Cost to build a house: what new houses cost in 2025
A house a contractor started on the owner’s land in 2025 had a median contract price of $404,000, or $171.57 a square foot, land not included (Census Bureau). In the South the median was $157.30 a square foot; in the Midwest, $194.09.
Your house at the 2025 median
$343,100
2,000 sq ft × $171.57, the median contract price per square foot in the United States.
At the average price per square foot, $198.33: $396,700.
Our estimate: your size at the median price per square foot, for the house alone. The land, site work and the finishes you choose move it.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Characteristics of New Housing, houses started in 2025. Checked October 11, 2026.
Price per square foot by region
The median and the average contract price per square foot of floor area, for contractor-built houses started in 2025. The median is the middle house: half cost less a square foot, half more. In every region the average is higher than the median.
- Midwest$194.09
- Northeast$179.30
- West$176.87
- South$157.30
The figures as a table, with margins of error
Scroll the table sideways to see every column on a small screen.
| Region | Median price | Median per sq ft | Average per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $404,000 ±$26,600 | $171.57 ±$11.29 | $198.33 ±$16.31 |
| Midwest | $457,200 ±$37,600 | $194.09 ±$12.77 | $202.13 ±$9.98 |
| Northeast | $431,100 ±$127,600 | $179.30 ±$29.49 | $246.26 ±$81.02 |
| West | $377,200 ±$86,900 | $176.87 ±$11.64 | $213.85 ±$21.11 |
| South | $388,100 ±$51,100 | $157.30 ±$23.29 | $179.96 ±$23.68 |
Margins of error are at 90% confidence, worked out from the relative standard errors the Census Bureau publishes. A wide margin, as for the Northeast, means the figure is less certain.
How much new houses cost to build
About 131,000 houses were started on owners’ land by a contractor in 2025. Their contract prices, land not included:
- Under $100,0004%
- $100,000 to $149,9995%
- $150,000 to $199,9998%
- $200,000 to $299,99915%
- $300,000 to $399,99917%
- $400,000 to $499,99915%
- $500,000 or more37%
Ten years of price per square foot
The median contract price per square foot rose from $99.73 in 2015 to $171.57 in 2025, up 72%.
What the contract price leaves out
The Census contract price is the house alone. Ask each builder what their price covers, because these items can sit inside or outside a contract:
- the land, and clearing and grading it;
- utility connections, or a well and a septic system where there is no sewer;
- the driveway and walkways, and landscaping;
- permits, impact and connection fees;
- plans and engineering;
- allowances for cabinets, counters, flooring and fixtures, and what happens when you pick something above them.
Buying a new house instead
New detached houses sold in 2025 had a median price of $419,500, land included, and a median of $153.65 a square foot not counting the lot. In the South the median was $376,600; in the Northeast, $798,500.
Measure before you price
Work out the floor area of your plan with the square footage calculator: to compare with the Census figures, use the finished floors measured to the outside of the walls, without the garage or porch. Then price the parts you can measure: the concrete for the foundation and the roofing.