Deck Cost Calculator

• Pressure-treated pine: Cheapest to build; checks, splits and greys without regular sealing.
• Cedar: Naturally rot-resistant and lighter to work; usually framed in pressure-treated.
• Composite (Trex, TimberTech, Fiberon): Capped boards resist fading and stains; needs 12 in or 16 in joist spacing per the maker.
• PVC / cellular (Azek, TimberTech Advanced PVC): No wood fibre, so it will not rot or swell; lightest and coolest of the synthetics.

The upgrade from wood to composite costs less than the board prices suggest. Installing a composite board takes about as long as installing a pine one, so labor is a much bigger share of a pressure-treated deck than of a composite or PVC deck, and the gap in installed price is narrower than the gap in board price. Put the difference in context with the composite vs wood calculator (or the state-by-state numbers in the 2026 Deck Cost Report), which adds 20 years of sealing and board replacement to the purchase price. Brand-level pricing is in the Trex decking calculator and PVC deck cost calculator.

How much a deck costs by size

Multiply square footage by the rate for your material. The table does that for the most common deck sizes at the standard setting. Small decks cost a little more per square foot than the table shows, because stairs, the ledger and the permit are fixed costs spread over fewer feet; very large decks cost a little less.

The most common size, 12 × 16 ft, has its own walkthrough in how much a 12x16 deck costs. For every size from 4 × 8 to 20 × 24 with a full material list, use the deck size guide.

Deck labor cost

Labor to build a deck typically runs $15 – $35 per square foot, or about 35–55% of the installed price. Crews work at roughly 0.35 labor-hours per square foot on a standard deck, and carpentry crews bill about $40 – $100 per hour depending on the market, so a 12 × 16 ft deck takes a two-person crew three to five days. Three things push labor up: height (taller posts need bracing and scaffolding), access (every board carried through the house or around a narrow side yard adds hours) and shape (angles, curves, picture-frame borders and inlays mean more cuts). Ground-level platforms come in near the bottom of the range; second-storey decks can pass $40 per square foot. Price your own crew rate and build time in the deck labor cost calculator.

Deck permit and inspection costs

Most building departments require a permit for a deck that is attached to the house, more than 30 inches above grade or larger than 200 square feet. The fee is usually a flat application charge plus a share of the project value, and a typical residential deck permit costs $230 – $500 (HomeAdvisor). Large cities and California sit above that; small towns can be under $100. Expect two or three inspections: footing holes before concrete, framing before the boards go on, and a final. Plan drawings, a site plan or an engineer's letter for a tall or hot-tub deck add $200 – $1,500 where they are required. The deck permit cost calculator applies the usual fee formula, and the deck permit guide explains when you need one.

Regional deck cost ranges

The same deck can cost roughly 40% more in one state than in another, and almost all of the gap is labor. The table applies each state's carpenter wage index (Bureau of Labor Statistics) and goods price index (BEA) to the calculator's national rates and shows the lowest and highest state in each region, per square foot installed.

The least expensive states to build in are Arkansas ($42.17/sq ft composite), South Dakota ($42.24/sq ft composite) and Oklahoma ($42.50/sq ft composite); the most expensive are Hawaii ($58.05/sq ft composite), California ($53.85/sq ft composite) and Alaska ($53.69/sq ft composite). Cold states add a second cost: footings must go below the frost line, and each extra inch of a 12 in footing adds about $3 of digging and concrete to the roughly $167 a standard 24 in footing costs. Every state, with its permit fees, frost depth and best building season, is on the deck cost by state page.

Other costs to budget for

The per-square-foot rate covers a standard deck. These items are priced separately, at typical 2026 installed ranges:

Two costs rarely show on a first quote. On a replacement, rot found in the ledger or joists once the boards come up is the item most likely to grow; hold back 10–15% of the mid-point as a contingency. On a sloping lot, tall posts, bracing and more concrete can add 15–30% before any decking goes down.

Worked examples

1. A 12 × 16 ft pressure-treated deck at ground level

192 sq ft × $22 = $4,224 at the standard setting, or $3,421 – $4,372 as a simple low rectangle without a guard rail. The calculator splits the standard figure into about $2,323 of materials, $1,478 of labor and $422 for hardware and the permit. Built yourself, the same deck is roughly the materials plus the permit and a few days of tool rental, which the DIY deck cost calculator totals.

2. A 16 × 20 ft composite deck with railings

320 sq ft × $48 = $15,360, a typical range of $13,824 – $17,664. Add 40 ft of composite or aluminum rail ($2,400 – $6,000 at the add-on rates above) if your design rails three sides rather than one, and one stair flight. For context, the Cost vs. Value report's national composite deck addition, the same 16 × 20 ft with upgraded rails and stairs, came to $25,096 in 2025, and recouped 88.5% of its cost at resale; see the deck ROI calculator.

3. A 14 × 20 ft cedar deck: contractor vs DIY

280 sq ft × $32 = $8,960 installed, a typical range of $8,064 – $10,304. Cedar materials are about 55% of that, so a capable DIYer pays roughly $4,928 plus the permit and tool rental, saving 40–45%. The savings are real, but footings and the ledger flashing are where amateur mistakes are expensive and hidden, so many owners hire those out and do the decking and railing themselves.

How to estimate the cost of a deck

1. Measure the footprint. Measure the length and width of the deck surface in feet and multiply them for the square footage. Split an L-shaped or multi-level deck into rectangles and add them up.
2. Choose the decking material. Pick pressure-treated pine, cedar, composite or PVC. The material sets the installed price per square foot and most of the gap between the cheapest and the dearest quote.
3. Set the height and complexity. A simple ground-level rectangle costs about 10% less than a standard deck with railings and one stair; multi-level, curved or second-storey decks cost 20–40% more because of taller posts, bracing and more labor.
4. Add railing, stairs and extras. Count the linear feet of guard rail (required above 30 in on most codes), the number of stair flights and any lighting, skirting or hidden fasteners, and add them at their own prices.
5. Add the permit and inspections. Look up your building department's fee schedule; most deck permits are a flat fee plus a share of project value, typically a few hundred dollars.
6. Adjust for your region and compare quotes. Move the figure up or down for local labor rates using the state pages, then get two or three written quotes and compare them line by line against the materials, labor and permit split.

The calculator at the top of the page does steps 1 to 3 in one go. To check a bid you already have, paste its line items into the deck quote checker.

How to save 15–25% on a new deck

• Keep it low. Under 30 in above grade, most codes do not require a guard rail, and short posts need no bracing.
• Use stock lengths. Size the deck to 12, 16 or 20 ft boards so there are no butt joints and less waste; the deck board calculator shows the waste for each size.
• Mix materials. Composite decking on a pressure-treated frame is standard practice and costs far less than a composite-framed or steel-framed deck.
• Build in the off-season. Late autumn and winter bookings are often 5–10% cheaper where the ground does not freeze.
• Do the finish work yourself. Staining, skirting and lighting are easy DIY jobs that a contractor bills at full labor rates.
• Get three itemized quotes. Compare materials, labor and permit line by line rather than only the totals.

More planning tools: deck cost per square foot, deck replacement cost, floating deck cost, deck joist and stair stringer calculators, the step-by-step deck estimating guide and composite vs wood decking.