How much it costs to build a deck, from the published figures
A professionally built 16 by 20 ft deck addition cost $18,263 to $25,096 on the national average in the 2025 Cost vs Value report, wood to composite. Sellers recouped 94.9 and 88.5 percent of that at resale. They are national figures with a named method behind them. The rest of a deck's price is a list of parts, a permit and labor that you can price yourself once the list is written.
The decking calculator: boards, joists and screws at the price per board you are quoted
In brief
- National average job cost in the 2025 Cost vs Value report: wood deck addition $18,263 (94.9 percent recouped), composite deck addition $25,096 (88.5 percent).
- Across the two reports a professionally built deck ran $16,900 (a 14 by 18 ft cedar deck with railing and stairs, 2023 Remodeling Impact, $15,000 recovered at resale) to $25,096 (composite addition, 2025 Cost vs Value). That is $57 to $78 per square foot for the 16 by 20 ft Cost vs Value decks, wood to composite, and about $67 for the 14 by 18 ft cedar deck.
- Deck permit fees in six 2016 to 2026 fee schedules run about $100 to $320 for a 320 sq ft deck, under 2 percent of the job.
- A 16 x 20 ft deck is 35 rows of 5/4x6 decking, 16 joists at 16 inches, a three-ply beam on 3 posts and footings, and about 1,120 screws.
The two published national figures
Deck cost surveys with a named method are rare. The Cost vs Value report is published every year by Zonda for Remodeling magazine. Its costs come from a construction cost index and Verisk's estimating data, and its resale values from a Zonda survey of more than 6,000 Realtors. Its 2025 national table lists a wood deck addition at $18,263 with a resale value of $17,323, 94.9 percent recouped. It lists a composite deck addition at $25,096 with $22,199 recouped, 88.5 percent. The report's project description is a 16 by 20 ft deck with a bench, a planter and three steps. That puts the national figures at $57 to $78 per square foot.
The 2023 Remodeling Impact report from the Realtors' association and the remodeling industry association does state its project. It is a 14 by 18 ft cedar deck attached to the house with a ledger. It has cedar railing and 4 ft stairs, is sealed, and has lattice skirting. Landscape professionals estimated it at $16,900 and agents estimated $15,000 recovered at sale, 89 percent. At 252 square feet that is about $67 per square foot, for cedar, with railing and stairs included. It is in 2023 dollars and aggregated across the country. Both reports warn that every project and region differs.
What the permit costs
The permit is set by the town. Six fee schedules, listed at the end, price a 320 sq ft deck between about $100 and $320. Lower Salford Township in Pennsylvania charges a flat $255 for uncovered decks under 667 square feet. Caln Township charges $0.40 per square foot with a $250 minimum plus a $4.50 state fee and 5 percent, about $267. Lackawaxen Township charges $54 for the building permit and $50 for zoning, $104 in all. Washington County, Maryland priced decks at 10 cents per square foot plus $80 in application and technology fees, $112, in a 2016 checklist.
The valuation formulas scale with the job. Godfrey, Illinois charges $35 plus $50 plus $4 per $1,000 of cost, about $160 on the wood figure and $185 on the composite figure. Independence, Missouri charges $60 plus $9.25 per $1,000 plus a $30 engineering review, about $260 at that cost and $320 at the composite figure. Against the national job cost the permit is under 2 percent. It buys the plan review that catches an undersized beam before it is built.
What a 16 by 20 ft deck needs
No published source gives a labor figure, so the part of the cost that can be written down is the material list. The American Wood Council's prescriptive deck guide covers decks whose length is no more than their width. So in a 16 by 20 ft deck the joists run the 16 ft direction from the house. The 20 ft side lies along the house.
| Part | What the guide allows | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Joists, 16 ft span, 16 in on center | Southern pine 2x12 (16 ft 6 in allowed); or 2x10 if the beam is set back 2 ft (14 ft span, 14 ft allowed) | 16 joists plus rim and ledger |
| Beam, 20 ft long | three 2x12 southern pine spans up to 9 ft 1 in at a 16 ft joist span | 3 posts, two 9 ft bays, with the beam overhanging each end post by a foot |
| Posts | 6x6 minimum | 3 |
| Footings, beam span up to 10 ft | 27 by 27 by 13 in pads on undisturbed soil below frost | 3, about 0.6 cubic yards of concrete |
| Decking, 5/4x6 at a 1/8 in gap | 5 1/2 in boards, 35 rows across 16 ft | 700 linear ft, 35 boards of 20 ft, 39 with 10 percent waste |
| Fasteners | two screws per board per joist | about 1,120, buy 1,200 |
Spruce-pine-fir or hem-fir joists need 2x12 at 12 inches on center for a 16 ft span. The alternative is 2x10 at 12 inches with the beam set back. That is because the guide's spans for those species are shorter than for southern pine. The deck joist spacing guide has the full table. Railing, stairs, blocking, joist hangers, ledger bolts and flashing are on top of this list. The composite version swaps the decking rows for boards at the maker's price with the same joist layout at 16 inches.
