Michigan Named America’s Fifth-Costliest State for Home Upkeep, With Hard Water and Older Homes Adding Pressure, New Study Finds

Photo by Erik Mclean

Michigan homeowners know a furnace failure in winter can turn maintenance into an urgent expense. Keeping heating, plumbing and electrical systems working means budgeting for more than the mortgage.

Across Michigan, older homes can bring ongoing repair needs, while hard water can leave mineral buildup in pipes and water heaters. Local trade wages also influence the cost of bringing in professional help.

To compare these upkeep pressures across the country, SupplyHouse, an online nationwide supplier for the skilled trades, ranked all 50 states in its 2026 Home Upkeep Index. Using BLS wage data, NOAA climate data, Census housing data and water data from EPA records and utility reports, the study scored states on repair labor costs, climate stress, housing age and water hardness to identify America’s most and least costly states to maintain a home.

Key Takeaways:

• Michigan ranks as America’s fifth-most expensive state to maintain a home, with an index score of 76.50 out of 100, just behind Wisconsin at 76.84.

• Michigan has the fourth-hardest water in the study, at 195 mg/L, about 8.5 times Oregon’s 23 mg/L, the lowest figure. Water hardness measures the mineral content of municipal tap water, which can contribute to buildup in plumbing and water heaters.

• Michigan has the ninth-oldest housing stock, placing it ahead of Wisconsin (No. 11) and Minnesota (No. 20) on the study’s housing-age ranking.

• Michigan and Illinois are the only two states in the national top 10 for both the oldest housing stock and hardest water, combining two of the pressures included in the home upkeep index.

• Michigan ranks No. 15 for repair labor costs and No. 16 for climate stress. The labor component uses trade wages, while climate stress combines heating and cooling demand, freeze-thaw cycles and humidity.

• Michigan ranks costlier for home upkeep than nearby Indiana and Ohio, which place No. 13 and No. 18, respectively.

• The 10 most expensive states to maintain a home, in order: Illinois, Alaska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York, Kansas, Montana and Connecticut.

• The 10 least expensive states to maintain a home, starting with the cheapest: South Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, Alabama, Nevada and Arizona.

You can view the full study here: https://blog.supplyhouse.com/home-upkeep-index/