How Much Does It Cost to Build a Deck?
Updated August 19, 2026 · every figure is cited to a public source below
Angi’s survey of its own customers — over 10,000 of them — puts the average professionally built deck at $8,315, with most projects landing between $4,339 and $12,652, or $30–$60 per square foot. HomeGuide’s independent estimate overlaps: $25–$50 per square foot installed for pressure-treated pine.[1][2]
Decks are one of the most predictable projects to price because three choices set almost the whole bill: how big, what decking material, and how high off the ground. Here is what each one costs in the published data.
Typical costs at a glance
Size sets the floor
Deck pricing scales with area, so published size tables are a useful first anchor. Angi’s installed ranges: a 10×10 (100 sq ft) deck runs $4,000–$6,000, a 12×12 runs $5,760–$8,640, a 16×20 runs $12,800–$19,200, and a 20×20 runs $16,000–$24,000. HomeGuide’s pressure-treated figures bracket the same territory: $3,600–$7,200 for a 12×12 and $10,000–$20,000 for a 20×20.[1][2]
Wood vs composite: pay now or pay later
Material is the second multiplier, and the gap is mostly up-front. Decking materials alone: pressure-treated wood $2–$5 per sq ft, cedar $3–$7, composite $12–$22. Installed, composite runs $25–$54 per sq ft in Angi’s data and $40–$80 in HomeGuide’s — against $25–$50 for pressure-treated pine.[1][2]
The trade-off is maintenance: wood needs periodic sealing or staining for its whole life, composite mostly doesn’t. Trex — a composite manufacturer, so read it as the maker’s own math — also publishes the most explicit labor-share claim in this space: labor and project management account for nearly two-thirds of total deck cost regardless of design.[3]
What makes the price jump
The quantified drivers in the published data:
- Height is the sleeper cost: Angi prices a 10×10 first-story deck at $1,000–$2,000 and the same deck on a second story at $4,000–$5,000. HomeGuide’s per-foot figures agree — $50–$60 per sq ft for second-story decks vs $25–$30 at ground level.[1][2]
- Stairs: $25–$50 per stair per Angi; HomeGuide prices a full deck staircase at $1,400–$2,600 installed.[1][2]
- Railing: $20–$60 per linear foot for wood or vinyl.[2]
- Permits: the sources genuinely disagree — HomeGuide says $50–$150, Angi says $230–$500, and small, low, detached decks sometimes need none. Ask what your town charges before comparing bids.[2][1]
Do you get it back when you sell?
Decks hold value unusually well. The 2025 Cost vs. Value Report’s wood deck addition — a 16×20 pressure-treated deck with railing, stairs, and a built-in bench — cost $18,263 on national average and recouped 95% at resale. A separate methodology, the National Association of Realtors’ Remodeling Impact Report, puts wood-deck cost recovery at 89%.[4][5]
How to find out what YOUR deck costs
A comparable deck bid names the footprint, height, decking line, framing spec, railing type and footage, stair count, footings, and who pulls the permit. Two bids that both say “16×20 composite deck” can differ by thousands purely on railing and substructure — the line items are where the real comparison lives.
Describe the deck once on Getstimate — footprint, height, material you’re considering, a photo of the yard — and compare line-itemed proposals from local builders side by side, free and private.
Common questions
How much does a 16×20 deck cost?
Angi’s published installed range for a 16×20 (320 sq ft) deck is $12,800–$19,200. Pressure-treated wood lands near the bottom of a range like that, composite near the top, and a second-story version can exceed it.
Is composite worth the extra cost over wood?
Composite costs meaningfully more up front — $25–$54 installed per sq ft in Angi’s data versus $25–$50 for pressure-treated pine — but skips the lifetime of sealing and staining wood needs. If you plan to stay put for many years, the maintenance math favors composite; for the best resale ratio, published data favors wood.
Do I need a permit to build a deck?
Often, but not always — small, low, detached decks are commonly exempt. Published permit costs range from $50 to $500 depending on the source and your town, so ask your builder — a bid that omits the permit isn’t comparable to one that includes it.
Why is a second-story deck so much more expensive?
Structure and access: taller posts and footings, engineered connections to the house, railings everywhere, and slower work. Angi prices the same 10×10 deck at $1,000–$2,000 on the first story and $4,000–$5,000 on the second.
These figures are published national averages and ranges — context for planning, not a quote. Your project's real cost depends on your area, the site, materials, and scope, and the only way to know it is estimates from pros looking at yourproject. That's what Getstimate is for, and it's free.
Sources
- Angi — How Much Does It Cost to Build a Deck? — survey-based national average and range (10,000+ customers), size table, material, labor, height, stair and permit figures; page updated August 3, 2026 (accessed August 19, 2026). Angi and HomeAdvisor share one cost dataset.
- HomeGuide — How Much Does It Cost to Build a Deck? — independent per-square-foot figures by material and deck type, railing, stair and permit costs; written February 10, 2026, fact-checked (accessed August 19, 2026).
- Trex — Cost to Build a Composite Deck — manufacturer-published labor share and composite material costs (accessed August 19, 2026). A composite maker — read its comparisons accordingly.
- 2025 Cost vs. Value Report (Zonda Media) — national-average job cost and resale recovery for the wood deck addition project (16×20 scope), verified against the report’s public national table August 19, 2026. ©2025 Zonda Media, a Delaware corporation. Complete data from the 2025 Cost vs. Value Report can be downloaded free at www.costvsvalue.com.
- NerdWallet — The Cost to Build a Deck — reports the National Association of Realtors’ Remodeling Impact figure of 89% wood-deck cost recovery; updated November 26, 2025 (accessed August 19, 2026).