“How much does a bathroom remodel cost?” is the first question on every call we get from Cary, and the honest answer is a range so wide it is useless until you attach it to a scope. So this guide does it the other way around. It takes three budgets Cary homeowners actually bring us, roughly $8,000, $20,000 and $40,000, and shows what each one buys in a typical Cary, Apex, Holly Springs or Morrisville bathroom, where the money goes, and what pushes a project from one band into the next. The ranges are drawn from published North Carolina cost data and the projects we see across western Wake County in 2026.
Bathroom remodel costs in Cary at a glance
| Bathroom | Typical range | What it usually includes |
|---|---|---|
| Powder room / half bath | $2,900 to $6,300 | New vanity and top, faucet, toilet, mirror, lighting, tile or LVP floor, paint |
| Hall or guest bath (5×8) | $7,300 to $19,500 | Everything above plus a new tub or a tiled walk-in shower, tile surround, exhaust fan |
| Primary bath | $14,600 to $37,000 | Double vanity, tiled walk-in shower with glass, possibly a freestanding tub, new lighting and ventilation, often a layout change |
| High-end primary bath | $24,400 to $53,700 and up | Curbless shower, frameless glass, heated floor, custom vanity, freestanding tub, plumbing relocated |
The statewide average for a full bathroom remodel in North Carolina is about $11,700, and most projects fall between $5,900 and $16,600. Cary runs toward the upper half of those ranges: homes here are larger, primary baths from the 1990s and 2000s tend to have a garden tub and a separate shower that both come out, and homeowners usually choose tile over prefabricated surrounds.
What $8,000 buys in a Cary bathroom
An $8,000 budget is a powder room done completely, or a hall bath done partly. In a powder room it covers a new vanity with a quartz or stone top, a faucet, a comfort-height toilet, a tile floor, a mirror, a light fixture, paint and hardware, with a licensed plumber and electrician on the connections. In a 5×8 hall bath the same money gets you a cosmetic refresh: vanity, top, faucet, toilet, floor, lighting, paint and a new tub-and-shower faucet set, with the existing tub and tile surround staying. What it does not buy is a tiled shower. If the shower is the problem, $8,000 is the budget where a one-day acrylic liner starts to look tempting, and it is worth reading why we build tile showers instead of installing liners before you go that way.
What $20,000 buys in a Cary bathroom
This is the most common hall bath and small primary bath budget we see, and it is the band where a bathroom gets genuinely rebuilt. Twenty thousand dollars in a 5×8 bath covers demolition to the studs, a tiled walk-in shower in the old tub’s footprint built on a Schluter waterproofing system, a frameless or semi-frameless glass panel, a new vanity and top, toilet, tile floor, exhaust fan on a new circuit, lighting, paint, trim and the permit. In a modest primary bath it covers a tiled shower and a double vanity if the plumbing stays where it is and the garden tub either stays or is simply removed and the space is tiled over. The things that eat this budget fastest are moving the drain, upgrading to large-format or natural stone tile, and a heavy glass door with custom hardware.
What $40,000 buys in a Cary bathroom
Forty thousand is the full primary bath. The garden tub and the small fiberglass shower come out, the layout changes so the new shower is larger and the vanity gets a real double sink, plumbing moves to suit, a freestanding soaking tub goes in if you want one, and the shower is tiled floor to ceiling with a bench, a niche, a linear drain and a frameless enclosure. Heated tile floors, a wall-hung toilet, a custom furniture-style vanity and a dedicated makeup area are all in reach. This is the bathroom that changes what the house feels like, and in a Cary home selling in the $600,000s it is the one buyers expect to find in the primary suite.
A sample estimate: tub-to-shower hall bath in a Cary home
Here is how a mid-band hall bath breaks down, using market figures for a 5×8 bathroom in a 2000s Cary two-story where the tub becomes a tiled walk-in shower and nothing moves. The numbers are illustrative, not a HomePro quote, but the proportions are what you should expect to see on any itemized proposal.
