Remodeling Break-Even Calculator
Know the exact revenue and the number of jobs your remodeling business needs each month just to cover costs. Put in your overhead and average job, and see your break-even point by day, week, and month.
Built for remodeling owners who'd rather know than guess. Your numbers stay in your browser.
Fixed costs are what you pay whether or not a job books — rent, insurance, vehicles, software, office and owner wages, ad retainers.
| Jobs to break even / month | 4 |
| Jobs / week | 1 |
| Jobs / working day | 1 |
Everything above break-even is profit. Drop your margin or average job and watch how many more jobs you need just to stand still.
What you get
Three reasons this earns its place on your desk
See your break-even number
Exactly how much revenue and how many jobs you need each month before your remodeling business makes a dollar of profit.
Know the activity it takes
Break-even turns into jobs per day and per week, so the target stops being abstract and starts being a schedule.
See how pricing changes it
Nudge your average job or margin and watch the break-even point move. This one surprises most owners.
How it works
The math behind the number
Break-even revenue is your fixed monthly costs divided by your gross margin. Divide that by your average job value and you get the number of jobs you need before the business makes a dollar.
The defaults
Remodeling benchmarks (2026)
The calculator starts from the 2026 figures sourced below, so the first number you see is realistic, then you replace them with your own.
| Benchmark | Typical value |
|---|---|
| Average job value | $20,000 |
| Gross margin | 29.9% |
| Net profit margin | 6.3% |
| Median field-tech wage | $31.55/hr |
| Payroll burden | 30% |
| Billable utilization | 65% |
| Billed labour rate | $45/hr |
| Close rate | 35% |
| Marketing % of revenue | 8% |
Sources
- NAHB — Home Remodeling Profit Margin Jumps (Remodelers' Cost of Doing Business, 2026 edition; 2024 data: 6.3% net / 29.9% gross)
- NAHB — Remodelers' Cost of Doing Business, 2026 Edition (BuilderBooks product / study source)
- BLS — Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2025 (OEWS news release; Carpenters 47-2031 and Construction Laborers 47-2061 wages)
- BLS OEWS May 2025 release summary — Carpenters median $31.55/hr, Construction Laborers median $25.02/hr
- CountBricks — Residential Construction Labor Rates, U.S. (Feb 2026): carpenter/handyman billed labor rates
- Angi — How Much Do General Contractors Charge Per Hour (2026): $50-150/hr billed labor
- SmartBarrel — Labor Burden in Construction (20-35% typical; remodels 35-45%)
- Projul — What Your Workers Really Cost Per Hour (construction labor burden)
- Hook Agency — What's a Good Closing Rate for Contractors (30-40% best-in-class; <15% poor; referrals 50%+)
- InnerSpark Creative — 2025 Construction & Remodeling Marketing Benchmarks (marketing % of revenue)
- ServiceTitan — Labor Rate Calculator / Billable Hours guide (trade utilization and billable-rate methodology)
- Harvard JCHS — As the Remodeling Industry Has Expanded, So Has Contractor Specialization and Scale (project size context)
Benchmarks pending final verification. The default values are directional until source verification clears.
Get the download
Email me the editable worksheet
Get the spreadsheet with your break-even math built in, so you can update it as your costs change.
FAQ
Common questions
- How do you calculate break-even for a remodeling business?
- Divide your fixed monthly costs by the gross profit on an average job (average job value × gross margin). That gives the number of jobs you need to cover costs; multiply by average job value for the revenue.
- What counts as a fixed cost?
- Rent, insurance, vehicle payments, software, owner and office wages, advertising retainers — anything you pay whether or not a job books. Materials and job labour are variable, captured by your margin.
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