Decks, porches and patios: what owners spent in 2021–2023
When owners hired someone for a deck, porch, patio or terrace, the middle half paid $3,000 to $15,000 and the typical job cost $7,000. Counting do-it-yourself jobs, the typical U.S. job was $4,750, and across 8 big metros it ran $5,991 to $10,000.
What owners paid
$7,000
The typical job when owners hired it out. The middle half paid $3,000 to $15,000.
Every job, do-it-yourself included: $4,750 typical.
Hired out, by home size: the typical job and the middle half
- Under 1,500 sq ft$4,000$2,200 to $9,000
- 1,500 to 2,499 sq ft$6,000$3,000 to $10,000
- 2,500 sq ft or more$10,000$5,000 to $20,000
Every job by big metro, do-it-yourself included: lowest $5,991 in Chicago, highest $10,000 in Boston.
Prices now: Lumber cost 8.7% more in September 2026 than a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey 2023, the latest release: work owners did in about 2021–2023. Checked . Hired-out figures: our percentiles from the survey’s public use file.
When owners hired the work out
61% of these jobs were hired out. Each bar runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile of what those owners paid, so half of the jobs sit inside it; the tick is the median.
- United States$7,000$3,000–$15,000
- Boston$15,000$5,000–$25,000
- Seattle$9,300$4,000–$20,000
- Washington DC$9,000$4,000–$15,000
- Dallas$8,000$5,000–$23,000
- Houston$7,400$2,000–$14,000
A metro is shown when at least 30 hired-out jobs in the survey sample stand behind it.
The hired-out figures as a table, with margins of error
| Homes | Sample jobs | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Every home size | 742 | $3,000 ±$508 | $7,000 ±$1,046 | $15,000 ±$2,170 |
| Under 1,500 sq ft | 136 | $2,200 ±$726 | $4,000 ±$1,431 | $9,000 ±$1,542 |
| 1,500 to 2,499 sq ft | 327 | $3,000 ±$1,083 | $6,000 ±$461 | $10,000 ±$2,647 |
| 2,500 sq ft or more | 251 | $5,000 ±$1,059 | $10,000 ±$638 | $20,000 ±$2,419 |
| Boston | 40 | $5,000 ±$3,154 | $15,000 ±$6,942 | $25,000 ±$12,133 |
| Seattle | 42 | $4,000 ±$3,089 | $9,300 ±$2,535 | $20,000 ±$9,172 |
| Washington DC | 52 | $4,000 ±$1,496 | $9,000 ±$2,264 | $15,000 ±$7,462 |
| Dallas | 34 | $5,000 ±$2,394 | $8,000 ±$4,012 | $23,000 ±$8,376 |
| Houston | 42 | $2,000 ±$1,889 | $7,400 ±$2,046 | $14,000 ±$9,686 |
How these figures are made: from the Census Bureau's 2023 American Housing Survey public use file, each job counted with its survey weight and a 90% margin of error from the survey's replicate weights. A job is hired out when the owners said someone outside the household did most of the work. Leaving out do-it-yourself jobs is why these figures usually sit above the every-job medians in the Census table below. The public file also rounds costs, so its every-job median can differ a little from the published one.
Every job in each big metro, do-it-yourself included
The typical (median) job in each of the survey's 15 metro areas, highest first, from the Census Bureau's published table. The margin of error is the Census Bureau's 90% range around each median.
- Boston$10,000
- Washington DC$8,000
- Dallas$7,000
- Detroit$7,000
- Riverside$6,500
- Houston$6,000
- Phoenix$6,000
- Chicago$5,991
No published figure: Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle.
What these figures cover: New and replacement porches, decks, patios and terraces, counted together, every size and material.
The figures as a table, with margins of error
Scroll the table sideways to see every column on a small screen.
| Metro area | Typical job (median) | Margin of error (90% confidence) |
|---|---|---|
| Boston | $10,000 | ±$4,417 |
| Washington DC | $8,000 | ±$2,002 |
| Dallas | $7,000 | ±$2,837 |
| Detroit | $7,000 | ±$2,665 |
| Riverside | $6,500 | ±$2,377 |
| Houston | $6,000 | ±$2,139 |
| Phoenix | $6,000 | ±$2,805 |
| Chicago | $5,991 | ±$1,786 |
| Atlanta | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Los Angeles | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Miami | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| New York City | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Philadelphia | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| San Francisco | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
| Seattle | Not published Withheld by Census: too few households in the sample | Not published |
Source: Census Bureau and HUD, 2023 American Housing Survey, Table 16, category “Porch/deck/patio/terrace” under “Exterior Additions and Replacements”. Checked October 13, 2026. The metro values and margins of error use the survey's metropolitan areas, not city limits. A metro with no published figure stays blank; we never fill it in from its neighbors.
