$2.158T
Total construction spending
The Census Bureau's preliminary July 2026 annual rate for public and private construction combined.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Construction Spending, July 2026 preliminary annual ratesConstruction industry fact sheet
U.S. construction
industry statistics.
A current, sourced snapshot of construction spending, workforce size, and the businesses that keep the industry moving.
Last updated September 21, 2026
The numbers behind the work
A reference for the business side of construction.
Construction decisions carry real weight. A bid, a payroll commitment, a material order, or a new hire all land inside a much larger market. These figures put that work in context using current federal data.
Every statistic below links to its original source and states the month or period it covers. The establishment-size percentages are calculated from the published count of construction employers in each size range.
Key statistics
The current picture.
$1.615T
Private construction spending
Private residential and nonresidential construction at the preliminary July 2026 annual rate.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Construction Spending, July 2026 preliminary annual rates$543.4B
Public construction spending
Government construction at the preliminary July 2026 annual rate.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Construction Spending, July 2026 preliminary annual rates8.359M
Construction employees
People employed in construction, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' preliminary August 2026 estimate.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Construction Industry at a Glance, August 2026 preliminary employment and earnings$41.66
Average hourly earnings
Average hourly earnings for construction employees in the preliminary August 2026 estimate.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Construction Industry at a Glance, August 2026 preliminary employment and earnings953,703
Private construction establishments
Private-sector construction establishments reported for the first quarter of 2026.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Establishments by Employment Size, March 2026 establishment counts82.8%
Employers with fewer than 10 employees
Golden's calculation from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' March 2026 construction establishment-size counts.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Establishments by Employment Size, March 2026 establishment counts91.4%
Employers with fewer than 20 employees
Golden's calculation from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' March 2026 construction establishment-size counts.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Establishments by Employment Size, March 2026 establishment countsWhat this means for contractors
Most construction businesses are still small teams carrying big decisions.
The size of the market does not make the day-to-day work simpler. Most construction employers operate with fewer than 20 people, where one delayed payment, an inaccurate job-cost number, or a material overrun can change the month quickly.
That is why clear books matter. Current reporting gives a business owner a better view of what each job is asking from cash, labor, materials, and the next decision.
See Golden's contractor approach →Methodology and sources
Where these figures come from.
Construction spending
The three spending figures are preliminary, seasonally adjusted annual rates reported by the U.S. Census Bureau for July 2026.
Read the Census Bureau construction spending dataEmployment and earnings
Employment and average hourly earnings come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' construction industry summary for August 2026, marked preliminary by the agency.
Read the Bureau of Labor Statistics construction industry dataBusiness size
Establishment counts come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' March 2026 size table. The percentages combine the published construction counts below 10 employees and below 20 employees, then divide each by the total of 953,703 private construction establishments.
Read the Bureau of Labor Statistics establishment-size dataGolden Bookkeeping, Richardson, Texas
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