Construction industry in the U.S. - statistics & facts

kevin zheng
The market size of the U.S. construction sector was valued at around 1.8 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022, but it was expected to decrease in the next couple of years. The overall value of construction put in place in the United States, which takes into account the residential, non-residential, and non-building segments, is forecast to start growing again in 2026. During the past decades, U.S. spending on private construction has fluctuated more than public construction. In a list of the 50 biggest construction contractors in the country, three companies reached a revenue of over 10 billion U.S. dollars in 2021.

Challenges of the construction industry

Construction costs for non-residential buildings soared in 2022, as inflation had an impact on the U.S. economy overall and most of its sectors. For example, the price increase on construction materials, such as concrete products, which have persisted to some extent into early 2023. In addition to those challenges, many U.S. construction firms have also suffered worker shortages since 2021. Despite the growth in spending, the number of employees in the construction industry did not reach its pre-pandemic employment level until early 2022.

U.S. construction outlook: relief on the way?

President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill is expected to spearhead the U.S. construction output in the years after 2021. The 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars bill approved in November 2021 is expected to raise infrastructure spending. The U.S. ranked relatively low in the list of countries by infrastructure investment per capita in 2020. That includes all kinds of spending on infrastructure, which can refer to all types, from highways to electric car charging ports. Nevertheless, roads, bridges, and major projects made up most of the spending announced by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as of May 2022.
Reference:U.S. Construction Industry - Statistics & Facts | Statista