Fernando de Querol Cumbrera
Research expert covering construction, loans, leasing, savings, and debt
Construction costs in the United States - statistics & facts
Construction companies need to estimate the costs in which they are likely to incur in a given project to deliver it under budget. To calculate those costs, contractors need to take several factors into account: the price of construction materials, fixtures, and fittings, as well as its transportation to the building site, the salaries of construction workers, the cost of design, the price of the equipment and machinery used, fees, or the price of land in that specific U.S. city, among others.
Overall, the price of materials, the price of land, and labor costs are among the inputs with the biggest effect on the final cost of constructing a building.
How does location affect costs?
Location can be the cause of important cost discrepancies in construction. For example, New York City’s construction costs for retail centers tend to be one of the highest in the country, due to various factors, such as limited space. The zoning, infrastructure, and even the geography of the land, can also have a major effect on the cost of materials and their supply. Other variables, such as the labor market or the standards and codes, can be different in each territory.Construction costs by type of building
The label non-residential building alludes to a wide range of sectors for commercial and industrial use, including retail, education, health, warehouse, and manufacturing. Overall, the construction costs of non-residential buildings in the U.S. have been increasing in the past years. Nevertheless, their producer prices may vary a lot, as each sector has very different needs, and requires the creation of very different spaces. Those requirements may affect the size of the building or the materials used, which translate into different prices. For example, data centers were one of the types of building with the highest construction costs in Vancouver, Canada, while light industry buildings were among the cheapest.Overall, the price of materials, the price of land, and labor costs are among the inputs with the biggest effect on the final cost of constructing a building.
