How much of the cost of building a house is materials, and how much is labor?
Published
Summary
National data won't give you that split. NAHB's builder survey reports costs by construction stage, and each stage lumps together materials, labor the builder pays directly and subcontractor bills. What the survey does show is which stage a cost lands in, and that turns out to matter when you read a bid, because "site work" in the survey may not mean what it means in a builder's quote.
What NAHB actually measures
The 2024 survey says each category covers all the costs a builder paid for that item: labor paid directly by the general contractor, the cost of hiring subcontractors, and materials, "however they are purchased." A framing number is what it cost to get the house framed, not the lumber bill.
For trade-by-trade unit costs, NAHB points to paid estimating services such as RSMeans and Marshall & Swift/CoreLogic.
Where the dirt work lands
| What people often call site work | Where NAHB counts it | 2024 average |
|---|---|---|
| Excavation, foundation, concrete, retaining walls, backfill | Foundations | $43,002 |
| Driveway | Final steps | $9,635 |
| Landscaping | Final steps | $9,269 |
| Building permit fees | Site work | $7,640 |
| Impact fee | Site work | $6,367 |
| Water and sewer fees and inspections | Site work | $6,260 |
| Architecture and engineering | Site work | $6,480 |
NAHB's own Site Work total, $32,719 or 7.6% of construction cost, is mostly fees and design, with $5,972 of other items. If a bid has a site-work line for clearing and grading, it isn't measuring the same thing.
The lot sits outside all of it
None of the $428,215 average construction cost includes land. The finished lot, $91,057 including financing, is counted separately in the sales-price breakdown. The full eight-stage percentages are on our cost-to-build page.