| Line | Illustrative cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Demolition and disposal | $900 to $1,500 | Tub, surround, vanity, toilet, floor, down to studs and subfloor |
| Plumbing | $1,500 to $3,000 | New shower valve and drain, supply and drain reconnections, inspection |
| Electrical | $600 to $1,500 | Exhaust fan on its own circuit, vanity lighting, GFCI outlet |
| Waterproofing and shower build | $1,800 to $3,000 | Schluter membrane, pre-sloped pan, bench or niche |
| Tile, labor and materials | $3,500 to $7,000 | Shower walls, shower floor, bathroom floor; porcelain at the low end, stone at the high end |
| Glass | $1,000 to $2,500 | Semi-frameless door at the low end, frameless at the high end |
| Vanity, top, faucet, toilet, mirror, fan, lights | $2,000 to $5,000 | Stock at the low end, semi-custom and quartz at the high end |
| Drywall, paint, trim, finish carpentry | $1,000 to $2,000 | |
| Permit | $150 to $400 | Town of Cary, trade permits for plumbing and electrical |
| Total | $12,500 to $26,000 | Most land between $16,000 and $21,000 |
What moves a Cary bathroom from one band to the next
- Moving plumbing. Keeping the toilet, sink and shower where they are is the biggest saving in any bathroom. Moving a drain means opening the floor, and on a slab foundation it means cutting concrete.
- Tile versus prefab. A tiled shower costs more than an acrylic surround because it is built in place in several steps. It also lasts decades longer and is what buyers recognize as a remodeled bathroom.
- What is behind the wall. Many Cary homes sit on crawlspaces in a humid climate, and a tub that has been leaking slowly into the subfloor is common. Keep 10 to 15 percent in reserve for rot, old supply lines and venting that was never done right.
- Fixtures and finishes. A $300 faucet and a $1,200 faucet do the same job. Decide early where you want to spend and where standard will do.
- Glass. Frameless enclosures with custom hardware can run several times the price of a semi-frameless door. A fixed panel with an open entry is often the best-looking and cheapest option in a 60-inch shower.
Want an itemized number for your bathroom?
HomePro Remodeling gives Cary, Apex, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina and Raleigh homeowners a free in-home visit and a written, itemized proposal. Call (919) 758-3683 or request a free estimate. See our bathroom remodeling page and our Cary service area page.
Permits for a bathroom remodel in Cary
Replacing a vanity, toilet, faucet or floor in the same place needs no permit. A new shower valve, a moved drain, a new exhaust fan circuit or any wall change does, and in Cary it comes from the Town of Cary Inspections and Permits office at Town Hall, not from Wake County. Apex, Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina each run their own office as well. Your contractor should pull it; HomePro does on every project that needs one. Our guide to remodeling permits in Cary, Apex, Holly Springs and Raleigh covers each town’s office, what is exempt and what the permits cost.
How long a Cary bathroom remodel takes
Once demolition starts, a powder room is usually a week or so, a hall bath two to three weeks, and a primary bath with a new layout three to five weeks or more, with tile cure times and glass lead time setting the pace. The bigger variable is before demolition: tile, vanities and glass can take weeks to arrive, so a contractor who orders everything first and demolishes second will finish sooner than one who starts the day you sign.
Is a bathroom remodel worth it in Cary?
Cary’s median home sale price sits around $630,000 in 2026, and at that price a bathroom with a 1998 garden tub and cultured marble vanity top is the first thing a buyer notices. National data puts a mid-range bathroom remodel’s resale return in the 70 to 80 percent range, and in the Triangle an updated primary bath helps a home sell faster and with fewer concessions. The rest of the return is daily: a shower you actually like, storage that works, and no more fighting the same leaking tub spout.
Cary bathroom remodel cost questions
Is $5,000 enough to remodel a bathroom in Cary?
For a powder room, usually yes. For a full bath it covers a cosmetic refresh of the vanity, toilet, floor, lighting and paint with the tub and surround staying.
How much does a tub-to-shower conversion cost in Cary?
In a 5×8 hall bath with the drain staying put, a tiled walk-in shower with glass typically lands in the mid-teens to low $20,000s including the rest of the bathroom. See our tub-to-shower conversion guide for what is involved.
What is the most expensive part of a bathroom remodel?
Labor across the trades is the largest share, usually 40 to 60 percent. Among materials, the tiled shower and its glass are the biggest line.
Can I get a real estimate without committing?
Yes. A free in-home visit with measurements and a written, itemized proposal is how every HomePro project starts, and there is no obligation.
How is Cary different from Raleigh for bathroom costs?
Labor rates are the same. Cary’s housing stock is newer and more uniform, which makes projects more predictable, and the permit office is the Town of Cary rather than the City of Raleigh. Our Raleigh bathroom remodel cost guide covers that market.
Ranges in this guide reflect published North Carolina and national remodeling cost data and typical western Wake County projects as of 2026. They are market figures, not HomePro Remodeling quotes. Every HomePro proposal is itemized for your bathroom and your selections.
