Where can a home renovation or remodeling project cause less of a headache?

To mark May as National Home Improvement Month, Lawn Love ranked 2023's Best Cities for Tackling Home Improvements.

We compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on three categories. We looked at the average age of homes, access to designers and contractors, and average costs, among 32 total metrics.

See the 10 best (and 10 worst) cities for home improvement below, followed by key stats from our report.

Key insights:

• Magical makeovers: First place overall goes to Miami, also leading the way in Builder and Supplier Access. Magic City boasts the most construction suppliers, hardware stores, paint stores, and flooring suppliers per square mile. Miami also has the best access to roofing suppliers and roofers. 

• Evergreen enhancements: Renovation resources are plentiful for Washington state residents. Vancouver (No. 2) takes second place in Builder and Supplier Access, followed by Spokane (No. 9) and Tacoma(No. 17). For outdoor upgrades, Vancouver also has the highest number of deck and porch contractors. 

• Designer districts: Sunny California cities Ontario (No. 29), Orange(No. 6), Glendale (No. 37), and Garden Grove (No. 51) boast top access to residential landscape architects and designers. On the East Coast, Jersey City, New Jersey (No. 4), has the most residential architects and interior designers per 10,000 households, followed closely by Newark, New Jersey (No. 21).

• Old Dominion dwellings: There are many old homes in historic Virginia cities Alexandria (No. 3) and Richmond (No. 7). Thankfully, these cities take sixth and seventh places, respectively, in Builder and Supplier Access. Richmond and Alexandria each land within the top 20 cities for residential remodeling and home addition contractors per 10,000 homes. 

• Building the Buckeye State: Only one Ohio city — Cincinnati (No. 61) — finishes in the top half of our ranking, with the highest Builder and Supplier Access among them. Akron (No. 195), Toledo (No. 197), and Cleveland (No. 198) land in the bottom 10 with low scores across categories. Columbus (No. 122) scores well in Costs, while Dayton (No. 188) ranks decently in Builder and Supplier Access.

• Fixer-upper finances: Home rejuvenation projects are most affordable for residents in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (No. 73), which claims first place in Costs and Cost Inflators, followed by Laredo, Texas (No. 82), and Durham, North Carolina (No. 60). Conversely, the least affordable cities for home improvement are Detroit (No. 200), Cleveland (No. 198), and Rockford, Illinois (No. 199).