With an average construction cost of $224 a square foot, New York City ranks as the country’s most expensive metro region in which to build an office building or medical office complex, according to a recent RSMeans report. The annual report compares the average construction cost of four office building types—office 2-4 story, office 5-10 story, office 11-20 story, and medical office—across 25 U.S. metropolitan areas. San Francisco ranks second at $212 per square foot on average.
Note: RSMeans' formula for calculating square foot costs for office building and medical offices has been adjusted to more accurately reflect modern construction costs and practices. Therefore, the percentage change numbers from '09 and '08 are somewhat skewed.
RSMeans cost comparisons: Office buildings, medical offices
| '09 | '08 | % chg. | '09 | '08 | % chg. | '09 | '08 | % chg. | '09 | '08 | % chg. | |
| Office, 2–4 story | Office, 5–10 story | Office, 11–20 story | Medical office | |||||||||
| Costs in dollars per square foot For more data, visit RSMeans atwww.rsmeans.com, or call (800) 448-8182. |
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| Atlanta | 158.75 | 136.95 | 15.9 | 150.72 | 128.17 | 17.6 | 138.19 | 118.76 | 16.4 | 171.79 | 154.52 | 11.2 |
| Baltimore | 163.86 | 140.93 | 16.3 | 155.57 | 131.89 | 18.0 | 142.63 | 122.21 | 16.7 | 177.31 | 159.00 | 11.5 |
| Boston | 203.10 | 177.92 | 14.2 | 192.83 | 166.51 | 15.8 | 176.79 | 154.29 | 14.6 | 219.78 | 200.73 | 9.5 |
| Chicago | 202.22 | 175.32 | 15.3 | 192.00 | 164.08 | 17.0 | 176.03 | 152.03 | 15.8 | 218.83 | 197.80 | 10.6 |
| Cleveland | 175.12 | 152.85 | 14.6 | 166.26 | 143.05 | 16.2 | 152.43 | 132.55 | 15.0 | 189.50 | 172.45 | 9.9 |
| Dallas | 150.30 | 129.31 | 16.2 | 142.70 | 121.02 | 17.9 | 130.83 | 112.14 | 16.7 | 162.64 | 145.89 | 11.5 |
| Denver | 167.20 | 143.83 | 16.2 | 158.75 | 134.61 | 17.9 | 145.54 | 124.73 | 16.7 | 180.93 | 162.28 | 11.5 |
| Detroit | 181.63 | 158.81 | 14.4 | 172.45 | 148.63 | 16.0 | 158.10 | 137.72 | 14.8 | 196.54 | 179.18 | 9.7 |
| Houston | 155.41 | 134.20 | 15.8 | 147.55 | 125.60 | 17.5 | 135.28 | 116.38 | 16.2 | 168.17 | 151.41 | 11.1 |
| Kansas City | 179.70 | 156.52 | 14.8 | 170.61 | 146.48 | 16.5 | 156.42 | 135.73 | 15.2 | 194.45 | 176.59 | 10.1 |
| Los Angeles | 190.61 | 165.54 | 15.1 | 180.97 | 154.92 | 16.8 | 165.92 | 143.55 | 15.6 | 206.26 | 186.76 | 10.4 |
| Miami | 158.93 | 136.65 | 16.3 | 150.89 | 127.89 | 18.0 | 138.34 | 118.50 | 16.7 | 171.98 | 154.17 | 11.5 |
| Minneapolis | 193.25 | 170.43 | 13.4 | 183.48 | 159.50 | 15.0 | 168.21 | 147.79 | 13.8 | 209.11 | 192.28 | 8.8 |
| New Orleans | 156.46 | 133.29 | 17.4 | 148.55 | 124.74 | 19.1 | 136.19 | 115.58 | 17.8 | 169.31 | 150.38 | 12.6 |
| New York City | 230.03 | 200.69 | 14.6 | 218.40 | 187.82 | 16.3 | 200.23 | 174.04 | 15.1 | 248.92 | 226.43 | 9.9 |
| Philadelphia | 199.23 | 176.08 | 13.1 | 189.16 | 164.79 | 14.8 | 173.42 | 152.70 | 13.6 | 215.59 | 198.66 | 8.5 |
| Phoenix | 156.64 | 136.19 | 15.0 | 148.72 | 127.46 | 16.7 | 136.35 | 118.10 | 15.4 | 169.50 | 153.65 | 10.3 |
| Pittsburgh | 171.78 | 150.86 | 13.9 | 163.09 | 141.19 | 15.5 | 149.52 | 130.83 | 14.3 | 185.88 | 170.21 | 9.2 |
| Portland, Ore. | 177.76 | 157.13 | 13.1 | 168.77 | 147.06 | 14.8 | 154.73 | 136.26 | 13.6 | 192.35 | 177.28 | 8.5 |
| St. Louis | 181.10 | 158.05 | 14.6 | 171.95 | 147.91 | 16.2 | 157.64 | 137.06 | 15.0 | 195.97 | 178.31 | 9.9 |
| San Diego | 184.98 | 161.10 | 14.8 | 175.62 | 150.77 | 16.5 | 161.01 | 139.71 | 15.3 | 200.16 | 181.76 | 10.1 |
| San Francisco | 217.89 | 188.31 | 15.7 | 206.87 | 176.24 | 17.4 | 189.66 | 163.30 | 16.1 | 235.78 | 212.46 | 11.0 |
| Seattle | 182.86 | 158.35 | 15.5 | 173.62 | 148.20 | 17.2 | 159.17 | 137.32 | 15.9 | 197.88 | 178.66 | 10.8 |
| Washington, D.C. | 175.47 | 151.47 | 15.8 | 166.60 | 141.76 | 17.5 | 152.74 | 131.36 | 16.3 | 189.88 | 170.90 | 11.1 |
| Winston-Salem, N.C. | 138.51 | 119.83 | 15.6 | 131.51 | 112.15 | 17.3 | 120.57 | 103.92 | 16.0 | 149.88 | 135.20 | 10.9 |
