Estimating
How much should I charge per square foot?
Quick answer
Your per-square-foot price should come from your own costs, not a national average: total the labor, materials and overhead for a job, add profit, then divide by the square footage. Use published ranges only as a sanity check.
Definition
Per-square-foot pricing expresses a job's full price divided by its area. It's a shortcut for quoting and comparing, not a substitute for a real cost buildup.
Step by step
- 1Build a full cost for a representative job.
- 2Add overhead and profit to get the price.
- 3Divide by square footage for your rate.
- 4Adjust for access, complexity and finish level.
Key takeaways
- A square-foot rate is an output of your costs, not an input.
- Complexity and finish level change the rate a lot.
- Recheck your rate whenever material prices move.
Related questions
- How do I calculate labor cost?
- How much markup should I charge?
- Should I charge materials separately?
Frequently asked questions
Handy calculators
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