House demolition cost by city
| City | Demolition permits | Usual filed value | Middle half of firms' usual job | Permits with a value | Usual days, issue to final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver, CO | 1,139 | $8,000 | $6,945–$10,000 | 99.9% | 21 |
| Cape Coral, FL | 142 | $8,000 | $1,800–$16,740 | 99.3% | 50 |
| Cleveland, OH | 1,572 | $9,000 | $7,991–$12,000 | 99.6% | 42 |
| Sacramento County, CA | 147 | $10,000 | $8,700–$14,000 | 99.3% | 115 |
| Greensboro, NC | 142 | $10,449 | $8,250–$15,000 | 95.1% | not recorded |
| Miami, FL | 1,018 | $11,500 | $9,000–$16,000 | 99.8% | 133 |
| Columbus, OH | 283 | $11,854 | $6,300–$17,500 | 99.6% | 104 |
| Minneapolis, MN | 187 | $15,000 | $10,000–$20,000 | 100.0% | 151 |
| Saint Paul, MN | 96 | $15,000 | $10,000–$18,050 | 96.9% | not recorded |
| Cincinnati, OH | 260 | $15,000 | $15,000–$20,000 | 79.2% | 268 |
| Cary, NC | 154 | $21,750 | $18,500–$25,700 | 97.4% | 73 |
| New York City | 1,736 | $25,000 | $12,500–$35,000 | 97.9% | 32 |
| Palo Alto, CA | 256 | $25,000 | $25,000–$40,000 | 96.1% | 283 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 368 | $26,900 | $15,000–$31,850 | 100.0% | 119 |
| Nashville, TN | 1,670 | $10,000 | $8,000–$12,000 | not recorded | not recorded |
Permits October 2023 to September 2026 (Cape Coral from January 2025; Nashville from September 2023). The middle-half range uses firms with three or more priced demolition permits. Each city's cost page lists every firm with its usual job: Denver, Cleveland, Miami, Minneapolis, New York City, Pittsburgh.
What moves a demolition price
The table spreads across a range of about three to one, and the filed values do not say why. The parts that usually sit in a demolition bid are the ones to ask about line by line:
- The building and the foundation. A one-storey frame house with a slab is a different job from a two-storey house with a full basement that has to be broken out and filled. Ask whether the foundation is removed or left, and what fill goes in the hole.
- Asbestos. Federal rules exclude "residential buildings with four or fewer dwelling units" from the asbestos NESHAP unless they are part of a bigger project (EPA, June 2012 memo), but EPA says "state and local agencies may have more stringent standards". Colorado requires a certified asbestos inspection before demolition and a notice "even if no asbestos was found", at "$50.00 base fee plus" $5 per 1,000 square feet, and a ten working-day wait (CDPHE, read 23 October 2026). Abatement, if the survey finds any, is a separate trade and a separate price.
- Utility caps and city sign-offs. Gas, electric, water and sewer disconnections, and the fees for each, are often outside the demolition firm's own number. Ask who arranges each and who pays.
- Hauling and the lot. Debris tonnage, the distance to the landfill, and whether the lot is graded and seeded.
The middle-half ranges in the table already include all of these in different mixes, which is why a quote should be compared against your own city's range, not a national one. Cleveland's range ($7,991 to $12,000) is narrow; New York's ($12,500 to $35,000) is wide.
Demolition against the value of the house
Where the house is worth little, a demolition is a large share of it. Pittsburgh's usual demolition is filed at $26,900 and its single-family value figure is $93,000; Cleveland's are $9,000 and $99,000. In Denver ($8,000 against $631,000) the demolition is a small share of what the house is worth. If you are deciding whether to tear down or remodel, our remodel vs rebuild guide and new home construction cost have the other half of the sum.
Check a demolition quote in five minutes
- Find your city in the table and note the middle-half range.
- Ask each bidder for a lump sum with foundation, fill, asbestos survey, abatement, utility caps and hauling as separate lines.
- Open the demolition list for your city and look up each bidder's permits and finished share.
