What does a Texas building actually cost to build?
Not an estimate. Not a model. The median, low, and high declared value per square foot from real Texas building permits, with the count of permits behind every number. You enter the building type and size. We show you what the public record says.
Single-family home · all Texas · 2,400 sf
Based on 1,000 Texas building permits · last 24 months · newest record 2026-10-08
Range at 2,400 sf
Low (p10)
$81/sf
$194,400 total
Median
$150/sf
$360,000 total
High (p90)
$179/sf
$429,600 total
Where the median total goes
ModeledModeled split — not from Texas permits. National construction-economics averages applied to the median total. Not a line-item takeoff.
Provenance
Source
Texas city building permits
Cities in sample
Austin, TX, Fort Worth, TX
Observations
1,000 permits
Newest record
2026-10-08
What this is — and what it isn't
What it is
- The median, low (p10), and high (p90) declared value per square foot from real Texas building permits.
- The exact count of permits behind every range, and the Texas cities they came from.
- A range you can cite — every figure traces to a dated public record.
What it isn't
- A takeoff from a drawing or plan set. It does not read your blueprints.
- A line-item materials and labor schedule. Permits don't carry one.
- A bid, an appraisal, or a replacement-cost estimate. It is a record of what the work has cost.
The labor / material / equipment / overhead split shown is a modeled allocation from national construction-economics averages, applied to the permit-backed total. It is not from Texas permits. No Texas city permit feed breaks out labor from materials. Treat it as an illustrative allocation only.
Pricing a bid, not a building?
If you have a line-item bid schedule, score it against TxDOT low-bid prices instead.