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Apartment turnover cost in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

A typical 2-bedroom apartment turnover in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington runs about $1,227–$3,965 (expected $2,096). That is 7% above the national figure of $1,960.

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Expected, typical 2 bedroom$2,096
Likely range$1,227 to $3,965
$1,227$3,965
Same scenario, nationally
$1,960
Pennsylvania median
$1,922
Data
BLS OEWS May 2025

What a turnover costs in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, by unit size

Expected cost of a make-ready turn for five common unit types, under three move-out conditions. The typical column also shows the likely range.

UnitLightTypicalHeavy
Studio1 bath$829$1,477$820 to $2,936$4,135
1 bedroom1 bath$829$1,724$995 to $3,356$5,371
2 bedroom1 bath$884$2,096$1,227 to $3,965$6,759
3 bedroom2 bath$994$2,615$1,551 to $4,871$8,470
3 bedroom house2 bath$1,044$2,981$1,804 to $5,536$9,875
  • LightMove-out in good shape: a few nail holes and scuffs, a dirty range and refrigerator, one bent blind.
  • TypicalA full repaint, spot-treated carpet stains, a hole in an interior door, bent blinds, torn screens, dirty grout, range and refrigerator.
  • HeavyPet-damaged carpet replaced, many wall holes and a full repaint, heavy-soil cleaning, odor treatment, a trash-out, a replaced door, missing keys and damaged cabinet doors (plus yard debris for the house).

Every scenario also carries the standard turn baseline: cleaning by bedroom and bathroom, HVAC filter, alarm test, bulbs, rekeying the exterior locks, a pest inspection and the final punch walk. Standard profile, property-manager vendor pricing, built in 2005, typical unit sizes assumed.

Local labor by trade

Every trade with local wage data is at or above the national median in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington: 11 of 13 run higher, from 4% above for pest control to 30% above for flooring. 2 more are within 1% of national.

Cheaper than national

No trade is below the national median in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington.

Pricier than national

  1. Flooring30% above
  2. Electrical18% above
  3. Plumbing17% above

Index is the local median hourly wage divided by the national median for the same occupations. Only the labor share of each price is scaled; materials are not.

TradeIndexVersus national median
Flooringcarpet and plank installation1.3030% above
Drywalldrywall visit charges1.2222% above *
Electricallicensed electrical work1.1818% above
Plumbinglicensed plumbing work1.1717% above
Paintingrepaints and touch-up1.1616% above
Appliance repairappliance repair and install1.1313% above
Locksmithrekeying and keys1.1111% above
Window glassglass replacement1.099% above
Hauling and trash-outtrash-out and bulky items1.088% above
Yard and landscapingmowing and yard cleanup1.088% above
HVACservice visits1.066% above
Pest controlinspection and treatment1.044% above
Handyman and maintenancesmall repairs, blinds, alarms, final walk1.011% above
Cleaningturn cleans and carpet cleaning1.00same as national

* Does not scale any task price. It only sets the visit minimum, so it is left out of the comparisons above.

Unit prices for common make-ready tasks in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington

What one unit of each task costs here, before any vendor visit minimum. Materials are included.

TaskLowExpectedHigh
Repaint all wallsper floor sq ft$0.62$0.97$1.59
Carpet replacement with padper sq ft$2.55$3.69$5.68
Standard turn clean, kitchen and living areasper unit$55.00$80.00$120.00
Rekey a lock cylinderper cylinder$16.65$27.75$49.95
Trash-out and haul-awayper cu yd$32.40$43.20$64.80
Drywall patch, doorknob-size holeeach$60.60$111.10$202.00
Replace window blindseach$17.09$36.18$95.48
Replace a smoke alarmeach$21.68$35.82$84.34
Replace an HVAC filtereach$9.90$19.49$42.17

How Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington compares

It is the most expensive of the 20 areas we price in Pennsylvania. A typical 2-bedroom turn there ranges from $1,813 in Johnstown to $2,096 in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, with a median of $1,922. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington is 9% above it. Nationally the same scenario comes to $1,960.

AreaTypical 2 bedroomVersus national
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington$2,096+7%
Chambersburg$2,093+7%
York-Hanover$2,023+3%
Harrisburg-Carlisle$2,006+2%
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton$2,004+2%
14 more areas not shown
Johnstown$1,813-7%
National figure$1,960baseline

Typical 2-bedroom turn, expected cost. Areas are ordered from most to least expensive within the state.

Notes for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington

  • Older buildings. Rental units built before 1978 need lead-safe work practices when paint is disturbed (EPA RRP). For the typical 2-bedroom scenario that adds about $1,276 in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, taking the expected total from $2,096 to $3,372. Enter the year built in the estimator to include it.
  • ZIP codes. The estimator maps ZIP prefixes 080xx, 081xx, 189xx, 190xx, 191xx, 193xx, 194xx, 197xx, 198xx, 219xx to this area. ZIP lookup works at the 3-digit level, so a ZIP at the edge of Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington may be priced at a neighbouring area.
  • Price level. Figures assume a property manager buying turns from local vendors (the estimator's default). A one-off owner hiring a single contractor typically pays more; a portfolio contract pays less.

Method and data

Every figure was computed by the same engine behind the free estimator and the API (ruleset pt-2026.10.3). National unit prices from published cost guides and bids are scaled by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics wage index for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area (OEWS May 2025). These are estimate ranges for budgeting, not quotes (read the disclaimer). How the estimate works.

We keep an anonymized record of estimates (ZIP3, unit size, findings and totals; never your notes, address, IP or contact details) to improve accuracy.

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