2026 State Construction Cost Index

California is the most expensive U.S. state to build in — a cost index of 112.5 against a national average of 100 (~13% above). Arkansas is the cheapest at 86.6. The same project costs about 30% more in California than in Arkansas. (Washington, D.C., a federal district, tops the overall index at 112.8.)

Most expensive states to build

#StateCost index (US=100)Concrete, $/yd³*
1California112.5$174
2Hawaii110.8$172
3Washington109.8$170
4Massachusetts109.4$170
5New Jersey108.8$169

Least expensive states to build

StateCost index (US=100)Concrete, $/yd³*
Arkansas86.6$134
Mississippi87.3$135
Alabama87.8$136
South Dakota88$136
Iowa88.4$137

*National ready-mix concrete ~$155/yd³ × each state's price-level multiplier — an illustrative example, not a per-state quote.

Material costs are moving too (BLS PPI, year over year)

MaterialYoYMoMNow
Copper roofing+33.5%+14.3%$14–$25 $/sq ft
Copper water pipe, Type L, ¾" diameter+33.5%+14.3%$2–$5 $/linear ft
Luxury vinyl plank flooring+18.2%+14%$1.5–$5.5 $/sq ft
Vinyl fence material+18.2%+14%$14–$38 $/linear ft
Rebar #3+10%+1.1%$0.3–$0.55 $/linear ft
Aluminum fence panel material-10%+0.5%$18–$45 $/linear ft

Full 50-state ranking

#StateCost index (US=100)vs nationalConcrete, $/yd³*
1 District of Columbia (D.C., federal district) 112.8 +13% $175
2 California 112.5 +13% $174
3 Hawaii 110.8 +11% $172
4 Washington 109.8 +10% $170
5 Massachusetts 109.4 +9% $170
6 New Jersey 108.8 +9% $169
7 New Hampshire 107.6 +8% $167
8 New York 107.6 +8% $167
9 Oregon 106.6 +7% $165
10 Connecticut 106.4 +6% $165
11 Maryland 105 +5% $163
12 Rhode Island 104.7 +5% $162
13 Colorado 102.3 +2% $159
14 Florida 102.1 +2% $158
15 Virginia 102.1 +2% $158
16 Alaska 102 +2% $158
17 Illinois 101.3 +1% $157
18 Vermont 101.1 +1% $157
19 Maine 100.8 +1% $156
20 Arizona 99.9 0% $155
21 Delaware 98 -2% $152
22 Minnesota 97.7 -2% $151
23 Texas 97.5 -2% $151
24 Nevada 96.4 -4% $149
25 Pennsylvania 96.2 -4% $149
26 Georgia 95.8 -4% $148
27 Utah 94.5 -5% $146
28 North Carolina 94.2 -6% $146
29 South Carolina 93.6 -6% $145
30 Michigan 93.4 -7% $145
31 Wisconsin 92.3 -8% $143
32 Wyoming 91.9 -8% $142
33 Idaho 91.8 -8% $142
34 Indiana 91.8 -8% $142
35 Tennessee 91.8 -8% $142
36 Ohio 91.5 -8% $142
37 Missouri 91.1 -9% $141
38 New Mexico 91 -9% $141
39 Louisiana 90.6 -9% $140
40 Montana 90.3 -10% $140
41 Kansas 90 -10% $140
42 Nebraska 89.8 -10% $139
43 Kentucky 89.4 -11% $139
44 West Virginia 89.2 -11% $138
45 Oklahoma 88.8 -11% $138
46 North Dakota 88.7 -11% $137
47 Iowa 88.4 -12% $137
48 South Dakota 88 -12% $136
49 Alabama 87.8 -12% $136
50 Mississippi 87.3 -13% $135
51 Arkansas 86.6 -13% $134

Methodology

The index is the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) — Regional Price Parities by State, 2022 — all-items Regional Price Parity, where the U.S. average = 100. mult = rpp/100. Applied to a national price to estimate a state-adjusted figure. RPP measures overall price level by state vs the national average; it is a cost-of-living proxy, not a per-material price quote. Dollar examples apply each state's multiplier to a current national material price from the LiveDataCalc price index (BLS Producer Price Index, updated monthly).

Price your own project by state: Concrete cost · Gravel cost · Asphalt cost.

Cite this study (free, CC BY 4.0)

Use any figure with attribution to LiveDataCalc and a link to this page.

California is the most expensive U.S. state to build in (construction cost index 112.5, vs a national average of 100); Arkansas is the least expensive (86.6). Source: LiveDataCalc State Construction Cost Index, derived from U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities. https://livedatacalc.com/data/state-construction-cost-index/

Or drop in a ready link:

<a href="https://livedatacalc.com/data/state-construction-cost-index/">2026 State Construction Cost Index — most & least expensive states to build (LiveDataCalc)</a>