How much does it cost to build a house?
Building a typical new single-family house cost $428,215 in construction alone, about $162 per square foot for 2,647 finished square feet, in the National Association of Home Builders survey of houses built in 2024, published 20 January 2025. The lot, financing, overhead, sales commission and the builder's profit sat on top of that, and the average sale price with all of them in was $665,298. The U.S. Census Bureau measures the price buyers paid: the median new house sold in 2025 went for $417,400 with its lot, and the median price per square foot of floor area, lot excluded, was $154.79. The calculator further down multiplies your own square footage by the rate you were quoted.
$428,215
average construction cost of a typical new single-family house built in 2024, lot excluded
about $162
construction cost per square foot, for an average 2,647 finished square feet, 2024 survey
$665,298
average sale price with the lot, financing, overhead, commission and profit included, 2024 survey
$154.79
median price per square foot of floor area, new single-family houses sold in 2025, lot excluded
$417,400
median sales price of new single-family houses sold in 2025, lot included
$393,700
median sales price of new houses sold in August 2026, lot included, preliminary
Cost breakdown
Each table below comes from one source, named underneath it, with the date that source last revised the figures. Everything is a United States figure in USD.
What the sale price of a new house is made of, from the NAHB survey of houses built in 2024
| Line, as the report prints it | Average | Share of sale price |
|---|---|---|
| A. Finished lot cost (including financing cost) | $91,057 | 13.7 percent |
| B. Total construction cost | $428,215 | 64.4 percent |
| C. Financing cost | $10,220 | 1.5 percent |
| D. Overhead and general expenses | $38,248 | 5.7 percent |
| E. Marketing cost | $5,633 | 0.8 percent |
| F. Sales commission | $18,955 | 2.8 percent |
| G. Profit | $72,971 | 11.0 percent |
| Total sales price | $665,298 | 100.0 percent |
Construction cost of building a house by stage, from the same NAHB survey
| Stage | Average | Share of construction cost |
|---|---|---|
| I. Site work (permits, impact fees, water and sewer, architecture and engineering) | $32,719 | 7.6 percent |
| II. Foundations | $44,748 | 10.5 percent |
| III. Framing | $70,982 | 16.6 percent |
| IV. Exterior finishes | $57,510 | 13.4 percent |
| V. Major systems rough-ins (plumbing, electrical, HVAC) | $82,319 | 19.2 percent |
| VI. Interior finishes | $103,391 | 24.1 percent |
| VII. Final steps (landscaping, outdoor structures, driveway, clean up) | $27,710 | 6.5 percent |
| VIII. Other | $8,835 | 2.1 percent |
| Total construction cost | $428,215 | 100.0 percent |
The twelve largest single lines inside that construction cost, from the same NAHB survey
| Line, as the report prints it | Average | Share of construction cost |
|---|---|---|
| H. Framing (including roof) | $49,763 | 11.6 percent |
| F. Excavation, foundation, concrete, retaining walls, and backfill | $43,002 | 10.0 percent |
| R. Electrical (except fixtures) | $27,383 | 6.4 percent |
| Q. Plumbing (except fixtures) | $27,180 | 6.3 percent |
| S. HVAC | $26,938 | 6.3 percent |
| M. Exterior wall finish | $24,450 | 5.7 percent |
| Z. Cabinets, countertops | $19,056 | 4.5 percent |
| N. Roofing | $16,732 | 3.9 percent |
| O. Windows and doors (including garage door) | $15,990 | 3.7 percent |
| AB. Flooring | $15,388 | 3.6 percent |
| V. Drywall | $13,962 | 3.3 percent |
| I. Trusses (if not included above) | $12,903 | 3.0 percent |
Price per square foot and sales price of new houses sold in 2025 by region, from the Census Bureau
| Region | Median price per square foot | Average price per square foot | Median sales price | Average sales price | Median floor area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $154.79 | $171.95 | $417,400 | $523,800 | 2,194 sq ft |
| Northeast | $229.55 | $280.23 | $750,800 | $1,061,300 | 2,568 sq ft |
| Midwest | $155.19 | $165.86 | $387,400 | $449,700 | 2,038 sq ft |
| South | $144.89 | $155.62 | $372,800 | $458,800 | 2,204 sq ft |
| West | $212.50 | $224.31 | $541,900 | $649,300 | 2,188 sq ft |
Sales price of new houses sold, the latest monthly release, from the Census Bureau and HUD
| Measure | August 2026 | July 2026 | August 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sales price | $393,700 | $392,200 | $417,900 |
| Average sales price | $478,700 | $526,400 | $525,100 |
Price per square foot of houses started in 2025, custom against spec, from NAHB's analysis of the Census Survey of Construction
| Houses started in 2025 | Median price per square foot |
|---|---|
| Custom single-family detached, contract price on the owner's land | $171 |
| Spec single-family detached, sale price with the improved lot value excluded | $152 |
| Spec, New England | above $262 |
| Spec, Pacific | $227 |
| Spec, Mountain | $204 |
| Spec, Middle Atlantic | $193 |
| Spec, East South Central | $138 |
A bar for each row of the table above, 8 of them, drawn to the same scale so the spread is visible at a glance. The figure beside each bar is the one the table prints.
