The short answer
Fixr's national cost page, updated January 2025, puts the average water damage restoration job at about $3,000, with most jobs between $1,200 and $5,000. The spread is huge. Fixr's own range runs from about $350 for a toilet overflow to $50,000 for a black water basement.
Insurance claims run bigger, because a claim includes the rebuild, contents and sometimes a hotel. The Insurance Information Institute puts the average water damage and freezing claim from 2019 to 2023 at $15,400.
Cost by water type
The dirtier the water, the more gets thrown out and the more protection the crew needs. Fixr gives these extraction prices per square foot.
| Water | What it is | Extraction per sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Clean, Category 1 | Supply line, sink or tub overflow | $3.75 to $4.25 |
| Gray, Category 2 | Washer or dishwasher water, urine only toilet overflow | $4.10 to $6.50 |
| Black, Category 3 | Sewage, outside floodwater | $7 to $7.50 |
Cost by class, meaning how much got wet
| Class | What got wet | Mitigation range |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Part of one room | $150 to $400 |
| Class 2 | A whole room, carpet and pad, walls under 24 inches | $500 to $1,000 |
| Class 3 | Water from above, ceilings, walls and subfloor soaked | $1,000 to $3,000 |
| Class 4 | Hardwood, plaster or concrete needing special drying | $20,000 to $100,000 |
These are mitigation figures, the drying part. The rebuild is priced on top.
Cost by material to put back
| Material | Restoration per sq ft |
|---|---|
| Drywall | $1.50 to $3 |
| Mold affected areas | $4.75 to $5.50 |
| Carpet | $4.75 to $10.50 |
| Plaster | $6.25 to $18.75 |
| Hardwood | $10 to $15 |
For a 200 square foot floor, Fixr puts hardwood at $600 to $2,000, carpet at $450 to $2,000 and vinyl at $200 to $1,200.
Labor and emergency fees
Fixr lists labor at $70 to $200 an hour and an emergency fee of $50 to $200. Ask whether an after hours visit carries a fee before the crew rolls, and ask whether labor is billed by the hour or built into line items.
Run your own numbers
Here is how to turn those ranges into a rough check on an estimate. Measure the wet floor area in square feet, then multiply by the range for your water type. The tool below does the math in your browser. It uses only the Fixr extraction ranges above, so treat the result as a sanity check for the extraction line, not a quote.
A 144 sq ft room of clean water works out to about $540 to $612 for extraction at those rates.
A worked example
Take a 12 by 12 foot bedroom, 144 square feet, soaked by a burst supply line. Clean water, caught the same day.
- Extraction at $3.75 to $4.25 per square foot is about $540 to $612.
- Carpet replaced at $4.75 to $10.50 per square foot is about $684 to $1,512.
- Drywall flood cut 2 feet up on 48 feet of wall is 96 square feet. At $1.50 to $3 that is about $144 to $288.
That is simple math on national ranges, not a price for your house. It shows why one room can land near the national average, and why starting fast matters. The same room left for a week grows a mold line item and loses the chance to save the carpet.
What Las Vegas homes change
- No basements. Caliche is the top reason homes here rarely have one, so the priciest basement jobs on national lists mostly do not apply. Water spreads across the slab instead, into more rooms.
- Slab leaks. The plumber's bill to find and fix the line is separate from the water damage bill. Ask your insurer how each is treated.
- Hard water. LVVWD rates valley water at 16 grains per gallon. Water heaters often get replaced at the same time as the cleanup. InterNACHI gives a tank 6 to 12 years.
- Summer heat. Clean water turns dirty faster in heat. A job that sits becomes a more expensive category.
How to read an estimate
- Find the water category and class on it. If they are missing, ask.
- Match the square footage to your own measurements.
- Look for the drying days and the number of air movers and dehumidifiers.
- Make sure mitigation and rebuild are separate.
- Ask what each removed item was and why it could not be saved.
A fair estimate reads like the job. If you cannot match a line to something in your house, ask about it.