Hidden Costs of Homeownership Rise

Seattle, WA, November 6, 2026—The hidden costs of homeownership, which include maintenance, property taxes and homeowners insurance, now add up to $16,566 per year nationwide, or about $1,380 a month, on top of a monthly mortgage payment, an analysis from Zillow and Thumbtack finds.

Here’s how those costs break down for the typical U.S. homeowner:

• $11,171 on annual maintenance
• $2,266 on homeowners insurance
• $3,129 on property taxes

Over the past five years, homeowners insurance premiums have jumped 54%, maintenance costs have risen 32%, and property taxes have gone up 19%. But the pace is cooling. Overall, the cost of owning a home rose just 3% in the past year, compared with 32% over five years.

Maintenance shows the clearest slowdown. Yearly increases in maintenance costs have shrunk every year, from 9% in 2022 to 1% in 2026. Insurance may be following the same path. Federal data shows insurance premiums rose just 0.3% between February and June 2026, though they remain well above where they were five years ago.

The biggest jumps have been in a handful of metros. Insurance premiums are up at least 50% over five years in 19 of the 30 metros analyzed, led by Dallas (75%), Tampa (71%), Denver (70%) and Houston (69%). Miami homeowners pay the most, at nearly $5,000 a year. Six metros now top $3,000 a year: Miami, Dallas, Houston, Tampa, Orlando and Denver. Homeowners in Houston, Phoenix, Denver and Nashville pay more each year for insurance than for property taxes. Severe weather, including hail, tornadoes and damaging winds, may be driving premium increases in storm-prone metros like Dallas and Denver.

Maintenance remains the largest hidden cost everywhere, at roughly two-thirds of the national total, and tops $12,000 in six major metros, including Seattle ($12,594) and Boston ($12,486). Los Angeles experienced the sharpest surge in maintenance expenses, jumping 27% year over year. This steep rise reflects a mix of regional factors, including wildfire-related recovery efforts, heightened demand for home services, and persistently elevated labor costs.

The total hidden costs of homeownership are highest in coastal metros: $25,111 in New York, $24,383 in San Francisco, $22,915 in Los Angeles and $22,096 in Boston. Even in the least costly metro analyzed, Phoenix, hidden costs run $14,187 a year.