Whole-House Rewiring Cost (2026): What It Really Takes to Rewire a Home
Rewiring runs roughly $2 to $9 a square foot, putting most homes between $4,000 and $12,000. Knob-and-tube and finished walls are what stretch the number.
Dale Hutchins
Senior Editor, Property Maintenance · May 14, 2026 · 9 min read
How much does whole-house rewiring cost?
Typical
$8,000
Most pay $4,000–$18,000 per project
Rewiring a whole house typically costs $4,000–$12,000, with a national typical figure around $8,000. Price tracks square footage at roughly $2–$9 per foot, and the big multipliers are home age and how hard the walls are to open. An old home with knob-and-tube and plaster walls lands at the top.
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What affects the cost
Square footage
More house means more wire, more circuits, and more hours. Rewiring runs about $2–$9 per square foot all in. A compact 1,000-square-foot home might be $2,000–$9,000, while a 2,500-square-foot home commonly runs $5,000–$22,500 depending on access and age.
Home age and existing wiring
Knob-and-tube and old aluminum wiring don't just need replacing, they need careful removal, and that drives both cost and necessity. Pulling knob-and-tube from a pre-1950s home can add $1,000–$6,000 on its own. Older homes also tend to surface code issues that expand the scope mid-job.
Wall access
This is the hidden lever on every rewire quote. Open framing in a gut renovation is cheap to wire. Finished walls, especially plaster and lath, mean the electrician fishes wire through cavities and cuts access holes, then someone patches the damage. The same square footage can vary by thousands based on access alone.
Labor
Electricians charge roughly $40–$130 an hour, and rewiring is one of the most labor-intensive jobs in a house. Labor is the largest line on the estimate by far. A full rewire can occupy a two-person crew for one to two weeks, which is why the totals climb.
Permits, inspection, and drywall repair
Permits typically run $200–$900 for a job this size, and inspections happen at rough-in and again at completion. Then there's the cost of patching and repainting every wall and ceiling the crew opened, which many homeowners forget to budget and which can add a meaningful sum.
Whole-house rewiring cost by home size (2026)
| Home size | Typical cost range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | $2,000–$9,000 | Condo or small single-story |
| 1,500 sq ft | $3,000–$13,500 | Starter home, often pre-1970s |
| 2,000 sq ft | $4,000–$18,000 | Standard family home |
| 2,500 sq ft | $5,000–$22,500 | Larger home, more circuits |
| 3,000 sq ft | $6,000–$27,000 | Big home or multi-story with hard access |
Cost by region
The toughest region for rewiring costs: old housing, plaster-and-lath walls, and the highest labor rates. A 1920s home in Boston or Philadelphia full of knob-and-tube is squarely top-of-range work.
Lower labor and a lot of post-1970s construction with accessible drywall keep costs down. Slab foundations can complicate routing, but it's generally the most affordable region.
Moderate labor rates. The region's older Rust Belt housing stock can carry knob-and-tube, which pushes specific projects up even when the base rate is reasonable.
California and the Pacific Northwest run high on labor and permitting. Seismic and wildfire code requirements can add scope, and bungalows from the 1910s–1930s are common rewire candidates.
Signs a house needs rewiring, not just repairs
A rewire is a big swing, so it's worth knowing when it's truly warranted. Knob-and-tube wiring is the clearest case: it has no ground, it's brittle with age, and insurers increasingly refuse to cover homes that still have it. Old aluminum branch wiring from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s is another, because the connections loosen and overheat. Past those, watch for two-prong ungrounded outlets throughout, a tangle of extension cords because there aren't enough circuits, breakers that trip constantly, dimming lights when appliances kick on, or any cloth-insulated wiring you can see in the basement. For a landlord, a house that can't safely carry a tenant's normal load isn't a someday project; it's a safety and liability issue.
Why two same-size homes can differ by $10,000
Square footage gets you in the ballpark, but access decides the final number. Picture two identical 1,800-square-foot houses. One is mid-gut-renovation with the drywall already off; the electrician staples wire to open studs and moves fast. The other is fully finished with original plaster walls; now every circuit means fishing wire blind through cavities, cutting access holes at top and bottom of walls, and working around insulation and blocking. The wire and the circuit count are the same. The labor is not even close. Plaster and lath is the worst-case surface because it cracks when disturbed and is expensive to repair. When you compare bids, the access assumptions matter more than the per-foot rate.