Work out your own cost to build a house
The calculator holds no figures of its own. It multiplies the finished square footage you type by the per-foot rate you were quoted, in your browser, and the sourced rates sit beside the box rather than inside it. The lot is collected and shown, and kept out of the sum, because every rate on this page excludes it.
The house $0.00
Your own construction estimate, lot excluded $0.00
What changes the price
- How big the house is
- The National Association of Home Builders survey house is 2,647 finished square feet; the U.S. Census Bureau puts the median new house sold in 2025 at 2,194 square feet and the median completed one at 2,142. Every per-foot rate on this page multiplies, so size moves the total more than any finish choice.
- Where it is
- The U.S. Census Bureau measured a median of $229.55 per square foot in the Northeast and $144.89 in the South for new houses sold in 2025, with the lot out of both figures. The National Association of Home Builders publishes national averages only and says its sample is too small for a geographic breakdown.
- Custom or spec
- A house built to your plan on your land is priced as a contract, and the National Association of Home Builders puts the 2025 median at $171 per square foot against $152 for a spec house once its lot is taken out, the widest gap since 2011.
- The lot
- The finished lot, including its financing, was $91,057 in the National Association of Home Builders survey, 13.7 percent of the sale price, and it is the line that varies most with the address. None of the per-foot rates on this page contain it.
- The finishes
- Interior finishes are the largest stage at $103,391 in the National Association of Home Builders survey, 24.1 percent of construction, and most of that stage is chosen: cabinets and countertops, flooring, appliances, lighting and paint.
- Fees before anyone digs
- The National Association of Home Builders survey counts $7,640 in building permit fees, $6,367 in impact fees and $6,260 in water and sewer fees and inspections inside site work. They are set by the jurisdiction and do not move with the house.
How to pay less
- Ask for the quote by stage
- The National Association of Home Builders survey splits construction into eight stages. A quote laid out the same way can be compared line by line against the shares in the second table, and a stage that is far out of proportion is a question to ask.
- Put the choices where the money is
- Cabinets and countertops at $19,056, flooring at $15,388 and appliances at $7,499 in the National Association of Home Builders survey are the lines a buyer picks from a catalogue. Framing and foundations are not.
- Compare per square foot with the lot out
- The U.S. Census Bureau excludes the improved lot from its price per square foot and includes it in its sales price. When two quotes are compared per foot, make sure both treat the land the same way, or the cheaper-looking one may simply have left it out.
- Know the fixed part
- Permit, impact and utility connection fees, the first lines of site work in the National Association of Home Builders survey, are set by the local authority and published by it. Ask the building department for the schedule before the builder quotes them.
Questions
How much does it cost to build a house per square foot?
About $162 per square foot was the construction cost in the National Association of Home Builders survey of houses built in 2024, lot excluded. The U.S. Census Bureau measured a median sale price of $154.79 per square foot of floor area for new houses sold in 2025, also with the lot excluded, and the National Association of Home Builders puts houses started in 2025 at $171 custom and $152 spec.
Does the cost to build a house include the land?
Not in the construction figures. The National Association of Home Builders lists the finished lot as its own line, $91,057 on average, outside the $428,215 construction cost. The U.S. Census Bureau includes the improved lot in its sales price and excludes it from its price per square foot, and says so in each table header.
Why do the NAHB and Census figures disagree?
They measure different houses. The National Association of Home Builders report says its $665,298 average sale price is roughly $150,000 higher than the latest Census average, because its survey of 41 builders is weighted toward small builders who build pricier houses. The U.S. Census Bureau measures every new house sold.
How much profit does the builder make on a new house?
The National Association of Home Builders survey puts profit at $72,971, 11.0 percent of the sale price, before tax. The report notes the long-run average of that share since 1998 is 9.8 percent.
How much does it cost to build a 2,000 square foot house?
This page does not multiply its sources' rates for you, because the result would read as this site's quote. The calculator above does the arithmetic on the rate you type, and the sourced rates sit beside it: about $162 per square foot in the National Association of Home Builders survey and $154.79 in the U.S. Census Bureau data, both with the lot excluded.
Is it cheaper to build a house than to buy one?
This page cannot say, because its sources price new houses only. The U.S. Census Bureau reports a median of $417,400 for new houses sold in 2025 and $393,700 for August 2026, and the National Association of Home Builders reports $665,298 for its survey house. Neither body publishes a matching figure for an existing house.
Where these figures come from
Every figure here is in US dollars and comes from the body named beside it. The builder survey is the National Association of Home Builders' Cost of Constructing a Home report dated 20 January 2025, covering houses built in 2024, with usable responses from 41 builders; the report says it is a national average, that the sample is too small for a geographic breakdown, and that it is not a tool for estimating a particular house in a particular location. The Census figures are from the Bureau's 2025 Characteristics of New Housing tables, published 1 July 2026, and from the New Residential Sales release of 24 September 2026, whose August figures are preliminary. The custom and spec rates are from the National Association of Home Builders' analysis of the Census Survey of Construction, published 14 September 2026. All were read on 8 October 2026. Nothing here is averaged across sources, and no total on this page has been computed by this site.