Total construction starts were down 20.5 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.22 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network.
Nonresidential building starts fell 13.4 percent, residential starts increased 13.3 percent and nonbuilding starts dropped 43.7 percent over the month.
On a year-to-date basis through November, total construction starts were up 5.1 percent from last year. Nonresidential starts were up 4.7 percent, residential starts were down 4.9 percent and nonbuilding starts were 17.5 percent higher over the same period.
“A lack of megaproject activity contributed to a weak November for construction starts,” says Eric Gaus, chief economist at Dodge Construction Network. “There were only two structures over a billion dollars. Looking through the noise of the last two months, the trajectory of the last half of 2025 has been much better than the first half.”
Nonbuilding
Nonbuilding construction starts declined 43.7 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $362 billion.
Miscellaneous nonbuilding (down 70.4 percent) drove the declines, along with utilities (down 61.4 percent) and highway and bridges (down 4.9 percent). Environmental public works starts rose 6.8 percent over the month.
On a year-to-date basis through November, nonbuilding starts were up 17.5 percent, alongside gains in miscellaneous nonbuilding (up 42.6 percent), utilities (up 49.5 percent) and highways and bridges (up 1.7 percent), while environmental public works declined 1.4 percent.
The largest nonbuilding projects to break ground in November included the $1.7 billion Entergy Meta Substations – 500-kv Line in Rayville, Louisiana; the $922 million Easley Renewable Energy Solar Array in Desert Center, California; and the $900 million New Castle Bluff Energy Center natural gas power plant in St Louis.
Nonresidential
Nonresidential building starts decreased 13.4 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $485 billion.
Commercial starts were down 25.8 percent, alongside declines in offices and data centers (down 40.5 percent) and hotels (down 33.2 percent). Meanwhile, parking garages (up 30.5 percent), retail stores (up 8.3 percent) and warehouses (up 6.4 percent) posted growth between October and November.
Institutional starts improved 11.4 percent, driven by gains in public (up 78.8 percent) and education buildings (up 32.1 percent) but offset by declines in amusement (down 51.1 percent) and dormitories (down 45.9 percent). Dodge says manufacturing activity remains volatile, falling 50.7 percent in November.
On a year-to-date basis through November, nonresidential starts were up 4.7 percent compared to the first eleven months of 2024. Commercial and industrial starts were up 11.6 percent, and institutional starts were down 2 percent over the same period.
The largest nonresidential building projects to break ground in November were the $1.8 billion LAX Terminal 5 Renovation & Reconstruction in Los Angeles; the $800 million Amazon – Southern Site – Data Center in Olive Township, Indiana; and the $797 million New UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Campus in Oakland, California.
Residential
Residential building starts rose 13.3 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $368 billion.
Single-family starts increased 3.1 percent, while multifamily starts jumped 35.6 percent.
On a year-to-date basis through November, residential starts were down 4.9 percent – with single-family starts down 12.8 percent and multifamily starts up 12.4 percent.
