Total construction starts expanded 2.6 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.24 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network.
Nonresidential building starts fell 6.6 percent, residential starts increased 1 percent and nonbuilding starts grew 16.3 percent over the month.
For the full year, total construction starts expanded 5.4 percent. Nonresidential starts were up 4.5 percent in 2025, residential starts were down 4.8 percent and nonbuilding starts were up 18.7 compared to 2024.
“Nonbuilding construction, alongside data centers, was the primary engine of growth in 2025, supporting a 5.4 percent expansion in the total dollar value of starts,” says Sarah Martin, associate director of forecasting at Dodge Construction Network. “In square footage terms, however, building starts declined 4.7 percent alongside weaker residential, manufacturing and institutional activity.”
Nonbuilding
Nonbuilding construction starts grew 16.3 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $422 billion.
Highways and bridges (up 85.2 percent month over month) and miscellaneous nonbuilding (up 35.9 percent) supported growth, while environmental public works (down 26.9 percent) and electric power/utilities (down 9 percent) faced declines.
The largest nonbuilding projects to break ground in December were the $3.5 billion Port Authority Midtown Bus Terminal (Phase 1) in New York; the $1.6 billion Entergy Legend Power Station in Port Arthur, Texas; and the $1.5 billion LAX Airport Roadway Improvements project in Los Angeles.
Nonresidential
Nonresidential building starts decreased 6.6 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $450 billion.
Commercial starts were up 9.8 percent, alongside growth in offices and data centers (up 7.4 percent month over month), parking garages (up 38.8 percent), hotels (up 74.4 percent) and warehouses (up 0.7 percent).
Meanwhile, retail starts (down 12.2 percent) posted a decline between November and December. Institutional starts declined 16.3 percent, driven by weaker education (down 18.2 percent) and miscellaneous institutional (down 26.9 percent) starts. This decline was partially offset by 7.9 percent month-over-month growth in health care facility starts.
Additionally, manufacturing pulled back 30.8 percent in December.
Across all of 2025, nonresidential starts improved 4.5 percent. Commercial and industrial starts expanded 10.9 percent, and institutional starts receded 1.9 percent compared to 2024.
The largest nonresidential building projects to break ground in December were the $1 billion Google Data Center (Phase 1) in West Memphis, Arkansas; the $750 million CyrusOne Data Center in Whitney, Texas; and the $714 million SNA Data Center (Phase 2) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Residential
Residential building starts rose by 1 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $370 billion.
Single-family starts decreased 4.5 percent month over month while multifamily starts gained 10.2 percent month over month.
In 2025, residential starts decreased 4.8 percent – with single-family starts down 13.2 percent and multifamily starts up 13.1 percent.