The knob-and-tube question
If your home has knob-and-tube, you're often not choosing whether to rewire so much as when. The wiring itself can technically still function, but it has no ground conductor, the insulation degrades, and homeowners frequently bury it under blown-in insulation, which it was never rated for and which creates a fire risk. The practical forcing function is usually insurance. More carriers each year decline or non-renew policies on homes with active knob-and-tube, and the ones that will cover it charge a premium. Removal adds $1,000–$6,000 to a rewire depending on how much there is and how buried it is. If you're buying an old home, get the wiring inspected before closing and price the rewire into your offer.
Planning the project and living through it
A full rewire is disruptive in a way a panel swap isn't. Crews work room by room, power gets shut off in sections, and walls get opened throughout the house. Expect one to two weeks of active work for an average home, longer for a big or hard-access one. It's genuinely hard to live in a home mid-rewire, so many owners schedule it during a vacancy, a move, or alongside a larger renovation when the walls are open anyway. That last option is the smart play: rewiring during a remodel, before the new drywall goes up, can cut the labor cost dramatically and eliminates most of the patch-and-paint bill. For rentals, a turnover between tenants is the natural window.
Getting comparable bids
Rewiring quotes vary more than almost any other electrical job, so detail matters. Insist that each bid spells out the number of new circuits and outlets, whether the panel is being upgraded as part of the work (it often needs to be), how wall access and patching are handled, and whether old wiring removal is included. A vague lump-sum number is impossible to compare and usually hides assumptions that surface later as change orders. Use licensed, insured electricians only, confirm the permit and both inspections are in the price, and ask who's responsible for drywall repair and painting. On a job this size, the cheapest bid is rarely the best value if it's quietly leaving work out.
Ways to save on electrical
- Rewire during a renovation while the walls are already open. It can slash labor and eliminate most of the drywall-repair cost.
- Bundle the panel upgrade into the rewire so you pay one permit and one mobilization instead of two.
- Schedule it during a vacancy or move. A rewire is genuinely hard to live through, and an empty house lets the crew work faster.
- Handle your own paint and patch finishing if you're handy. Drywall repair and repainting can be a meaningful slice of the total.
- Get itemized bids that spell out circuit count, access, and old-wiring removal, so you can compare honestly and avoid change orders.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to rewire a house?
Most whole-house rewires run $4,000–$12,000, with a national typical figure around $8,000. Cost tracks square footage at roughly $2–$9 per foot, and old homes with knob-and-tube and finished plaster walls land at the high end, sometimes $18,000 or more.
How much does it cost to rewire a house per square foot?
Plan on about $2–$4 per square foot for the wiring itself and $3–$9 per square foot once labor, materials, and access difficulty are included. Hard-to-reach plaster walls push toward the top of that range.
Does knob-and-tube wiring have to be removed?
Often, yes, for practical reasons. It has no ground and degrades with age, and a growing number of insurers won't cover homes with active knob-and-tube. Removal typically adds $1,000–$6,000 to a rewire depending on quantity and accessibility.
How long does it take to rewire a house?
An average home usually takes one to two weeks of active work, with a two-person crew moving room by room. Larger homes or those with finished plaster walls and difficult access can run longer.
Can you rewire a house without removing drywall?
Partly. Electricians fish wire through wall cavities and cut small access holes rather than removing whole walls, but some cutting and patching is unavoidable. Finished plaster-and-lath walls make this harder and raise both labor and repair costs.
Is rewiring covered by homeowners insurance?
Generally no, since rewiring is considered an upgrade or maintenance rather than sudden accidental damage. Insurance may cover repairs after an electrical fire, but the cost of a proactive rewire falls on the owner.
Sources
- Angi — Cost to Rewire a House
- Fixr — Cost to Rewire a House
- Today's Homeowner — Cost to Rewire a House
- Forbes Home — Cost to Rewire a House
- This Old House — Cost to Rewire a House
Cost ranges are 2026 estimates and vary by region, materials, and contractor.
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