | Sample homes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1920 | 5.9% | ±1.1 | 271,000 | 91 |
| 1920s | 6.0% | ±1.5 | 185,000 | 64 |
| 1930s | 7.2% | ±2.2 | 136,000 | 40 |
| 1940s | 5.0% | ±1.2 | 176,000 | 60 |
| 1950s | 4.8% | ±0.9 | 411,000 | 133 |
| 1960s | 5.5% | ±0.9 | 473,000 | 146 |
| 1970s | 5.4% | ±0.7 | 644,000 | 198 |
| 1980s | 4.3% | ±0.6 | 483,000 | 172 |
| 1990s | 3.6% | ±0.7 | 414,000 | 141 |
| 2000s | 2.3% | ±0.4 | 289,000 | 94 |
| 2010 or later | 1.1% | ±0.4 | 105,000 | 31 |
Homes are owner-occupied homes that reported the job, rounded to the nearest thousand. Decades before 1980 overlap within their margins, so we do not rank them against each other.
What this means: the dividing line is around 1980, not 1960. Homes from the 1960s and 1970s added or replaced pipes about as often as homes from the 1920s, and the drop comes in homes built since 1980, steepest since 2000. Pipe leaks follow a related but later break: they run about the same in every group built before 2000 and fall only after, per our older home problems statistics.
What owners report paying
Owners were asked what the entire interior water pipe job cost, including any amount covered by insurance and not counting their own time. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median across all jobs with a cost was $1,000 and the mean $2,911. Splitting by who did the work, the median was $1,800 when a professional did most of it and $300 when someone in the household did.
Statistic 12
When a professional did the work, the median reported cost was $1,800 (90% margin plus or minus $344).
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 13
The middle half of professional jobs cost $600 to $4,000.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 14
22.5% of professional jobs cost $5,000 or more and 10.3%, about 223,000 jobs, cost $10,000 or more.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 15
The mean professional job cost $4,077, pulled up by the larger jobs.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 16
Do-it-yourself pipe jobs had a median reported cost of $300 (mean $856).
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 17
Across all interior water pipe jobs, the median cost was $1,000 and the mean $2,911.
U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 18
Owners spent about $9.9 billion in total on interior water pipe jobs over the two years.
U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 19
Older homes did not report paying more: the professional median was $1,800 for homes built before 1960, $1,700 for 1960 to 1979 and $2,000 for 1980 to 1999, differences within the margins of error.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
What professional pipe jobs cost
Share of professional interior water pipe jobs with a reported cost, by cost band.
743 sampled professional jobs with a cost above $0. 90% margins of error: plus or minus 2.2 to 3.3 points. Source: RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey.
What this means: most reported pipe jobs are smaller than a whole-house repipe. The $1,800 professional median sits at the bottom of the partial-repipe range one contractor publishes (below), while the tenth of professional jobs at $10,000 or more is priced like a whole-house repipe. The survey does not say which jobs were whole-house, so treat it as the spread of real pipe bills, not a repipe quote.
Who does the work and how it gets paid for
Owners were asked whether someone in the household did most of the work and what the main source of funding was. If a job used more than one source, the survey records the one that covered most of the cost. Cash dominates: 79.1% of pipe jobs were paid mainly from cash or savings, and 5.1% mainly by a homeowner's insurance settlement.
Statistic 20
64.0% of interior water pipe jobs were done mostly by a professional and 36.0% mostly by someone in the household, the same split as home improvement jobs overall (35.9% do-it-yourself).
