InstaBidsHow much will it cost to remodel a bathroom in Seattle?
$25,000 was the median declared permit value for data years 2023-2026 in Seattle, WA. Single-family and duplex bathroom remodel permits issued in Seattle declared a typical range (middle half of 108 City of Seattle permit data points, Seattle, WA, 2023-2026) of $15,000 to $40,000.
Updated 2026-10-28
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| What was measured | Median declared value | Declared value range (middle half) |
|---|---|---|
| Single-family and duplex bathroom remodel permits issued in Seattle declared | a median declared value on building permits of $25,000 | the typical range (middle half of 108 City of Seattle permit data points, Seattle, WA, 2023-2026) was $15,000 to $40,000 |
Declared permit values are what applicants reported to the city; final contract prices can differ.
How measured: residential single-job permits; declared values below the low-value floor for the same job removed (1 row). Source: City of Seattle, SDCI 'Building Permits' (76t5-zqzr), data read 22 October 2026.
These figures are estimates from City of Seattle, SDCI 'Building Permits' (76t5-zqzr), data years 2023-2026, read 22 October 2026, for Seattle, WA. They are not a quote, and they are not a promise of what any contractor on InstaBids will charge. Your price depends on your home, the materials and the contractor. Get written bids before you decide.
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What the job includes, the line items to ask for and how to compare bids: the national bathroom remodel cost guide.
Where should a Seattle bathroom plumbing scope start?
Public Health - Seattle & King County lists Seattle among the places where it issues plumbing permits and performs inspections. For a bathroom remodel, start your plumbing scope with the existing and proposed sink, toilet, tub and shower locations. Use the county’s permit guidance for the plumbing part of that scope.
Source: Public Health - Seattle & King County, Plumbing and gas piping applications and permits, read 31 October 2026.
What should you record before changing the bathroom plumbing?
The county’s permit guidance says: “Whenever you are going to install, relocate, or change a plumbing or gas piping system, Seattle and King County codes require that you obtain a permit.” Mark which bathroom plumbing stays, moves or changes before discussing the application. This guidance concerns plumbing; it does not determine the whole remodel’s permit scope.
Source: Public Health - Seattle & King County, Plumbing and gas piping applications and permits, read 31 October 2026.
How can you prepare the bathroom fixture list and inspection steps?
The county describes updated permit types and the types of fixtures listed on permits, and names the Public Health Permit Center for applications, plan-review documents and inspection requests. Before applying, compare your sink, toilet, tub and shower work list with the county’s fixture information. Keep the application, any required plan documents and inspection requests together in your bathroom project record.
Source: Public Health - Seattle & King County, Plumbing and gas piping applications and permits, read 31 October 2026.
What do Seattle bathroom permits declare?
Each Seattle figure above is a declared permit value: what the applicant told the permit office the bathroom job was worth when applying. It is not an invoice.
The count covers single-family and duplex building permits whose description names a bathroom. Permits for a new home, legalisation, revision and renewal permits, and permits that also name another job were left out first.
Also left out as other jobs: wiring-only or electrician's permits, whole-house renovations that list several trades, work on more than one unit or more than one bathroom, adding a new bathroom, permits that also name a porch, stairs, sunroom, basement or other room, conversions such as a double to a single, and damage repair.
All 109 matched permits carried a declared value. One value fell below the low-value floor for this job and was removed, which leaves the 108 permits behind the figures.
How does Seattle compare with the national survey?
The Seattle median declared value sits above the national survey median for hired-out bathroom remodels.
For the national picture, the Census Bureau's American Housing Survey asked households about the work done on their home and whether they hired it out. Its item reads "Remodeled bathroom", and adding a bathroom where there was none is a separate item, so it is not part of the national range.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, AHS 2023 Value Labels Package, read 16 October 2026.
| What was measured | Median | Typical range (middle half) |
|---|---|---|
| Households in the American Housing Survey that hired out a bathroom remodel reported | a median of $7,500 | the typical range (middle half of 1,078 American Housing Survey data points, the United States, 2021-2023) was $3,000 to $15,000 |
| When the household remodelled the bathroom itself | a median (662 American Housing Survey data points, the United States, 2021-2023) of $2,000 | — |
How measured: hired-out finished jobs, survey-weighted, not adjusted for inflation; do-it-yourself jobs the same way. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey 2023, data read 16 October 2026.
