The Cost Desk

Cost estimate

Electrical panel replacement (200-amp)

What replacing a main electrical panel with a 200-amp panel can cost when the meter and service cable stay, built from published wages, shelf prices and contractor cost data, and cross-checked against a federal database.

Data last checked . Every input is dated below.

Which breakers?

A new 200-amp panel with ordinary breakers on every circuit.

panel

Most homes have one main panel. Count a separate subpanel only if it is also being replaced.

Adjusts labor (state wages for this trade), materials and permits (state price levels). Permit fees are a rough stand-in; towns vary.

Fine-tune the estimateoptional

Know what your materials cost or how long the crew will take? Move a slider and the estimate follows. It stays in your browser.

9 hours per panel
3Ours: 6 to 1218
$520 per panel
$190Ours: $390 to $640$960

Stays in your browser. We only place it against the range.

Typical cost

Planning range $1,050 to $2,550

Where the money goes

  • Labor$41023%
  • Materials$53029%
  • Permits and inspections$21012%
  • Haul-away and disposal$101%
  • Contractor overhead and profit$62035%

For information only. A planning range, not a quote. We take care, but our sources can lag and so can we, so a figure may be out of date. It combines the low end of every input and the high end of every input, so it is deliberately wide. Real quotes can still fall outside it.

What moves the price

The same job can quote very differently. These are the usual reasons.

The service itself
If the meter base, service mast or the cable from the utility also has to be upgraded, the job costs much more. That is not in these figures.
Number of circuits
Every circuit needs a breaker, and current codes require arc-fault or ground-fault protection on many of them, which cost far more than a plain breaker.
What the electrician finds
Aluminum wiring, damaged cables, double-tapped breakers or old ungrounded circuits mean extra work before the new panel can go in.
Location and access
A panel in a finished wall, a tight closet or a far corner of a basement takes longer.
Permit and utility rules
Your town sets the permit and inspection fee, and the utility may charge to disconnect and reconnect power.

The same job at other sizes, and in each state

Both tables use the same estimate as the calculator above and its first choice, standard breakers. They are here to read across; the calculator takes your own size and state.

Estimate at five sizes, US average
SizeTypicalRangePer panel
1 panel$1,800$1,050 to $2,550$1,783
2 panel$3,250$1,850 to $4,650$1,623

Small jobs cost more per panel because a contractor has a minimum charge, and the per-unit figure falls as the job grows until the minimum no longer applies.

Cost by state, at 1 panel
Estimate by state and the District of Columbia at 1 panel
StateTypicalRangeAgainst the US average
Alabama$1,600$950 to $2,250−11%
Alaska$2,000$1,150 to $2,900+13%
Arizona$1,700$1,000 to $2,400−6%
Arkansas$1,500$900 to $2,150−15%
California$2,000$1,150 to $2,850+12%
Colorado$1,750$1,000 to $2,450−3%
Connecticut$1,850$1,050 to $2,600+3%
Delaware$1,750$1,000 to $2,500−2%
District of Columbia$2,050$1,150 to $2,900+14%
Florida$1,650$950 to $2,350−7%
Georgia$1,650$950 to $2,350−7%
Hawaii$2,100$1,200 to $3,000+18%
Idaho$1,700$1,000 to $2,400−5%
Illinois$2,000$1,150 to $2,900+13%
Indiana$1,700$1,000 to $2,450−4%
Iowa$1,600$950 to $2,300−9%
Kansas$1,700$950 to $2,400−6%
Kentucky$1,650$950 to $2,300−9%
Louisiana$1,600$950 to $2,300−10%
Maine$1,800$1,000 to $2,600+1%
Maryland$1,850$1,050 to $2,650+4%
Massachusetts$1,900$1,050 to $2,700+6%
Michigan$1,750$1,000 to $2,500−1%
Minnesota$1,850$1,050 to $2,700+5%
Mississippi$1,600$950 to $2,250−11%
Missouri$1,750$1,000 to $2,500−3%
Montana$1,750$1,000 to $2,500−3%
Nebraska$1,650$950 to $2,350−8%
Nevada$1,800$1,000 to $2,550+1%
New Hampshire$1,750$1,000 to $2,450−3%
New Jersey$2,000$1,150 to $2,900+13%
New Mexico$1,600$950 to $2,300−9%
New York$2,000$1,150 to $2,850+12%
North Carolina$1,600$950 to $2,250−10%
North Dakota$1,700$950 to $2,450−4%
Ohio$1,700$950 to $2,400−6%
Oklahoma$1,600$950 to $2,300−9%
Oregon$2,150$1,250 to $3,050+20%
Pennsylvania$1,800$1,050 to $2,600+2%
Rhode Island$1,800$1,000 to $2,550+1%
South Carolina$1,600$950 to $2,300−9%
South Dakota$1,600$950 to $2,300−9%
Tennessee$1,650$950 to $2,350−7%
Texas$1,650$950 to $2,350−8%
Utah$1,700$1,000 to $2,400−5%
Vermont$1,750$1,000 to $2,550−1%
Virginia$1,700$1,000 to $2,400−4%
Washington$2,050$1,150 to $2,950+16%
West Virginia$1,600$950 to $2,300−9%
Wisconsin$1,750$1,000 to $2,500−2%
Wyoming$1,750$1,000 to $2,500−2%

