A full bathroom remodel in Collin County typically runs about $12,000 to $25,000 for a standard hall or guest bath in 2026, while a primary or master-suite bathroom more often lands between $25,000 and $50,000, and a high-end, expanded suite can climb past $80,000. Those are 2026 market ranges pulled from national cost data — Angi, This Old House, and the industry Cost vs. Value Report, not a quote from The Remo Guys — and where your project falls inside them depends far less on your ZIP code than on three things: the size of the room, how far the plumbing has to move, and what goes on behind the tile. This guide breaks down those drivers so you can budget the bathroom you actually want instead of guessing from a per-square-foot average.
What a bathroom remodel costs in Collin County (2026)
National data gives a useful frame. This Old House's 2026 figures put the average bathroom remodel at $15,586, with most projects between $6,456 and $24,715; Angi's 2026 data centers a little lower, at $12,146, with a typical range of $2,500 to $30,000 and a rule of thumb of about $70 to $250 per square foot. Collin County's higher-value neighborhoods — think Frisco, West Plano, or Prosper — tend to sit in the upper-middle of those ranges because of larger rooms and higher finish expectations.
Here's how a typical project sorts by scope. Treat these as frames, not bids, and definitely not a quote for your bathroom:
| Scope | What it usually includes | Typical 2026 range |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic refresh | New vanity, toilet, fixtures, paint, lighting — same layout, no demo | ~$6,000–$15,000 |
| Standard full remodel (hall/guest) | New tile, new shower, vanity, fixtures — same footprint | ~$14,000–$30,000 |
| Primary / master suite | Larger room, custom tiled shower, double vanity, sometimes a separate tub | ~$25,000–$50,000 |
| High-end / expanded | Moved walls, custom tile throughout, premium fixtures, layout change | $50,000–$80,000+ |
Those tiers line up with the 2024 Cost vs. Value Report, which pegs a midrange bathroom remodel at $25,251 and an upscale one at $78,840 nationally. The gap between the two isn't mostly "nicer stuff" — it's a bigger room, a moved layout, and a custom shower, which is exactly where the next sections go.
Guest bath vs. primary suite: why one costs about double
The single biggest predictor of your budget is which bathroom you're remodeling. A standard hall or guest bath runs about 80 square feet; a master bathroom is often 100 to 150 square feet, and the cost tends to run close to double — 2026 cost data puts a mid-range guest-bath remodel near $14,000–$22,000 and a full master-bath remodel around $25,000–$40,000 or more.
Size is only part of it. A guest bath usually has one vanity, one toilet, and one tub-shower — a tidy "rip-and-replace" if you keep everything where it is. A primary suite tends to want a double vanity, a separate custom shower, sometimes a freestanding soaking tub, and better finishes throughout — more fixtures, more tile, more plumbing, and more square footage of everything. That's why the honest advice for many households is to keep the guest bath simple and spend where you live: the primary bath you use every day.
One clarification worth making, because it changes the number by an order of magnitude: this guide is about remodeling an existing bathroom. If you're adding a primary suite — new walls, foundation, and roof — that's a different and far larger project; we price that separately in our guide to what it costs to add a primary suite in Collin County.
What actually drives the number
Two bathrooms the same size can differ by $20,000. Here's where that spread comes from.
Tile and waterproofing — the layer you don't see
Behind every good shower is a waterproofed assembly you'll never look at: a sloped pan or membrane, cement backer board instead of drywall in the wet zone, and every seam sealed before a single tile goes up. Done to industry standard — bonded sheet membranes like Schluter KERDI or liquid-applied RedGard, built to the ANSI A118.10 waterproofing spec — the membrane itself is a modest share of the shower budget: materials for a standard shower run roughly $75 to $650, plus labor. Tile, by contrast, is labor-heavy: professional installation runs about $8 to $15 per square foot in 2026, more for large-format or intricate patterns. It's tempting to see waterproofing as a place to save, but it's the one layer that decides whether the room lasts — and it's cheap now versus tearing out finished tile to reach a leak later.
Moving plumbing and changing the footprint
After the shower, relocating fixtures is the biggest cost lever — and the most local. Keep the toilet, sink, and shower where they are and you're doing a rip-and-replace. Move any of them more than a few inches and you're relocating drain and supply lines. On the slab-on-grade homes that fill Allen, Plano, Frisco, and McKinney — most sitting on expansive Blackland Prairie clay — that often means cutting into and re-pouring the concrete slab, which is a structural touch, not a cosmetic one. In Texas, that work belongs to a state-licensed plumber (licensed through the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners), just as adding a circuit belongs to a state-licensed electrician (licensed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation) — and the plumber pulls the plumbing permit and calls the rough-in inspection before the walls close. Plumbing alone averages about $5,545 on a remodel, per This Old House's 2026 data. The takeaway: lock your layout before demo day, because a moved wall or a relocated drain is where a "standard" budget quietly becomes a "custom" one.
The shower: prefab vs. custom tile
The shower is often the single most expensive element in the room — This Old House puts shower installation at about $8,044 on average in 2026. Your biggest choice is prefab versus tile. A walk-in shower with a prefab acrylic surround runs about $3,000–$6,000 installed; a custom tiled walk-in runs roughly $8,000 to $15,000+, with This Old House putting mid-range tiled showers at $8,000–$13,000 in 2026. A tub-to-shower conversion is the middle path many Collin County homeowners choose when the kids are grown and a second tub isn't earning its space — typically $3,000 to $12,000, with most mid-range conversions around $6,500. None of those is a quote; they're market ranges. The honest read: prefab is perfectly fine in a guest bath or a rental, while custom tile earns its cost in a primary suite you plan to keep.
