How FixTally builds its estimates

The data that feeds every calculator

1. National base costs, with sources on every page

Each of the 82calculators starts from current published national pricing for its scope — contractor-cost guides such as Angi, HomeGuide, Fixr, and HomeAdvisor’s True Cost Guide, plus manufacturer and industry data where a trade has a better primary source. A tool must cite at least two sources, and every tool page lists them with the month we accessed them. The rates live as constants in each tool’s code, so the interactive result, the itemized breakdown, and the comparison tables on the page are all computed from the same numbers — the page tables cannot drift from the widget.

2. Two regional multipliers: labor and materials

A national number is not your number, so every tool adjusts costs when you pick a state. Each of the 50 states plus DC carries two multipliers around a national average of 1.0 — one scaling trade labor, one scaling materials — and every itemized line is scaled by the component it comes from. They currently run from 0.80 (Mississippi labor) to 1.45 (Hawaii labor and materials).

The labor side blends two federal wage series: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for construction laborers (May 2023: national mean $23.69/hr, led by Massachusetts at $32.59, New Jersey, Illinois, Hawaii, and New York), and NAHB’s analysis of BLS state average hourly earnings in construction (national $34.01/hr; Mississippi lowest at $25.36, but also among the fastest-growing 2021–2025 — which is why low-wage states are tempered up and floored at 0.80 rather than taken at their raw 2022 ratios). The materials side follows the Gordian/RSMeans City Cost Index method (national average = 100; New York City’s composite runs 129.1), softened with C2ER cost-of-living data because that index is dominated by housing, which swings harder than construction materials. These are our synthesis of public data — we do not resell a proprietary index, and the full table is in src/lib/calculators/regional.ts.

Known limits of this step: adjustments are state-level, not zip-level. A rural town and its state’s biggest metro can sit far apart, and the multipliers will not see it.

3. The range rule: low, typical, high

Every tool computes one typicalcost — your inputs priced at national rates, then scaled by your state’s labor and materials multipliers. The range around it is fixed: low = 80% of typical (competitive bids, favorable access, standard materials) and high = 135% of typical (difficult access, premium selections, tight scheduling). A few tools justify a wider spread and say so in their assumptions — kitchen and whole-home remodels aggregate per-line uncertainty into roughly 75%–160% because scope decisions move those budgets more than any single input. Whatever the spread, the itemized lines must sum back to the totals within 1%, and a gate script (scripts/verify-calculators.ts) runs every calculator across sample states to enforce it before anything ships.

How to read an estimate

• Budget against “typical.”It is the modeled cost for your inputs in your state. The low end is real but requires competitive bidding; treat “high” as your contingency ceiling if access is hard or selections run premium.
• Read the itemized breakdown. Results split into materials, labor, permits, disposal, and other lines. Two bids that differ by thousands often differ in one line — usually demo, disposal, or who is carrying the permit.
• Check the assumptions list. Each result states what was held constant and where a tool uses a non-default spread. If your project violates an assumption, the range undercounts.
• The page tables and the widget share one model. Comparison tables render the tool’s own compute at default inputs, so opening the tool and changing inputs reprices from the same base — nothing is hand-typed.
• Decision and takeoff tools answer differently. Repair-or-replace and payback calculators return savings and payback ranges, not construction bids; the five takeoff tools return quantities (yards of concrete, squares of roofing, gallons of paint) with costs optional.

What our estimates exclude

Each tool’s methodology section names its own exclusions, and they are specific — the interior paint tool, for example, excludes ceilings, furniture handling beyond normal prep, specialty primers, and pre-1978 lead-safe (RRP) abatement; the ductwork tool excludes the air handler and asbestos abatement on pre-1980 duct board. Across the site, four things are broadly out of scope:

• Damage found mid-job.Rot behind siding, mold inside a wall, or a failed flange under a toilet is priced by the trade’s own repair tools, not bundled into an installation estimate.
• Local fee variation. Where a permit line exists it reflects a typical fee, but municipal fee schedules and impact fees vary too much to model state-by-state.
• Soft costs we cannot see. Architect or designer fees where not modeled, financing costs, temporary housing, and furniture storage.
• Contractor-specific overhead.Warranty terms, crew size, and markup strategy differ shop to shop; the range spans typical market behavior, not any one company’s sheet.

How often the numbers change

Cost constants are reviewed quarterly, and every page carries the month of its last review in its “Last reviewed” line — sourced from the tool’s data, not typed by hand, so a stale date is a bug we can see. Between reviews, correction reports through the contact form are treated as high priority: a range that is wrong for a real market gets fixed ahead of schedule, and systematic fixes sweep the affected category. Our editorial standards, corrections policy, and what FixTally is (and is not) are documented on the about page.

Limitations — and what an estimate is not

These are planning ranges, not quotes. Concretely: our anchors are national publications that can lag a fast-moving local market; our regional adjustment stops at the state line; we have no live feed of actual bids; and any model compresses unusual projects toward its middle. A licensed contractor who has seen your project can price it better than we ever will from inputs. Use FixTally to know whether a bid is in the reasonable band and which line is driving the difference — then get itemized written quotes from at least two licensed contractors before signing anything. An estimate here is not a bid, an appraisal, or an insurance valuation.

When you are ready for real numbers, request quotes from contractors in your area.

Regional-adjustment sources

Per-tool base costs are cited on each calculator page; these anchor the state multipliers every tool shares.

1. BLS OEWS — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics: Construction Laborers (47-2061), state wage table — accessed 2026-09
2. NAHB Eye on Housing — States with Highest and Fastest Rising Construction Wages (BLS CES state average hourly earnings) — accessed 2026-09
3. Gordian (RSMeans) — City Cost Index: methodology explainer (national average = 100; NYC composite 129.1) — accessed 2026-09
4. MERIC — Cost of Living Data Series (C2ER survey, US = 100) — accessed 2026-09

Browse the calculators by category

All 82 tools are free, need no sign-up, and reprice the moment you change an input.

Repair-or-replace and payback calculators (10) and material takeoff tools (5) have no separate hub — they live on the main calculators page.