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 21
79.1% of pipe jobs were paid for mainly from cash, savings or a bank account.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 22
5.1% of pipe jobs, about 181,000, were paid for mainly by a homeowner's insurance settlement; among professional jobs the share was 7.7%.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 23
The 5.1% for all pipe jobs is not measurably different from home improvement jobs overall, where 3.9% were paid mainly by insurance; the 7.7% for professional pipe jobs is higher.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 24
11.1% of pipe jobs were paid for mainly with borrowed money: a credit card or store card, cash from refinancing, a home equity loan or contractor-arranged financing.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
| Main source | All pipe jobs | 90% margin | Pro jobs | All home improvement jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash, savings or bank account | 79.1% | ±2.5 | 73.4% | 77.1% |
| Homeowner's insurance settlement | 5.1% | ±1.4 | 7.7% | 3.9% |
| Credit card or store card | 4.8% | ±1.3 | 4.5% | 6.4% |
| Cash from refinancing the home | 2.9% | ±0.9 | 4.1% | 2.3% |
| Home equity loan | 2.4% | ±0.9 | 2.7% | 3.1% |
| Contractor-arranged financing* | 1.0% | ±0.6 | 1.4% | 1.9% |
| Something else | 4.6% | ±1.3 | 6.2% | 5.2% |
Shares of jobs with a funding source reported (1,146 of 1,170 sampled pipe jobs). *Fewer than 15 sampled jobs; treat as approximate. We did not publish a median cost for insurance-funded jobs: with 52 sampled jobs, its margin of error was too wide.
What this means: new pipes are mostly a cash purchase, and insurance funds pipe jobs about as often as it funds home improvement in general, though more often when a professional did the work. The survey records who paid, not what a policy covers. For water losses as insurance claims, see our water leak and insurance statistics and frozen and burst pipe statistics.
Homes built in the galvanized and polybutylene eras
KC Pipe Works lists polybutylene and galvanized steel among the reasons to consider a repipe. According to EBMUD (ebmud.com), the East Bay public water utility, galvanized pipes "were commonly used before the 1960s". According to InterNACHI (nachi.org), the home inspectors' association, polybutylene was manufactured between 1978 and mid-1995 and installed in up to 10 million US homes. The survey cannot see pipe material, but it can count homes built in those years. Year built is recorded by decade before 2010, so the closest band to the polybutylene years is 1980 to 1999.
Statistic 25
Galvanized pipes were commonly used for drinking water before the 1960s.
EBMUD
Statistic 26
34.3 million occupied US homes, 25.8%, were built before 1960; 21.7 million of them are owner-occupied.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 27
Polybutylene pipe was made from 1978 to mid-1995 and installed in up to 10 million US homes.
InterNACHI
Statistic 28
33.7 million occupied US homes, 25.3%, were built from 1980 to 1999, and another 18.9 million in the 1970s.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
Statistic 29
22.7 million owner-occupied homes were built from 1980 to 1999.
RapidEye Research analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey
What this means: these are counts of homes built in those years, not counts of homes with galvanized or polybutylene pipe. Many have been repiped, and not every home of the era used those materials. They size the stock where those pipes could still be found.
Published whole-house repipe prices
According to Angi (angi.com), the 2026 national average cost to repipe a house is $7,500, and most homeowners spend $1,500 to $15,000. Two repipe contractors publish their own ranges: Repipe Specialists (repipe.com), which says it has completed more than 80,000 repipes since 1991, and KC Pipe Works (kcpipeworks.com), a Kansas City plumber that prices by home size. These are quotes and cost-guide figures, not survey data, and local labor rates move them.
Statistic 30
The national average cost to repipe a house is $7,500; most homeowners spend $1,500 to $15,000, and the full range runs $1,250 to $22,000.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 31
Repiping a single fixture averages about $1,200: $350 to $800 for a sink, $600 to $1,600 for a shower and $700 to $1,800 for a water heater.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 32
PEX costs $0.40 to $2 per linear foot, CPVC $0.50 to $1 and copper $2 to $8.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 33
Labor is about 70% of a professional repipe bill.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 34
Repiping a mobile home costs $1,500 to $4,000.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 35
Most residential repipes run from $4,500 for a two-bedroom, one-bath home to $15,000 for larger or more complex jobs.
Repipe Specialists
Statistic 36
A whole-house PEX repipe runs $5,800 to $9,500 for a 1,500-square-foot, two-bath home and $9,500 to $14,500 for 2,500 square feet and three baths.
KC Pipe Works
Statistic 37
Copper adds 30% to 60% over PEX for a whole-house repipe; a partial repipe of one bath stack runs $1,800 to $3,400.
