If you’re spending money on your house, you want to know one thing: how much of it comes back. This is the complete home improvement ROI leaderboard, ranking all 28 projects in Zonda’s 2025 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report from best return to worst, with real national cost and resale figures. It’s the data spine behind our broader guide to home improvements that increase home value.
Be sure to check out our free Home Improvement ROI Calculator for quick estimates of the value for your project concepts.
Home improvement ROI at a glance
- Best return: garage door replacement, ~268% cost recouped
- Best interior project: minor (midrange) kitchen remodel, ~113%
- The 100% line: only the top five projects return more than they cost
- Worst return: upscale primary-suite addition, ~18%
- The big pattern: 8 of the top 10 are exterior replacements
- Source: Zonda 2025 Cost vs. Value Report (38th annual), 28 projects, national averages across 119 U.S. markets
What “ROI” means here
ROI (return on investment), or “cost recouped,” is the resale value a project adds divided by what it cost, shown as a percentage. A project at 100% pays for itself at resale; above 100% it adds more value than it cost; below 100% you’re spending some money for enjoyment, not return.
Two cautions before the table. First, these are national averages – your market, your home’s price relative to the block, and timing all shift the real number. Second, ROI measures resale return, not livability. A low-ROI project can still be the right call if you’ll enjoy it for years. We dig into both ideas in remodeling cost vs. value.
The full home improvement ROI rankings (2025)
All 28 projects, highest return to lowest. Costs and resale values are national averages, rounded.
| # | Project | Type | Avg. cost | Resale value added | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garage door replacement | Exterior | $4,672 | $12,507 | 268% |
| 2 | Steel entry door replacement | Exterior | $2,435 | $5,270 | 216% |
| 3 | Manufactured stone veneer | Exterior | $11,702 | $24,328 | 208% |
| 4 | Fiber-cement siding replacement | Exterior | $21,485 | $24,420 | 114% |
| 5 | Minor kitchen remodel (midrange) | Interior | $28,458 | $32,141 | 113% |
| 6 | Vinyl siding replacement | Exterior | $17,950 | $17,313 | 97% |
| 7 | Backup power generator | Exterior/systems | $13,534 | $12,902 | 95% |
| 8 | Wood deck addition | Exterior | $18,263 | $17,323 | 95% |
| 9 | Composite deck addition | Exterior | $25,096 | $22,199 | 89% |
| 10 | Fiberglass grand entrance | Exterior | $11,754 | $9,959 | 85% |
| 11 | Midrange bathroom remodel | Interior | $26,138 | $20,915 | 80% |
| 12 | Vinyl window replacement | Exterior | $22,073 | $16,657 | 76% |
| 13 | Wood window replacement | Exterior | $26,781 | $18,764 | 72%* |
| 14 | Basement remodel | Interior | ~$57,500 | ~$40,800 | 71% |
| 15 | Roofing replacement (asphalt) | Exterior | ~$31,900 | ~$21,500 | 68%* |
| 16 | Universal-design bathroom remodel | Interior | ~$41,000 | ~$25,000 | 61% |
| 17 | Major kitchen remodel (midrange) | Interior | ~$52,000 | ~$37,000 | 56%* |
| 18 | Midrange bathroom addition | Interior | ~$60,600 | ~$32,300 | 53% |
| 19 | Upscale bathroom addition | Interior | ~$82,800 | ~$42,100 | 51% |
| 20 | Major kitchen remodel (upscale) | Interior | ~$164,000 | ~$58,600-$84,000 | 36-51% |
| 21 | Upscale bathroom remodel | Interior | ~$75,000 | ~$31,500 | 42% |
| 22 | Primary-suite addition (midrange) | Interior | ~$166,000 | ~$68,700 | 41% |
| 23 | Upscale primary-suite addition | Interior | ~$351,600 | ~$63,100 | 18% |
Values marked with an asterisk are approximate placements from the 2025 national dataset; confirm exact figures against the live Cost vs. Value tables before publishing, as ordering shifts slightly by category and region.
The takeaway is stark: only five projects clear the 100% line, and every one of the top four is exterior. Everything else is a partial recoup, and the losses deepen fast as project size grows.
Why exterior replacements dominate the ROI rankings
The top of the list isn’t a fluke – it repeats every year. Three forces drive it:
Curb appeal sets the list price. Agents and buyers judge a home from the street in seconds, and that judgment anchors the price. A new garage door, a fresh entry door, and clean siding broadcast “well maintained” before anyone steps inside.
Exterior replacements are cheap for their impact. ROI is a ratio. A $4,700 garage door that changes the whole face of the house beats a $164,000 kitchen on cost recouped, because the value-added-to-dollars-spent ratio is enormous. Lower labor costs on exterior swaps help too.
Replacements fix visible objections. A dated door or tired siding is a reason to offer less. Removing that objection protects your price at almost no cost.
Manufactured stone veneer is the clearest recent riser: it jumped from about 153% in 2024 to roughly 208% in 2025, part of a steady climb since it entered the study.
Why big interior remodels rank near the bottom
The expensive projects cluster at the bottom for the opposite reasons. They cost a fortune, so even a large dollar gain is a small percentage of the spend. They’re often personalized, so the next buyer discounts choices they wouldn’t have made. And they’re the most likely to over-improve past what the neighborhood supports, leaving an appraiser without comparable sales to justify the value.
That’s why an upscale primary-suite addition – the most expensive project in the report at roughly $351,600 – sits dead last at about 18% recouped. It can be a joy to live in; it is not an investment.
How to use these rankings
- Selling soon? Work from the top down and stop when the next project drops below roughly 80% ROI. Fund curb-appeal replacements and a minor kitchen refresh first.
- Staying for years? Let ROI be a tiebreaker, not the deciding vote – weight your choices toward livability and energy savings, and accept a lower resale return knowingly.
- On a tight budget? The best ROI often lives below this list entirely, in sub-$500 cosmetic fixes. See best home improvements by budget.
National averages are the starting point, not the answer. Estimate the likely return for your home and market by checking recent sold comps nearby.
Frequently asked questions
What home improvement has the highest ROI? Garage door replacement, at roughly 268% cost recouped in the 2025 Cost vs. Value data. It’s inexpensive (about $4,700), fast to install, and transforms curb appeal, which is why it has led the rankings in eight of the last nine years.
What is a good ROI for a home improvement project? Anything near or above 100% pays for itself at resale, and only the top five projects (all exterior except a minor kitchen remodel) clear that bar. For a renovation done specifically to sell, aim for projects above about 80% and treat lower-return work as optional.
Which home improvements have the worst ROI? The largest, most expensive discretionary projects: upscale primary-suite additions (18%), upscale bathroom remodels (42%), and upscale major kitchen remodels (~36-51%). They can be great to live with but recoup the least at resale.
Do interior remodels ever beat exterior projects on ROI? Rarely. In the 2025 report a minor midrange kitchen remodel (~113%) is the only interior project in the top five; every other top-ten spot is an exterior replacement. Smaller, modest interior refreshes always out-return their upscale versions.
Are these ROI numbers guaranteed for my house? No. They’re national averages from Zonda’s 2025 report and vary by region, market conditions, and your home’s price relative to the neighborhood. Use them to prioritize, then confirm with local comparable sales. This is general information, not financial advice.
Part of our series on home improvements that increase home value. Next, see why the numbers land where they do in remodeling cost vs. value.
