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As the nation’s housing stock ages and new homes remain out of reach for many buyers, remodeling is capturing a growing share of the residential construction market.

Home renovation has become a more practical and cost-effective alternative to improve housing conditions, driving demand on the consumer side. On the supply side, more home builders are taking remodeling projects to grow their business.

��㴫ý’s recent analysis of 25 years of Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data suggests that the rise of remodelers is a sustained structural shift rather than a temporary post-pandemic surge.

Over the past 25 years, the number of remodeling companies has nearly doubled, from fewer than 69,000 in 2000 to more than 128,000 in the first quarter of 2025. Remodelers now represent over half (56%) of all residential building construction companies. By contrast, during the mid-2000s housing boom, remodelers’ share consistently hovered around 38-39%, when the market was dominated by home builders.

Although the remodeling sector was not immune to the 2008 housing crash, losses were modest compared to losses in home building. Between 2007 and 2012, the number of remodeling establishments fell by 8%, while roughly one-third of home builders went out of business. As a result, the remodeler’s share of the home construction sector rose sharply after the crash, reaching 46% in 2011, and has continued to climb steadily ever since.

During the post-pandemic housing boom, driven by low mortgage rates, the rise of remote work, and a renewed demand for larger living spaces, both remodelers and home builders experienced solid growth. However, remodelers expanded their ranks at a faster pace, with their share of residential construction firms climbing to 54% by 2022.

For more on the remodeling market and its impact on total employment in residential construction, see written by ��㴫ý Economics staff.