A 16-by-20-foot deck built with pressure-treated lumber averaged $18,263 nationally in the 2025 Cost vs. Value report, the latest edition posted by the Journal of Light Construction, which publishes the report. The same deck in composite decking averaged $25,096. Across the report's nine U.S. regions, the wood version ranged from $15,709 to $22,717 and the composite from $23,631 to $28,209. The report also estimates how much of that cost a deck adds to a home's sale price, and that figure moves more by region than the cost does.

What the price covers

The figures are for one specified job, not an average of real decks. The wood project is a 16-by-20-foot deck on pressure-treated joists supported by 4-by-4-inch posts anchored to concrete piers, with pressure-treated deck boards in a simple linear pattern, a built-in bench and planter of the same material, stairs of three steps to grade, and a complete railing of pressure-treated posts, rails and balusters. The composite project uses the same framing, piers and layout, with composite deck boards, bench, planter and a matching composite railing. A larger deck, a second level, a different railing, more stairs or a site that needs taller posts changes the job and the price.

National averages, 2025 report

  • Wood deck: job cost $18,263; estimated resale value $17,323; 94.9 percent of cost recouped
  • Composite deck: job cost $25,096; estimated resale value $22,199; 88.5 percent recouped

For comparison, the report's backyard patio project, a 20-by-20-foot flagstone patio with a gas fire pit, a stone-veneer outdoor kitchen with gas grill, sink and mini-refrigerator, a cedar pergola, low-voltage lights, a lift-and-slide glass door and underground gas and electrical lines, averaged $51,454 with 46 percent recouped.

By region

The report's regions carry the names of the Census Bureau's nine divisions. The Middle Atlantic division (New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania) had the highest costs for both versions: $22,717 for wood and $28,209 for composite. The West South Central division (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas) had the lowest: $15,709 for wood and $23,631 for composite. Other regional wood costs were $16,825 in the West North Central, $16,868 in the East South Central, $18,090 in the East North Central, $18,253 in the Mountain region, $18,397 in the South Atlantic, $18,405 in the Pacific and $20,603 in New England.

The share recouped spread wider. For the wood deck it ran from 71.2 percent in the East South Central division (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee) to 106.6 percent in the West South Central, and topped 100 percent in the Pacific as well, at 102.5 percent. For composite, it ran from 46.4 percent in the East South Central to 97.8 percent in the Middle Atlantic. The wood deck recouped a larger share than the composite one in five regions; the composite deck recouped more in the Middle Atlantic, New England, the South Atlantic and the West North Central.

How the numbers are made, and their limits

Costs start from a national price index the report's team built for each project from Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer and producer price data, Bureau of Economic Analysis spending price data and BLS installer wage data, carried forward from a 2019 baseline. Local prices come from Verisk's XactRemodel estimating data. Resale values come from an online survey of more than 6,000 real estate agents, run by Zonda with the National Association of Realtors' Realtors Property Resource, who were shown each project's description, photos, cost and the local median home price and asked what it adds to a sale price. That makes the value column an estimate of agents' opinions, not a measure of what homes with new decks sold for, and the report does not track how long a deck lasts or what it costs to maintain.

Before getting quotes

Permit requirements for decks are set locally, and the local building department can say whether a permit is needed and which code edition governs footings, attachment to the house, guard height and stairs. A contractor's written quote can be read against the report's specification line by line: size, framing, decking material, railing system, stairs and whether permit fees and any demolition are included. The regional pages on the Journal of Light Construction's Cost vs. Value site list the same figures for each division.

This article reports rules, data and expert guidance. It is not legal, tax, insurance or financial advice. Talk to a licensed pro, your tax advisor or your insurer before you act on it.

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