Benchmark · Construction cost
Hospital building plans filed since 2023 budget a median $1,112 a square foot, nearly double the 2014–2016 median
Most state filings for a hospital building say what it will cost and how big it will be. Divide one by the other and 359 projects from 32 states give a yardstick for what a square foot of hospital costs, and how fast that is changing.
Source: state certificate of need and capital filings in the Delgam database, one dot per project (click a dot for its filing).
The median plan budgets $841 for every square foot it builds.
Each hollow dot is one project's budget over its gross area, as filed between 2004 and 2026. Hollow means planned: these are budgets, not final costs. The middle half run from $532 to $1,333. The scale is logarithmic: equal distances are equal ratios.
Plans filed since 2023 budget $1,112 a square foot. In 2014–2016, the median was $592.
The dark tick is each period's median. Dollars are as filed, not adjusted for inflation, so part of the rise is construction prices in general, which the filings do not separate out. The median has risen in every period since 2004–2013.
New construction budgets $871 a square foot; renovation, $710.
The spread is wide either way, because a project's scope varies more than its type. 74 projects mix new construction and renovation or do not say.
By state, the median runs from $369 in Mississippi to $2,092 in California.
States with 10 or more projects, the lowest median at the bottom. Part of the gap may be what a budget covers: some include equipment and financing, others mostly construction. The filings are compared as filed.
Where would your project fall?
How these figures were made
- Project cost per gross square foot in filings: cost (approved, else proposed) over total gross square feet (else new construction plus renovation). Nominal dollars of each filing year, not escalated. One value per project (latest filing); values outside $50-$5,000 per square foot are left out.
- 359 projects are drawn; 9 more were left out because their cost per square foot falls outside the $50 to $5,000 range (the cost and the area likely describe different scopes) or the filing has no year.
- The same rows give the cost ranges in the planner. Sources and checks are on the methods page.
| Filed | Projects | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–2013 | 35 | $287 | $431 | $546 |
| 2014–2016 | 32 | $425 | $592 | $749 |
| 2017–2019 | 68 | $509 | $689 | $983 |
| 2020–2022 | 78 | $585 | $851 | $1,247 |
| 2023–2026 | 146 | $829 | $1,112 | $1,549 |
| Construction | Projects | Median |
|---|---|---|
| New construction | 209 | $871 |
| Renovation | 76 | $710 |
| Mixed or not stated | 74 | $755 |
| State | Projects | Median |
|---|---|---|
| MS | 28 | $369 |
| CT | 10 | $528 |
| TX | 37 | $707 |
| WA | 14 | $791 |
| MA | 15 | $808 |
| IL | 80 | $855 |
| TN | 11 | $925 |
| MD | 22 | $950 |
| NY | 36 | $1,091 |
| NC | 32 | $1,268 |
| VA | 13 | $1,495 |
| CA | 12 | $2,092 |