Commercial construction spans offices, lodging, health care, education, recreation, infrastructure, and other nonresidential work. The figures below describe U.S. spending, payroll earnings, historical project duration, and Federal OSHA severe-injury reporting, with measurement periods and coverage limits stated for each series.
Key Commercial Construction Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- U.S. construction put in place reached $2,154,441 million in 2024, an estimate that was 6.5% higher than in 2023.
- U.S. nonresidential construction totaled $1,224,812 million in 2024, up 6.9% from 2023.
- Private construction totaled $1,661,699 million in the United States in 2024, 5.6% above 2023.
- Public construction totaled $492,743 million in the United States in 2024, 9.3% above 2023.
- Private nonresidential construction totaled $743,790 million in the United States in 2024, up 5.3% from 2023.
- Public nonresidential construction totaled $481,022 million in the United States in 2024, up 9.3% from 2023.
- Commercial construction put in place totaled $126,504 million in the United States in 2024, down 10.7% from 2023 in the Census commercial category.
- Educational construction totaled $130,307 million in the United States in 2024, up 8.4% from 2023.
- Power construction totaled $147,584 million in the United States in 2024, up 10.1% from 2023, although this category is not synonymous with commercial buildings.
- Public educational construction totaled $105,229 million in the United States in 2024, up 8.5% from 2023.
- Average hourly earnings in nonresidential building construction were $44.44 in June 2024 for U.S. private nonfarm payroll employees in NAICS 2362.
- Average weekly earnings in commercial and institutional building construction were $1,773.68 in June 2024 for U.S. private nonfarm payroll employees in NAICS 23622.
- Average private commercial project duration was 7.6 months for projects completed in 2016–2017 in the United States.
- Private commercial projects valued at $250,000–$999,000 averaged 4.9 months from start to completion in the 2016–2017 U.S. completion cohort.
- Federal-OSHA-covered construction employers reported 1,699 severe injuries and illnesses in 2024.
- The 2024 construction severe-injury rate was 21.1 incidents per 100,000 FTE workers among the Federal OSHA reporting population.
- The 2015–2023 average construction severe-injury rate was 25.9 incidents per 100,000 FTE workers, compared with the 2024 Federal OSHA-covered construction rate.
Contents
- U.S. commercial construction market scale and nonresidential spending
- Commercial construction data by building type and annual trends
- Private and public commercial construction spending
- Commercial construction labor earnings and payroll measures
- Commercial construction project duration and completion data
- Commercial construction safety and severe-injury statistics
U.S. Commercial Construction Market Scale and Nonresidential Spending
The Census Bureau’s construction-spending measure is work put in place, generally reported in nominal dollars. It is an estimate, and the detailed values may not add because of rounding.
The broad 2024 U.S. construction picture was:
| Measure | 2024 value | Change from 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Total construction put in place | $2,154,441 million | 6.5% |
| Nonresidential construction | $1,224,812 million | 6.9% |
| Private construction | $1,661,699 million | 5.6% |
| Public construction | $492,743 million | 9.3% |
| Private nonresidential construction | $743,790 million | 5.3% |
| Public nonresidential construction | $481,022 million | 9.3% |
Source: Value of Construction Put in Place in the United States, December 2024. These are nominal Census estimates, not price-adjusted measures.
The December 2024 seasonally adjusted annual-rate estimates provide a different view of the pace at the end of the year. Nonresidential construction was $1,161,588 million at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, while total construction was $1,959,360 million and private construction was $1,533,840 million.
Those annual-rate figures should not be read as one month of cash spending. They express a December pace at an annualized rate and are separate from the full-year put-in-place estimates.
Commercial Construction Data by Building Type and Annual Trends
The Census commercial category is narrower than all nonresidential construction. It also sits beside categories such as power and transportation, which can include infrastructure rather than commercial buildings.
| Census category | 2024 value | Change from 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial | $126,504 million | -10.7% |
| Office | $101,118 million | 2.2% |
| Lodging | $23,361 million | -5.6% |
| Health care | $68,622 million | 4.9% |
| Educational | $130,307 million | 8.4% |
| Amusement and recreation | $40,183 million | 11.0% |
| Transportation | $68,148 million | 4.4% |
| Power | $147,584 million | 10.1% |
| Public safety | $18,855 million | 31.0% |
| Communication | $28,603 million | 2.1% |
Source: Value of Construction Put in Place in the United States, December 2024. Each value is a 2024 U.S. estimate compared with 2023; power is not synonymous with commercial buildings.