Fixtures, vanity, and finishes
This is where budgets quietly balloon. A stock vanity and cabinetry averages about $2,929 and a basic countertop about $332 (This Old House, 2026) — but a custom double vanity with stone tops can easily run $4,000 to $10,000+. A toilet averages around $467, a basic tub about $1,123, and faucets, shower systems, and lighting swing widely by brand. The fix isn't to cheap out; it's to set defined allowances for tile, vanity, counters, and fixtures up front, tied to real selections, so the number you budget is the number you build.
A line-item look at where the money goes
Put the pieces together and a mid-range Collin County bathroom sorts roughly like this, using This Old House's 2026 national line-item averages:
| Line item | Typical 2026 cost |
|---|---|
| Shower installation | ~$8,044 |
| Plumbing | ~$5,545 |
| Vanity / cabinetry | ~$2,929 |
| Insulation & drywall | ~$2,338 |
| Tiling | ~$1,326 |
| Bathtub | ~$1,123 |
| Toilet | ~$467 |
| Electrical | ~$456 |
| Countertops | ~$332 |
What that table doesn't show is labor's share, and it's large: a bathroom is the most system-dense room in the house, running five trades — plumber, electrician, tile setter, carpenter, and finisher — in a few square feet, each depending on the one before. Coordinating that sequence is most of the real work, and it's the case for handing the whole room to one bathroom remodeling team rather than stitching together separate bids.
The costs a per-square-foot number hides
- Permits and inspections. The fee itself is a small line item, but moving plumbing or electrical, or opening a wall, triggers a permit and a sequence of inspections you can't skip. Our guide to remodeling permit costs in Collin County walks the city-by-city numbers.
- Hidden conditions. Older homes routinely reveal rot, failed old plumbing, or water damage once the tile comes off — which is why seasoned builders carry a 10–20% contingency, higher for anything built before the 1990s.
- Ventilation. A properly sized exhaust fan ducted to the outside is cheap, but on humid, slab-on-grade DFW homes it's the difference between a dry room and mold behind new tile.
How to budget so you're not surprised
- Name your scope tier honestly — refresh, standard remodel, or primary suite — before you shop per-foot figures.
- Decide the layout first. Moving fixtures is the costliest single change you can make; keeping them is the easiest way to protect the budget.
- Get defined allowances for tile, vanity, counters, and fixtures, tied to real selections.
- Carry a 10–20% contingency, weighted higher for older homes.
- Gut-check with a tool, then get a real bid. Our cost estimator turns your scope into a ballpark range in a couple of minutes — a better starting point than a national average.
One honest note on value: Remodeling's 2024 Cost vs. Value Report found a midrange bathroom recoups about 74% of its cost at resale, versus roughly 45% for an upscale one. More spend rarely returns proportionally more — so unless you're staying for years, the mid-range remodel is usually the smarter money.
Get a real number for your bathroom
Online ranges are a starting point, not a bid. The Remo Guys is an insured and bonded design-build general contractor based in Allen, serving Collin County from Plano and Frisco to McKinney and Prosper. We'll walk your bathroom, price the waterproofing, plumbing, and finishes honestly, and give you a real, itemized number instead of a per-square-foot guess. Request a consultation and let's plan the room right.
Frequently asked
- How much does a bathroom remodel cost in Collin County in 2026?
- Most standard hall or guest bathrooms run about $12,000 to $25,000 in 2026, while a primary or master suite more often lands between $25,000 and $50,000, and a high-end expanded suite can exceed $80,000. Those are 2026 market ranges from national cost data — Angi, This Old House, and the Cost vs. Value Report — not a quote from The Remo Guys. Your number depends most on the room's size, whether the plumbing moves, and the finish level, so a walkthrough and an itemized bid are the only way to price it precisely.
- Why does a primary bathroom cost about twice as much as a guest bath?
- A guest bath is usually around 80 square feet with one vanity, one toilet, and one tub-shower — a straightforward rip-and-replace if you keep the layout. A primary suite runs 100 to 150 square feet and typically adds a double vanity, a separate custom tiled shower, sometimes a soaking tub, and higher-end finishes. More square footage, more fixtures, more tile, and more plumbing is why 2026 cost data puts a mid-range guest-bath remodel near $14,000–$22,000 and a full master-bath remodel around $25,000–$40,000 or more. (Adding a brand-new suite is a different, far larger project than remodeling the bath you already have.)
- What's the most expensive part of a bathroom remodel?
- Usually the shower and the plumbing. This Old House's 2026 data puts shower installation at about $8,044 and plumbing around $5,545 on an average remodel. A custom tiled walk-in shower ($8,000–$15,000+) costs far more than a prefab acrylic one ($3,000–$6,000), and relocating fixtures — which on Collin County slab homes can mean cutting the concrete slab — adds cost a same-spot swap never touches.
- Do I need a permit to remodel a bathroom in Collin County?
- A purely cosmetic refresh — new vanity, fixtures, paint, like-for-like tile — generally doesn't. The moment you move a drain or supply line, add an electrical circuit, or open a wall, it does, and in Texas a state-licensed plumber (through the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners) or electrician (through TDLR) pulls the trade permit and the required inspections. The permit fee itself is small; what it really buys is inspected work that protects your home's value at resale.
- Is it cheaper to keep my bathroom's existing layout?
- Almost always, and it's the biggest lever you control. Keeping the toilet, sink, and shower in place makes the project a rip-and-replace and avoids relocating drain and supply lines — which, on the slab-on-grade homes common across Allen, Plano, and Frisco, can require cutting and re-pouring concrete. If your layout basically works, spending on tile, fixtures, and a better shower usually delivers more than moving walls.
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