Construction Cost per Square Foot by Building Type (2026)
2026 construction cost per square foot by building type — single-family homes, multifamily, offices, retail, warehouses, schools and hospitals — as order-of-magnitude ranges for early design.
Construction Cost per Square Foot by Building Type (2026)
Direct answer
National order-of-magnitude ranges for hard construction cost per square foot, by building type, for schematic-design feasibility.
Key facts
| Metric | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Single-family home (custom) | $200–$500/sf | site + finish dependent |
| Multifamily (mid-rise) | $220–$400/sf | type III/V |
| Office (Class A shell) | $250–$450/sf | excl. tenant fit-out |
| Retail / strip | $150–$300/sf | cold shell |
| Warehouse / light industrial | $90–$200/sf | tilt-up |
| K–12 school | $350–$600/sf | |
| Hospital / acute care | $600–$1,200/sf | highest MEP intensity |
How to use these figures
These are order-of-magnitude ranges for the earliest phases of a project — feasibility, programming, and schematic design. They answer "is this project roughly viable?", not "what will it cost to build?". As the design develops, replace them with a quantity-surveyor or contractor estimate built from actual quantities.
Cost per square foot by building type
| Building type | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-family home (custom) | $200/sf | $325/sf | $500/sf |
| Multifamily (mid-rise) | $220/sf | $300/sf | $400/sf |
| Office (Class A, core & shell) | $250/sf | $350/sf | $450/sf |
| Retail (cold shell) | $150/sf | $220/sf | $300/sf |
| Warehouse / light industrial | $90/sf | $140/sf | $200/sf |
| K–12 school | $350/sf | $475/sf | $600/sf |
| Hospital / acute care | $600/sf | $850/sf | $1,200/sf |
What moves the number
- Quality tier — finishes, glazing, and structural expression are the biggest swing factors.
- MEP intensity — labs, kitchens, and healthcare carry heavy mechanical, electrical, and plumbing loads.
- Site & structure — poor soils, tight urban sites, and long spans add cost before you reach the finishes.
- Location — apply a city cost factor to move from a national baseline to a specific metro.
Take it into design
Open a massing study in Harth, set your gross floor area, and multiply by the range above to bracket a budget in minutes — then pressure-test it against the location factor for your site.
Transparent area-cost estimator
Use this worksheet only after replacing every placeholder with attributable project or licensed benchmark data.
Estimate formula: gross floor area × base-date cost per area × location factor × escalation factor × scope factor. Report a low, central and high case instead of a single number.
| Input | Low | Central | High | Evidence required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross floor area | — | — | — | Measured program area and area standard |
| Base cost / sf | — | — | — | Named dataset, building type, quality and base date |
| Location factor | — | — | — | Named geography and source edition |
| Escalation factor | — | — | — | Index series, start date and target midpoint |
| Scope factor | — | — | — | Explicit core/shell, fit-out and site-work assumptions |
Always state exclusions for land, professional fees, permits, finance, FF&E, contingency, taxes and abnormal site conditions. The current numeric ranges lack sufficient attributable provenance, so this draft is not approved for indexing.
Frequently asked questions
Do these figures include land and soft costs?
No. These are hard construction costs only — the shell and interior work a general contractor prices. Land acquisition, design fees, permits, financing, FF&E, and contingency are soft costs and are excluded. A common rule of thumb is to add 20–30% on top of hard cost for soft costs on a typical commercial project.
Why is the range so wide?
Quality tier, structural system, MEP intensity, and site conditions move cost per square foot by a factor of two or more within a single building type. Use the range to bracket feasibility, then narrow it with a location cost factor and a real estimate.
How do I adjust these to my city?
Multiply the national figure by the city's location cost factor. A total factor of 1.15 means construction there runs about 15% above the national average; 0.90 means about 10% below. See the location cost factor pages.
Source & method: Order-of-magnitude ranges compiled from public cost commentary and Harth internal benchmarking; hard cost (shell + interior fit-out), excluding land, soft costs, and contingency. Adjust to a metro with the location cost factor pages. Not RSMeans data.