Pricing the list
Put a price per board from your lumber yard into the decking calculator and it prices the decking, joists and screws at that quote. The concrete calculator prices the footings at the bag price. What that leaves is labor and the parts above the frame. Two things change the number more than any material choice. Guards and stairs, where the deck's height calls for them, add to the list. A second-story deck or one that carries a hot tub is outside the prescriptive guide altogether and is designed, not looked up.
Questions about deck costs
How much does a deck cost per square foot?
About $57 to $78 per square foot in the 2025 Cost vs Value national figures. Those describe a 16 by 20 ft deck with a bench, a planter and three steps: $18,263 for wood and $25,096 for composite over 320 square feet. The 2023 Remodeling Impact report's 14 by 18 ft cedar deck with railing and stairs, $16,900, is about $67 per square foot.
How much is a deck permit?
For a 320 sq ft deck, the six fee schedules listed at the end run about $100 to $320. Three Pennsylvania townships and a Maryland county come to $104 to $267, from flat fees, a $250 minimum and a per-square-foot rate plus fixed fees. An Illinois village's valuation formula gives about $160 to $185 across the two national deck costs, and a Missouri city's about $260 to $320. The permit is the smallest line on the job.
Does a deck add value to a house?
The 2025 Cost vs Value report puts resale value at $17,323 for the $18,263 wood deck. It puts it at $22,199 for the $25,096 composite deck, so in both cases most but not all of the cost comes back. The 2023 Remodeling Impact report estimated $15,000 recovered on a $16,900 cedar deck.
Is composite cheaper than wood in the long run?
The published figures say composite costs about $6,800 more to build and returns about $4,900 more at resale, nationally, in 2025. Upkeep costs are not in either report, so the long-run comparison needs your own sealing or staining cost per year against zero for composite. No source read prices that.
11 source documents
- Zonda (Remodeling magazine), 2025 Cost vs Value Report, national table: wood deck addition $18,263 job cost, $17,323 resale value, 94.9 percent; composite deck addition $25,096, $22,199, 88.5 percent. Read 2 November 2026.
- National Association of Realtors with NARI, 2023 Remodeling Impact Report: Outdoor Features: 14 by 18 ft cedar wood deck with railing and stairs, $16,900 estimated cost, $15,000 recovered, 89 percent. Read 2 November 2026.
- Lower Salford Township, Pennsylvania, 2026 permit fee schedule: uncovered decks $255 for projects under 667 square feet. Read 2 November 2026.
- Caln Township, Pennsylvania, 2026 fee schedule: decks at $0.40 per square foot, $250 minimum, plus $4.50 and 5 percent. Read 2 November 2026.
- Village of Godfrey, Illinois, Residential building permit fee schedule, 2026: deck $35 plus a building permit fee of $50 plus $4 per $1,000 of project cost. Read 2 November 2026.
- City of Independence, Missouri, Residential deck information packet: $60 base plus $9.25 per $1,000 of valuation, $30 engineering review, packet dated 2020. Read 2 November 2026.
- Washington County, Maryland, Residential deck permit checklist: $0.10 per square foot plus $65 application and $15 technology fees, checklist dated 2016. Read 2 November 2026.
- Lackawaxen Township, Pennsylvania, Residential deck page: $54 building permit and $50 zoning permit per deck. Read 2 November 2026.
- American Wood Council, DCA 6, Prescriptive Residential Wood Deck Construction Guide (2015 IRC): joist span Table 2, beam span Table 3A, post and footing Table 4, decking fastening. Read 2 November 2026.
- NIST and the American Lumber Standard Committee, Voluntary Product Standard PS 20-20, Table 3: 5/4x6 decking 1 by 5 1/2 inches dressed. Read 2 November 2026.
- Zonda, Cost vs Value (JLC), Cost vs Value 2025 project descriptions, Deck Addition Wood and Composite: a 16 by 20 ft deck on 4x4 posts and concrete piers, with a bench, a planter and three steps; and the 2025 methodology (costs from a construction cost index and Verisk estimating data, resale values from a survey of more than 6,000 Realtors). Read 2 November 2026.