The category pattern is mixed. Commercial construction declined 10.7%, while public safety rose 31.0%, amusement and recreation rose 11.0%, and power rose 10.1%; these changes describe separate Census categories and should not be treated as one uniform building market.
Private and Public Commercial Construction Spending Statistics
Within the Census commercial category, private work was much larger than public work in 2024, but the two segments moved in different directions.
| Measure | 2024 value | Comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Private commercial construction | $126,504 million | $141,702 million in 2023 |
| Public commercial construction | $5,652 million | $4,624 million in 2023 |
| Private commercial construction, December | $9,860 million | $10,425 million in December 2023 |
| Public commercial construction, December | $526 million | $388 million in December 2023 |
Source: Value of Construction Put in Place in the United States, December 2024. December figures are monthly estimates and are not seasonally adjusted.
Selected public and private categories show why a single commercial total needs context. Private lodging construction totaled $22,724 million in 2024, down 6.5% from 2023, while public office construction totaled $16,486 million, up 12.0%.
Public health-care construction reached $14,094 million, up 6.4%, and public educational construction reached $105,229 million, up 8.5%. Public amusement and recreation construction totaled $21,673 million, up 24.5%; public power construction totaled $20,548 million, up 20.5%; and public sewage and waste-disposal construction totaled $44,345 million, up 10.1%.
Commercial Construction Labor Earnings and Payroll Measures
BLS earnings data describe average pay for employees on U.S. private nonfarm payrolls. They are not contractor bid rates, total labor costs, or measures of independent-contractor earnings.
| Industry population | Average hourly earnings, June 2024 | Average weekly earnings, June 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential building construction, NAICS 2362 | $44.44 | $1,777.60 |
| Industrial building construction, NAICS 23621 | $42.91 | $1,785.06 |
| Commercial and institutional building construction, NAICS 23622 | $44.79 | $1,773.68 |
| Construction of buildings, NAICS 236 | $41.18 | $1,560.72 |
| All construction, NAICS 23 | $37.99 | $1,489.21 |
The NAICS 23622 measure combines commercial and institutional building construction, so it is not identical to the Census commercial spending category. The broader construction-of-buildings and all-construction measures also include populations outside commercial construction and are included only as clearly labeled context.
Commercial Construction Project Duration and Completion Data
Census project-duration statistics describe historical private commercial projects completed in 2016–2017. They are survey estimates, not current-market forecasts, and the duration tables omit projects with selection values below $75,000.
The average private commercial project duration was 7.6 months from start to completion for the 2016–2017 completion cohort. For private commercial projects valued at $250,000–$999,000, the average was 4.9 months.
| $250,000–$999,000 private nonresidential cohort | Share of completed project value |
|---|---|
| Put in place in the start month | 21.6% |
| Put in place in the month after start | 24.3% |
Source: Construction Spending: Construction Length of Total Time Statistics Methodology. The percentages are shares of cumulative work value, not shares of projects.
For the 4.9-month average duration in that value group, Census gives a 90% confidence interval of 4.65–5.15 months. That interval is a derived survey measure for the sampled population, so it should not be presented as a current duration guarantee for new projects.
Commercial Construction Safety and Severe-Injury Statistics
OSHA’s severe-injury series covers employers under Federal OSHA and does not represent all construction injuries. The construction-sector figures below therefore describe a defined reporting population rather than the entire industry.
| Federal OSHA-covered sector | 2024 cases | 2024 rate |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 1,699 | 21.1 per 100,000 FTE workers |
| Manufacturing | 3,213 | — |
| Utilities | 148 | — |
| Retail | 750 | — |
Source: 2024 Annual Report of Severe Injuries and Illnesses Reported from Employers Covered by Federal OSHA. Manufacturing, utilities, and retail are comparator sectors, not commercial construction.
For Federal-OSHA-covered construction employers, the 2015–2023 average was 1,859 reported severe injury and illness cases, with an average rate of 25.9 incidents per 100,000 FTE workers. OSHA reports that the 2024 construction rate was 18% lower than that 2015–2023 average.
The comparison is useful only within the stated OSHA framework. It is not directly comparable with every industry series or with datasets that cover all construction employers, all injuries, or different severity definitions.