- Ask who pulls the permit. It should be the contractor; our hiring a demolition contractor guide covers the license and the asbestos notice.
See every Pittsburgh demolition firm and its usual job →
What these numbers cannot tell you
The filed value is the contractor's own estimate, often filed before the asbestos survey, and nobody audits it. Permits do not record square footage, number of storeys or whether a basement was removed, so there is no per-square-foot figure here. Austin, Orlando, St. Louis, Arlington, Boulder, Scottsdale, San Diego County and Wilmington record no value on demolition permits and are left out of the table. Some cities file interior and partial demolition under the same type as whole-house teardowns.
How we know this
Demolition permits are those each city files under a demolition or deconstruction work type in its window. The usual filed value is the median of permits that carry one; the middle-half range is the 25th to 75th percentile of firms' own usual values, for firms with three or more priced demolition permits; days is the median from issue to final inspection. The single-family value figure is the one each city's compare pages use. Asbestos rules and fees are quoted from US EPA and Colorado CDPHE, read 23 October 2026.
Numbers come from City of Pittsburgh permits (Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center); NYC Department of Buildings permits and DOB NOW filings on one- and two-family homes (NYC Open Data); City of Cleveland building permits; City and County of Denver residential construction and demolition permits; City of Miami building permits (since 2014); City of Minneapolis construction permits (CCS); Town of Cary building permit applications (issued permits only); City of Columbus Building & Zoning Services permits on 1-, 2- and 3-family homes (the city's Accela permit layer), data through October 17, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- How much does it cost to demolish a house?
Going by permits, the usual demolition was filed at $8,000 in Denver, $9,000 in Cleveland, $11,500 in Miami, $15,000 in Minneapolis, $25,000 in New York City and $26,900 in Pittsburgh. Asbestos abatement, if the survey finds any, is usually priced separately.
- How much does house demolition cost per square foot?
We cannot give an honest figure: demolition permits record a job value but not the building's size. Ask each bidder for a lump sum with the foundation, fill, utility caps and debris hauling listed separately, and compare the total against your city's middle-half range: $7,991 to $12,000 in Cleveland, $6,945 to $10,000 in Denver.
- Why is demolition so much cheaper in some cities?
Partly what each city files under demolition (some cities include partial and interior demolition with whole-house teardowns), and partly the buildings, sites and disposal costs. The middle-half range shows how wide the mix is: $7,991 to $12,000 in Cleveland, $12,500 to $35,000 in New York City.
- How much does it cost to tear down a garage or shed?
Less than a house, and the low end of a city's range is where those jobs sit. In Cape Coral the middle half of demolition firms file a usual job between $1,800 and $16,740; ask a bidder where a garage or shed sits against that range, and check the firm's own permits for similar jobs.
- What permit and notice fees come with a demolition?
The city's demolition permit fee, plus any state asbestos notice. Colorado charges $50 plus $5 per 1,000 square feet for a demolition notice and requires a ten working-day wait before demolition starts (CDPHE). Our demolition permit guide has the rules in 10 cities.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Hiring a demolition contractor: the license, the asbestos check, and what 14 cities' demolition permits show
- Remodel vs rebuild: what remodel, demolition and new-home permits cost in 10 cities
- Home remodel cost in 2026: what remodel permits were filed at in 18 cities
- HVAC replacement cost in 2026: what furnace and AC permits were filed at in 16 cities
For one city
- Do I need a demolition permit in Cleveland? Yes: the project review, the $50 minimum fee, drawings, and what demolition firms charge
- Tearing down a house in Denver: the 40% rule, Landmark Preservation review, and the 21-day posting
- Do I need a demolition permit in Miami? Yes, and only a licensed contractor can apply: survey, DERM, trees and the sewer cap
- Asbestos support and guidance: renovation, demolition, and certification — Colorado CDPHE (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Information for Owners and Managers of Buildings that Contain Asbestos — US EPA (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Notification of Rules and Regulations Regarding the Demolition of Buildings — US EPA (June 2012) (accessed 2026-10-23)