Fernando de Querol Cumbrera
Research expert covering construction, loans, leasing, savings, and debt
Public construction in the United States - statistics & facts
Spending on construction makes up a significant portion of the United States’ gross domestic product (GDP) and public construction, a significant part of the construction industry. In 2023, the Federal, state, and local governments spent nearly 451 billion dollars on public construction. That includes all types of projects, from renovations, repair, and maintenance to building new infrastructure, social housing, and non-residential buildings. In the past decades, most of that public construction was financed by state and local governments.
Government spending on construction has a huge impact on the economy, not only because it also up a significant share of the construction sector, but also because it is strategically spent on key sectors and projects.
What does the government spend its construction money on?
Although the amount of money that the U.S. government spends on construction projects is very high, it only amounts to a fraction of the overall construction spending. The segments on which public construction focused the most in the United States were infrastructure projects such as highways and streets, transportation, sewage and water supply, and education. These are projects that are key for any economy to grow and run smoothly. However, some countries focus more on certain segments. For example, new public housing amounted to nearly a three percent of the total public and private construction output in the UK in 2023. In contrast, in the United States, building public housing represented less of a priority, as that same year, it was one of the smallest segments of public construction.The legacy of Federal construction projects
Even if, as we have seen, state and local governments make up most of the public construction in the U.S., there are certain projects and spending packages that have a long-lasting impact on the country. A prime example of that is the U.S. Interstate Highway System, which was approved in 1956, and it still was one of the most expensive major infrastructure projects in the U.S. as of 2019. More recently, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was approved by congress in 2021, unlocking spending for roads, bridges, public transportation, clean energy and power, telecommunications, rail, and other types of infrastructure. Alone, the highway funding of the IIJA is expected to last until 2026.Government spending on construction has a huge impact on the economy, not only because it also up a significant share of the construction sector, but also because it is strategically spent on key sectors and projects.