Each state's wages for this trade, material price level and permit level are applied to the same job. They are statewide averages; towns within a state differ, and an expensive city and a rural county can sit far apart.

How we got these numbers

Labor, parts, overhead and permits, added up. Each assumption below says how solid it is.

Checked sourcePublished, secondhandOur estimate
  • Our estimateLabor hours of 6 to 12 per panel (shutting off power, removing the old panel, mounting the new one, moving each circuit, labeling and testing) are our estimate. We found no reliable time study.
  • Checked sourceMaterials of $390 to $640 for the standard choice start from Lowe's shelf prices on 4 Nov 2026: a 200-amp main breaker panel ($209 to $349), 14 standard breakers at $7.28, a grounding rod and clamps ($32) and an allowance of $50 to $150 for connectors, labels and small parts. The breaker count is our estimate.
  • Checked sourcePermit fees of $170 to $250: one of the official city fee schedules we read (Auburn CA, Pleasanton CA, Albany NY; a small sample, not a national survey) lists a service panel upgrade at $169; the top end allows for surcharges and higher-priced places. Only one schedule had a clear panel fee.
  • Checked sourcePayroll costs of 28% to 33% of wages follow the Census 2022 figure for electrical contractors (fringe benefits 30.2% of payroll).
  • Checked sourceOverhead and profit of 40% to 60% is added on top of wages with payroll costs, materials, permits and disposal. Census 2022: electrical contractors' receipts were 53% above direct cost; NAHB's remodeler study gives 43%.
  • Checked sourceCross-check: the US government-funded REMDB database (2023 dollars) puts replacing a 200-amp panel at about $1,010 (low), $1,490 (middle) and $3,120 (high) installed. Our typical figure is about 20% above the middle with standard breakers and about 49% above it with arc-fault and ground-fault breakers, and inside the REMDB band in both cases. We add a permit and a full set of breakers, which REMDB may not include.
  • Not includedUtility company fees, a new meter base, service mast or service cable, a new subpanel, rewiring, drywall repair and surge protection are not included.
  • Checked sourceWith arc-fault and ground-fault breakers: Materials of $540 to $1,040 start from Lowe's shelf prices on 4 Nov 2026: the panel ($209 to $349), 8 to 11 standard breakers at $7.28, 3 to 6 arc-fault or ground-fault breakers at about $59 to $67 each, a grounding rod and clamps ($32) and $50 to $150 for connectors and labels. The counts are our estimate.

Sources

Where each input comes from, and when we last looked.

Related project costs