According to a recent trend report by Yelp, home theater project interest tracked by the website skyrocketed in 2024, with 562% more people seeking out professional installers compared to 2023 prior.
Methodology of the Yelp Report
According to Yelp, the website determines raw interest in trending topics by tracking search requests made by consumers on the site. For trending project requests, such as with home theaters, the site analyzed the change in user Request a Quote project requests from 2023 to 2024 made on the site.
This means that users on Yelp requested project quotes from home theater installers on the site 562% more frequently in 2024 than in 2023. The report, however, does not specify the follow-through on many of these requests, nor does it state the size of cost of the projects that are being quoted.
What CE Pro is Seeing
CE Pro conducts its own analysis of the home theater market on an annual basis, though that report is more geared towards the measuring the amount of work the professionals are doing on the supply side. By contrast, the Yelp report is measuring the raw demand being displayed by consumers on the site. In summary, CE Pro’s report may better represent the supply that’s rising to meet demand, which certainly is something that has been noticed in this year’s numbers.
According to CE Pro‘s home entertainment deep dive, 30.8% of respondents stated they were completing 11 or more home theater projects each year, which represented a 25% uptick in business compared to the year before. Oddly enough, however, the median number of home theaters being completed in a year dropped from five projects in 2023 to four projects in 2024.
How Current Remodeling Trends Support It
Experts weighing in on the Yelp report have discussed the elevated costs of going out as being the main driver in getting homeowners to consider more homegrown entertainment options. Once a haven attainable only by the wealthiest, more families of varying economic incomes are turning on to the idea of transforming under utilized spaces into home theaters.
This trend is also coinciding with a rise in home renovation spending as high mortgage rates mixed with limited inventory have made purchasing a new home unattractive for many. In fact, Harvard estimates that Americans in 2025 have so far spent more on home renovations than they did during COVID, though its uncertain if the spending increase is related to tariff-borne cost increases.
Additional Findings
In that same report, the website also found that basement remodels were up 155%, a number that also aligns with CE Pro analysis, as integrators said basement rooms accounted for nearly half (45.6%) of all home theater installations in 2024.
The Yelp report also found that requests for sound systems rose 89% with many likely related to those home theater projects, though it’s also worth noting that alongside home theaters, listening rooms have risen in popularity according to reports from the Wall Street Journal.
Searches for “pool tables for sale” too rose by 120% in 2024, as well, which again matches what CE Pro has seen as multipurpose media rooms have taken the lead when it comes to driving the bulk of projects.
In Summary
Demand for home theaters has skyrocketed among consumers but it’s difficult to determine exactly what these consumers are looking for when it comes to building their ideal home theater. Still, the expensive nature of going out, combined with extra cash piling up that may have gone into buying a new house is prompting many to consider seeking out a professional to help build out their spaces for an immersive night in.
