US Construction Materials Pricing Dataset 2026
Free downloadable JSON dataset: 189 US construction materials with 2026 unit pricing, labor cost per unit, industry-standard waste factors, sustainability ratings (1-5), and expected durability. Sources: BLS Producer Price Index series WPU081/WPU101/WPU132, RSMeans Building Construction Cost Data 2026, and aggregated 2025-2026 contractor surveys. Released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 — free to use commercially with attribution.
Download
Download JSON (67KB, 189 records)Format: JSON with embedded schema.org/Dataset metadata header. Encoding: UTF-8. License: CC BY 4.0. Citation: Hammer.io (2026). US Construction Materials Pricing Dataset 2026.
What's in the dataset
Each of the 189 records contains the following fields:
| Field | Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| slug | string | URL-safe identifier | pressure-treated-lumber |
| name | string | Common material name | Pressure-Treated Lumber |
| category | string | Top-level grouping | Lumber, Concrete, Metals, Roofing, Insulation, Drywall, Flooring, etc. |
| unitPrice | number (USD) | Median 2026 retail price per unit | 5.5 |
| unit | string | Unit of measure | board foot, sqft, cubic yard, ton, sheet, linear foot |
| priceRange.low | number (USD) | Bottom decile | 3.8 |
| priceRange.high | number (USD) | Top decile | 8.2 |
| laborCostPerUnit | number (USD) | Avg installation labor per unit | 2.5 |
| wasteFactorPercent | number (%) | Industry-standard waste allowance | 10 |
| sustainabilityRating | number (1-5) | 5 = lowest embodied carbon + most recyclable | 3 |
| durabilityYears | number | Expected service life under typical use | 25 |
Sample records
{
"slug": "pressure-treated-lumber",
"name": "Pressure-Treated Lumber",
"category": "Lumber",
"unitPrice": 5.5,
"unit": "board foot",
"priceRange": { "low": 3.8, "high": 8.2 },
"laborCostPerUnit": 2.5,
"wasteFactorPercent": 10,
"sustainabilityRating": 3,
"durabilityYears": 25
}
{
"slug": "ready-mix-concrete-4000psi",
"name": "Ready-Mix Concrete (4000 PSI)",
"category": "Concrete",
"unitPrice": 175,
"unit": "cubic yard",
"priceRange": { "low": 145, "high": 220 },
"laborCostPerUnit": 65,
"wasteFactorPercent": 5,
"sustainabilityRating": 2,
"durabilityYears": 75
}Methodology & sources
- BLS Producer Price Index (PPI): Series WPU081 (Lumber & Wood Products), WPU101 (Iron & Steel), WPU132 (Concrete & Cement) — Q1 2026 readings used as baseline.
- RSMeans Building Construction Cost Data 2026: National city cost index applied to align line-item costs to US median.
- Contractor surveys 2025-2026: Aggregated quote data from Hammer.io's calculator usage (anonymized) plus Home Advisor and Thumbtack public price ranges.
- Sustainability rating methodology: Composite of embodied carbon (Inventory of Carbon & Energy database), recycled content percentage, and end-of-life recyclability. 5 = best (e.g., bamboo, reclaimed lumber); 1 = worst (e.g., virgin PVC).
- Update cadence: Versioned quarterly. Current version
2026.04reflects Q2 2026 readings.
Use cases
- Construction estimating tools and quote calculators
- Academic research on construction cost inflation, sustainability tradeoffs
- Data journalism on housing affordability, infrastructure costs
- Personal finance / DIY home improvement planning
- Real estate developer feasibility models
- Insurance replacement-cost calculations
Citation
Related Hammer.io tools using this data
- Concrete Calculator — uses concrete pricing rows
- Brick Calculator — uses masonry pricing rows
- Deck Calculator — uses lumber + composite pricing rows
- Insulation Calculator — uses insulation rows + R-value
- All Calculators
Changelog
- 2026.04 (2026-04-26): Initial release. 189 records. BLS PPI Q1 2026 + RSMeans 2026 baseline.
Data accuracy disclaimer: prices and waste factors reflect US national medians. Local prices vary substantially by region, season, and supplier. Always verify with local suppliers before committing project budgets. Hammer.io makes no warranty as to accuracy for any specific project context.