Being a homeowner means taking on projects big and small, long-planned and unexpected. But will you do-it-yourself, or will you find that the job is best suited for a hired professional? The answer largely depends on your income and age, according to a report and expert insight from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
In its latest report, Improving America’s Housing 2025, the center conducted an analysis of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2023 American Housing Survey. Household income and homeowner age were among the factors that influenced spending on home improvements and repairs, and the type of projects that were undertaken.
The report compared five income groups, the lowest earning less than $37,500 and the highest more than $172,000. The lowest earners spent an average $3,100 a year on projects like landscaping, minor plumbing repairs and bath upgrades. That was a fraction of the $10,900 spent by the highest earners, who tended to hire professionals for pricier and more complex installations, such as window replacement. While the bottom fifth spent less, their expenses represented a greater slice of their income — 16.3 percent versus 3.7 percent of the top income group.
“Lower-income householders are often cash strapped,” said Sophia Wedeen, a senior research analyst with the Joint Center. “The fact that they’re investing so much less in dollars but spending more of their incomes is certainly reinforcing inequities in housing conditions and finances.”
The calculations also considered race and ethnicity, household composition and other traits, but of the homeowner characteristics evaluated, Ms. Wedeen noted, income is a main driver of spending.
Professional installations make up the bulk of home project spending. Yet, when looking at D.I.Y.s, Ms. Wedeen explained, lower-income and younger homeowners — specifically those under the age of 35 — were “most likely” among other age and income groups to undertake and spend money on doing the work themselves.
“There are many drivers of D.I.Y. activity, and certainly part of it is age,” said Ms. Wedeen. Younger homeowners have lower incomes, have had less time to build the home equity often used to fund larger professional projects and are more likely to live in newer homes that don’t need major work. D.I.Y. jobs are typically smaller and less expensive. Plus, she said, this group tends to be more interested in being hands-on.
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