If home repair contractors want to earn more money, they should look for work in and around Los Angeles.
That’s based on research by the Los Angeles Daily News about increases in home-repair costs last year in California. The study found the biggest hikes were in markets near the wildfires that ravaged Altadena and Pacific Palisades in January 2025.
In Los Angeles, research shows repairs became 8.4 percent more expensive in 2025, the largest jump in the state. That followed 2024’s 5.9 percent increase – also No. 1 that year – and the 5 percent average pace of increases in 2013 through 2024.
Complaints have abounded over the framework for rebuilding post-wildfires, or rather the lack of one. Political and insurance paralysis create further obstacles to rebuilding, in addition to high prices.
But the Daily News noted that the higher repair costs affect homeowners and developers far beyond the locales where wildfires torched about 12,000 structures in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
Heightened demand for labor, supplies and permits in wildfire reconstruction increases costs for others trying to build or upgrade a house. As a secondary effect, expensive repairs raise home insurance rates.
The study found the median increase across 12 Southern California markets was 4 percent last year, up from 2.9 percent in 2024. For the 22 markets outside Southern California, the median repair costs rose only 2.2 percent in 2025, a drop from 3 percent the previous year.
Markets adjacent to Los Angeles also showed high price jumps. For example, San Fernando prices rose 6.7 percent in 2025 to rank second in the state, compared to a 2024 increase of 3.3 percent. In Simi Valley, costs increased 4.2 percent last year, the fourth largest in the state.
Nearby counties also saw significant hikes, with Ventura County showing an uptick of 4.1 percent, the same as Santa Barbara County. In San San Bernardino, prices jumped 3.9 percent last year, while Orange County reported a 3.7 percent gain.
– Joel Russell
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