KC Pipe Works
| Job | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Whole house, national average | $7,500 | Angi |
| Whole house, typical range | $1,500 to $15,000 | Angi |
| Two-bedroom, one-bath home | From $4,500 | Repipe Specialists |
| Larger or more complex homes | Up to $15,000 | Repipe Specialists |
| 1,500 sq ft, 2 baths, PEX | $5,800 to $9,500 | KC Pipe Works |
| 2,500 sq ft, 3 baths, PEX | $9,500 to $14,500 | KC Pipe Works |
| Whole house in copper | 30% to 60% more than PEX | KC Pipe Works |
| Partial repipe, one bath stack | $1,800 to $3,400 | KC Pipe Works |
| Per fixture, average | About $1,200 | Angi |
| Mobile home | $1,500 to $4,000 | Angi |
| Any interior pipe job, hired out (survey median) | $1,800 | RapidEye analysis of AHS 2023 |
Contractor prices are for their own service areas and scope; check what a quote includes (wall repair, permits, the water service line from the street).
What this means: a whole-house repipe lands in the mid four figures to low five figures depending on size, fixture count and pipe material; copper adds 30% to 60% over PEX for the same house, while labor, about 70% of the bill, dominates either way. Pipe work outside the house is a different job: see our sewer line and drain repair cost statistics for the waste line, and our rental plumbing repair cost statistics for everyday repairs and plumber rates.
Cite this study
Academic or press use: copy a ready-made reference. RapidEye is the publisher.
Quick FAQ
How much does it cost to repipe a house?
Angi puts the 2026 national average at $7,500, with most homeowners spending $1,500 to $15,000. Repipe Specialists, a repiping contractor, says most of its residential repipes run from $4,500 for a two-bedroom, one-bath home to $15,000 for larger or more complex jobs, and KC Pipe Works lists $5,800 to $9,500 for a 1,500-square-foot, two-bath house in PEX. In the 2023 American Housing Survey, owners who hired a professional for any interior water pipe job, whole-house or partial, reported a median cost of $1,800.
How many homes replace their water pipes?
About 3.6 million US owner-occupied homes, 4.1% of 86.9 million, added or replaced interior water pipes as a major job in the two years before their 2023 American Housing Survey interview. That is about 1 in 25 owner households. The count includes whole-house repipes, partial repipes and new pipe runs added during remodels.
Which homes replace their water pipes most often?
Older ones. 5.4% of owner homes built before 1980 added or replaced interior water pipes in two years, against 1.8% of homes built since 2000, about 3 times the rate. Homes built before 1980 are 48.6% of owner homes but accounted for 64.0% of the pipe jobs in the 2023 American Housing Survey.
Is PEX cheaper than copper for a repipe?
Yes. Angi puts PEX at $0.40 to $2 per linear foot and copper at $2 to $8, and says labor is about 70% of a repipe bill, so the material gap is only part of the price. KC Pipe Works, a Kansas City plumber, prices a whole-house copper repipe 30% to 60% above the same job in PEX.
How often does homeowners insurance pay for new water pipes?
Rarely. In the 2023 American Housing Survey, 5.1% of interior water pipe jobs, about 181,000 homes, were paid for mainly by a homeowner's insurance settlement, and 7.7% of jobs done by a professional. 79.1% were paid mainly from cash or savings. The survey records how jobs were funded, not what policies cover.
How many US homes were built in the galvanized and polybutylene pipe eras?
34.3 million occupied US homes, 25.8%, were built before 1960, when galvanized pipes were commonly used. Polybutylene was made from 1978 to mid-1995 and installed in up to 10 million homes, according to InterNACHI; the survey records year built by decade before 2010, and 33.7 million occupied homes were built from 1980 to 1999. These count homes built in those years, not homes that still have those pipes, since many have been repiped.
Data sources
Every survey figure is our own computation from the Census Bureau's public files; prices and pipe-era dates are quoted from their publishers and checked against the originals.
U.S. Census Bureau2023 housing survey public use microdata and published home improvement totalscensus.gov
AngiWhole-house repipe cost guideangi.com
Repipe SpecialistsGalvanized pipe replacement pricingrepipe.com
KC Pipe WorksRepipe and rough-in price listkcpipeworks.com
InterNACHIPolybutylene pipe historynachi.org
EBMUDGalvanized iron pipe guidance for customersebmud.com