Rewire Cost Calculator

What a whole house rewire includes

A rewire replaces the branch circuits that run from the electrical panel to every switch, outlet and light fixture. The price covers copper cable, boxes, outlets, switches, arc fault and ground fault protection, the labor to fish cable through finished walls, the permit, and the drywall patching that follows. Light fixtures, ceiling fans and appliances are usually priced on top.

Most whole house rewires in the United States land between $4 and $10 per square foot, which puts a 1,500 square foot house at $6,000 to $15,000 before a panel upgrade. The spread is wide because the same square footage can mean an open attic and a full basement, or plaster walls with no access at all.

Three things move the number more than size does. The first is the wiring already in the walls, since knob and tube or old aluminum has to come out rather than be extended. The second is the panel, because a 100 amp service rarely carries a modern house. The third is access, because every hour spent opening and patching a wall is an hour an electrician bills.

Rewiring cost by house size

The table below prices five house sizes at $8 per square foot, with 15 percent of the base added for wall repair, six new circuits at $250 each, a $2,500 panel upgrade and a $500 permit. Only the square footage changes from row to row.

Per square foot falls as the house grows because $4,500 of that total is fixed: the panel, the permit and the six circuits. A 1,000 square foot cottage carries the same $4,500 as a 3,000 square foot colonial, so the small house looks expensive per foot even when the electrician's hourly rate is identical.

Rooms matter less than walls. A 2,000 square foot open plan with a full basement can cost less than a 1,400 square foot house with plaster on both floors, because the open plan lets the crew work from below and above without cutting finished surfaces.

Worked example: 1,500 square feet with a panel upgrade

Take a 1,500 square foot house on drywall with an open attic and a full basement, wired at $8 per square foot. The panel is a 100 amp fuse box that has to go, and the owners want six new circuits for a kitchen, a laundry and two window air conditioners.

The arithmetic is 1,500 x 8 = 12,000. Repair is 12,000 x 0.15 = 1,800. Circuits are 6 x 250 = 1,500. Add the panel and the permit: 12,000 + 1,800 + 1,500 + 2,500 + 500 = 18,300, and 18,300 / 1,500 = 12.20.

Now put the same house behind plaster with no attic hatch. The multiplier becomes 1.3, so the base is 1,500 x 8 x 1.3 = 15,600. Repair at 15 percent is 2,340, and the fixed items stay put, which brings the total to 15,600 + 2,340 + 1,500 + 2,500 + 500 = 22,440, or $14.96 per square foot. Nothing about the electrical work changed. Access and patching added $4,140.

Knob and tube, aluminum wiring and fuse boxes

Homes built before 1950 often have knob and tube wiring: single conductors run on ceramic knobs through open framing, with no ground and brittle cloth insulation. It can still work, but it cannot be buried in insulation, it cannot be spliced with modern cable in a way most inspectors will accept, and many insurers refuse to write a policy on a house that still has it. A rewire is the usual cure.

Aluminum branch circuit wiring is a different problem. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has warned since the 1970s that aluminum connections at outlets and switches can loosen, overheat and start a fire, and the agency recommends repair by a qualified electrician rather than a wait and see approach. Homes built roughly between 1965 and 1973 are the usual candidates. Pigtailing copper onto short aluminum leads with a listed connector is cheaper than a full rewire, but it does not add circuits or grounding.

A fuse box is a symptom rather than the whole problem. Sixty amp service with two fuses will not carry a modern kitchen, a dryer, central air and an electric vehicle charger at once. Upgrading the panel to 200 amps is $1,500 to $3,500 on its own, and the utility may charge a disconnect and reconnect fee on top.

The rewire is also the moment to bring the house up to current code. The National Fire Protection Association publishes the National Electrical Code that most states adopt, and since the 2017 edition it has required arc fault protection on most 120 volt branch circuits in dwellings. AFCI breakers cost $40 to $60 each, so a 20 circuit panel carries roughly $1,000 of breakers before any cable is pulled.

Access, plaster and the multiplier

Labor is two thirds of a rewire, and most of that labor is getting cable from the panel to the last outlet. The multiplier in the calculator is a rough way to price the difference between a house that cooperates and one that does not.

Plaster is the single biggest penalty. It is hard, brittle and anchored to wood lath, so a cut that takes two minutes in drywall takes twenty, and the patch needs a plasterer rather than a drywall crew. Budget 20 to 30 percent more for a plaster house than for the same floor plan in drywall.

There is one reliable discount: open walls. If a kitchen or bathroom is being gutted anyway, the electrician can run cable in a fraction of the time, and the drywall contractor who is already on site patches for less. Homeowners who coordinate a rewire with a remodel routinely save 20 to 30 percent of the electrical line, because the access work is already paid for.

What the estimate leaves out

The calculator covers the rewire itself. Several common add ons are quoted separately, and they are the reason a final invoice can land 20 percent above the estimate.

• Level 2 EV charger: $800 to $1,500 installed, more if the panel is on the far side of the house or the service needs a load calculation.
• Generator transfer switch: $800 to $2,000 for a manual or automatic transfer switch and the inlet box.
• Recessed lights: $150 to $300 per fixture in an open ceiling, more where insulation or fire blocking has to be moved.
• Interconnected smoke and carbon monoxide alarms: $40 to $80 per device plus a dedicated circuit.
• Service mast, meter base and weatherhead: $500 to $1,500 when the utility requires a new drop.
• Utility disconnect and reconnect: $100 to $500, and a day without power.

Ask for these as separate line items in the bid rather than as an allowance. An allowance of $1,000 for fixtures that ends up at $3,500 is not a pricing error, it is a number the contractor never intended to hold.

Also confirm what happens to the old wiring. Removal is included in a good bid, and leaving dead knob and tube in the walls is legal in most places but will come up again at the next inspection or insurance renewal.

How to compare electrician quotes

Three bids for the same house can differ by 40 percent without anyone being dishonest, because each one is pricing a different scope. Normalize them before you compare the bottom line.

Watch for per opening pricing. A bid of $75 per opening sounds precise, but it hides how many openings the job needs, and the count tends to grow once the walls are open. A fixed price with a stated outlet count and a written change order rate is easier to hold.

Finally, ask for the inspection schedule in writing. A rewire that fails rough inspection because a ground was missed costs a week and a re inspection fee, and the crew has already moved to the next job.