These figures are estimates from U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey 2023, data years 2021-2023, read 16 October 2026, for the United States. They are not a quote, and they are not a promise of what any contractor on InstaBids will charge. Your price depends on your home, the materials and the contractor. Get written bids before you decide.
Full national guide: How much will it cost to remodel a bathroom?
The two are different kinds of record: a survey answer is what a household remembers paying, while a permit value is what an applicant wrote down before the work began. This page keeps them apart and never blends them into one number.
What does Seattle require for bathroom plumbing work?
Example rule, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections bathroom shower control valves: “Showers and tub-shower combinations shall be provided with individual control valves of the pressure balance, thermostatic, or combination pressure balance/thermostatic mixing valve type that provide scald and thermal shock protection for the rated flow rate of the installed showerhead. These valves shall be installed at the point of use and comply with ASSE 1016/ASME A112.1016/CSA B125.16 or ASME A112.18.1/CSA B125.1.”
Source: Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, read 9 November 2026.
Example rule, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections bathroom shower door opening: “Thresholds shall be of sufficient width to accommodate a minimum 22 inch (559 mm) door. Shower doors shall open so as to maintain not less than a 22 inch (559 mm) unobstructed opening for egress.”
Source: Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, read 9 November 2026.
Example rule, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections bathroom shower enclosure size: general dimensions subject to the following exceptions: “Shower compartments, regardless of shape, shall have a minimum finished interior of nine hundred (900) square inches (0.58 m2) and shall also be capable of encompassing a thirty (30) inch (762 mm) circle.”
Source: Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, read 9 November 2026.
Example rule, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections bathroom shower enclosure size: ICC A117.1 exception: “Showers that are designed to comply with ICC A117.1.”
Source: Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, read 9 November 2026.
Example rule, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections bathroom shower enclosure exceptions: rectangular receptor exception: “The minimum required area and dimension shall not apply for a shower receptor having overall dimensions of not less than thirty (30) inches (762 mm) in width and sixty (60) inches (1524 mm) in length.”
Source: Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, read 9 November 2026.
Example rule, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections bathroom shower receptor water test: “Shower receptors shall be tested for watertightness by filling with water to the level of the rough threshold. The test plug shall be so placed that both upper and under sides of the subpan shall be subjected to the test at the point where it is clamped to the drain.”
Source: Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, read 9 November 2026.
Example rule, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections bathroom shower valve location: “Control valves and showerheads shall be located on the sidewall of shower com- partments or otherwise arranged so that the showerhead does not discharge directly at the entrance to the compartment so that the bather can adjust the valves before stepping into the shower spray.”
Source: Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, read 9 November 2026.
Example rule, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections bathroom shower riser support: “A water supply riser from the shower valve to the showerhead outlet, whether exposed or not, shall be securely attached to the structure.”
Source: Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, read 9 November 2026.
Example rule, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections bathroom whirlpool service access: “Bathtubs and whirlpool bathtubs shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s installation instructions. Access openings shall be of a size and opening to permit the removal and replacement of the circulation pump.”
Source: Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, read 9 November 2026.
Example rule, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections bathroom bathtub backflow protection: “The water supply to a bathtub and whirlpool bathtub filler valve shall be protected by an air gap or in accordance with Section 417.0.”
Source: Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, read 9 November 2026.
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Sources for the figures on this page
- City of Seattle, SDCI 'Building Permits' (76t5-zqzr), https://data.seattle.gov/Built-Environment/Building-Permits/76t5-zqzr, read 22 October 2026. InstaBids computed medians and middle-half ranges.
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey 2023, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/data/2023/ahs-2023-public-use-file--puf-.html, read 16 October 2026. U.S. government work; no endorsement implied.
- Public Health - Seattle & King County, Plumbing and gas piping applications and permits, kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dph/health-safety/environmental-health/plumbing-gas-piping/applications-and-permits/, read 31 October 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, AHS 2023 Value Labels Package, www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/2023/AHS 2023 Value Labels Package.zip, read 16 October 2026.
- Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/SDCI/Codes/PlumbingCode/2021SeattlePlumbingCode.pdf, read 9 November 2026.