Why do cost guides disagree?
They measure different things. An estimate prices one defined job at today's rates; these figures are what owners actually paid, across every size and kind of job in the category. Do-it-yourself jobs mostly pay for materials, which is why this page keeps hired-out jobs apart. A full job on a large house can sit well above the typical figure, and a small one well below it. Your own quotes, compared line by line, are the price that counts. Seven reasons cost guides disagree, each with its figures.
Measure your job with the calculator, then put your quotes side by side in the quote worksheet.
Have prices moved?
Lumber cost 8.7% more in September 2026 than a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price index, preliminary).
Every building material we track, month by month, with the change in a year.
Newer monthly figures may be out: these were checked on .
The permit in each big metro
Cities and counties set their own permit rules for a deck. Here is what each of the 15 big metros’ fee schedules says, where we could read one. The building department decides whether your job needs a permit and which one, so ask whether the quote includes the permit and who files it.
- New York City: New York City’s Department of Buildings charges a filing fee of $130 or $170, by the type of alteration, for the first $5,000 of work on a one- to three-family home, plus $2.60 for each further $1,000; it decides how a deck is filed (schedule checked ).
- Los Angeles: Unincorporated Los Angeles County prices a building permit from the value of the work in its 2026–27 table, plus a $41.35 issuance fee; the City of Los Angeles and other cities set their own (schedule checked ).
- Chicago: Unincorporated Cook County charges $73.50 for alterations and other construction up to $5,000 of contract cost, plus $18.50 for each further $1,000; the City of Chicago sets its own fees (schedule checked ).
- Dallas: Dallas charges $181 a home for alterations and repairs to a one- or two-family house, plus $100 for each additional trade: ask the city how it classifies a new deck (schedule checked ).
- Houston: Unincorporated Harris County charges $35 for a development permit for accessory structures, paving and additions, and $108 with the inspection it adds in a floodplain; the City of Houston sets its own fees (schedule checked ).
- Philadelphia: Philadelphia charges $63 to replace porch or deck flooring of up to 200 sq ft on a one- or two-family home; a new deck or a structural repair falls under its building permit fees (schedule checked ).
- Washington, DC: We could not read Washington, DC’s permit fee schedule: ask its Department of Buildings about a deck.
- Miami: The City of Miami charges 0.5% of the estimated cost for homes of up to three units; its schedule also lists $45 for residential work under $2,500 and a $110 minimum, so ask which applies. A solid-waste charge of $0.22 per $100 of cost, $26 to $600, comes on top (schedule checked ).
- Atlanta: We could not read Atlanta’s permit fee schedule: ask the city’s permitting office about a deck.
- Boston: Boston’s long-form building permit, for work that changes the structure, is $50 plus $10 for each $1,000 of the estimated cost (schedule checked ).
- San Francisco: San Francisco prices a building permit from the value of the work: from $2,000 to $50,000, a $310 plan review fee plus $28.35 for each further $1,000, and a $266 issuance fee plus $8.56 for each further $1,000 (schedule checked ).
- Phoenix: Phoenix charges $195 for the first $1,000 of work plus $12 for each further $1,000 up to $10,000, then $303 plus $10 for each $1,000 up to $50,000, on the higher of the city’s valuation and yours (schedule checked ).
- Riverside: Riverside lists $225 for plan check and $225 for the permit for structures other than buildings, before its $41 issuance fee and surcharges: ask whether a deck falls under it (schedule checked ).
- Detroit: Detroit charges $271.43 for the first $2,000 of project cost plus $34.09 for each further $1,000 up to $25,000, on its own estimate of the cost (schedule checked ).
- Seattle: Seattle works out its permit fee from an index on the value of the work: $325 for the first $1,000 plus $1.60 for each further $100 up to $25,000, then $709 plus $1.55 for each $100 up to $50,000. The permit fee is that index, and plan review adds 40% or 100% of it again, by how the plans are reviewed (schedule checked ).
Before you compare quotes
Ask every contractor to price the same scope, in writing. Separate a new deck from resurfacing. Compare footings, framing, boards, railings and stairs.