What Does Home Electrical Wiring Cost?
Home electrical wiring projects range from $1,500 to $30,000, depending on the project scope. A panel upgrade, the job most homes buy, averages around $2,500, while a whole-home rewire averages around $15,000. Here is the breakdown by the most common project types.
Panel (Breaker Box) Upgrade: $1,300 to $4,500
Upgrading the electrical service panel a most commonly from 100-amp to 200-amp service a costs $1,300 to $4,500 installed. This range includes the new panel, breakers, labor, and permit. The panel itself is only $250 to $350 in parts, so nearly all of the price is labor, load calculation, grounding and bonding, permit, and utility coordination. A job that also moves the meter, the service entrance, or the panel itself lands at $2,500 to $4,500 or more. A 200-amp panel upgrade is the most common electrical wiring project for homes built before 1980. (For more on this, see What Affects the Cost of Electrical Wiring?.) The Electrical Safety Foundation covers where GFCI and AFCI protection is required and which jobs need a licensed electrician.
Partial Rewiring: $600 to $10,000
Rewiring specific areas of the home a a kitchen adding dedicated circuits for new appliances, a basement finishing project, a garage with workshop circuit requirements, or replacing a section of aluminum branch circuit wiring a costs $600 to $2,500 for a single room, $1,500 to $4,000 for a kitchen with its dedicated appliance circuits, and $3,000 to $10,000 for a partial covering one or two floors. Rewiring room by room costs more per square foot than doing the whole house at once, because the setup, access, and permit work repeats each time. Partial rewiring is appropriate when the majority of the home’s wiring is sound but specific areas need modern circuit capacity.
Whole-Home Rewire: $10,000 to $30,000
Replacing all wiring in the home a typically indicated for homes with knob-and-tube wiring, extensive aluminum branch circuit wiring, or post-fire damage a costs $10,000 to $30,000 installed, or $5 to $17 per square foot, with $12,000 to $18,000 typical for a mid-size house. Access is what moves it: $10,000 to $20,000 where the electrician can work through the attic, basement, and joists, and $20,000 to $30,000 or more where walls have to be opened. High-cost metros reach $25,000 to $50,000 or more. Drywall and plaster repair is almost always excluded from the rewire quote and adds 20 to 30 percent to the labor, at $300 to $1,500 or more per patch and $2 to $6 per square foot to replace full walls or ceilings. (For more on this, see Home Electrical Wiring: What to Expect During the Project.)
Electrical Wiring Cost at a Glance
| Cost Factor | Typical Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Small wiring work | $250 to $900 per dedicated circuit | a single outlet, switch, or fixture is $100 to $300+ per opening |
| Panel (breaker box) upgrade | $1,300 to $4,500 | installed, for upgrading service capacity |
| Partial rewiring | $600 to $10,000 | one room $600 to $2,500; kitchen $1,500 to $4,000; one to two floors $3,000 to $10,000 |
| Whole-home rewire | $10,000 to $30,000 | installed, or $5 to $17 per sq ft |
| Drywall and plaster repair after rewiring | $300 to $1,500+ per patch | usually excluded from the rewire quote; adds 20 to 30% to the labor |
| Knob-and-tube or aluminum wiring | $8,000 to $40,000 | aluminum remediation $8,000 to $20,000; knob-and-tube replacement $12,000 to $40,000 |
| Permit and municipal inspection | $75 to $1,500 per permit | paid to the jurisdiction rather than to the electrician |
| Overall range | $1,500 to $30,000, averaging $2,500 |
Cost figures on this page were checked against published pricing on August 27, 2026. How we source cost data.
Planning Your Project Budget
The cost ranges in this article are based on industry data and are intended as planning benchmarks, not fixed prices. The actual cost for your project depends on your specific home, your local labor market, the current price of materials, and the scope the contractor confirms after a site inspection. (For more on this, see How to Budget for a Home Electrical Wiring Project.)
Always get at least two written quotes on equivalent defined scope before committing to any home services project. Wide price variation between quotes usually reflects differences in material quality, scope completeness (what is included and what is not), or contractor overhead and experience level rather than simple price competition.
Use the cost data in this article to ask better questions during the quoting process: What material is included? What does that per-square-foot or per-linear-foot rate include and exclude? Are permits, cleanup, and disposal included? What is the warranty on labor? These questions turn a quote into a comparable basis for decision-making.
Working With a Contractor on This Project
Getting the right outcome on any home services project starts before the work begins. A few consistent practices make the difference between a smooth project and a frustrating one.
Get at least two or three quotes. A single quote gives you no basis for comparison. Two or three quotes reveal the market rate for the work, expose scope differences between bidders, and let you assess contractor communication quality before any commitment is made. The lowest bid is not automatically the best value if the scope is thin or the materials are underspecified.
Ask for licenses and insurance before work starts. Verify current general liability insurance and, for any work involving workers on your property, workers compensation coverage. Licensing requirements vary by state and trade; confirm the specific requirements in your jurisdiction. A licensed contractor who carries appropriate insurance protects both parties if something goes wrong during the project.
Get the scope in writing. A written proposal that specifies materials, labor scope, timeline, what is included (permits, cleanup, disposal), and warranty terms is the foundation of a professional engagement. Verbal agreements on any of these points invite misunderstanding. For any project over $500, written scope is non-negotiable.
Clarify the payment schedule upfront. A reasonable payment schedule ties major payments to project milestones: a deposit at signing, a payment at material delivery or project start, and a final payment at completion after a walkthrough confirms satisfaction. A contractor who requires full payment upfront before work begins is a red flag in any trade.