A four- to seven-story apartment building costs $268 per square foot at the national average in Q3 2026, according to Gordian's RSMeans data published by Building Design+Construction. That is up 8.5% from $247 a year earlier, and the same table runs from $221 in Dallas to $356 in New York. It is a planning-model number for one building type, so here is how it moves when the building type changes.
The precise figures in BD+C's September 15, 2026 table are $267.75 per square foot nationally in Q3 2026, against $246.75 in Q3 2025, an increase of 8.51%. For comparison, the RSMeans two- to four-story office model BD+C published in July 2026 rose 3.61% in the year to Q2 2026, and the three-story hospital model rose 6.40% in the year to Q2 2026.
If you are budgeting a multifamily deal off one apartment building cost per square foot number, know what building that number describes. The RSMeans figure is a mid-rise model. A three-story walk-up, a five-over-one podium with structured parking, and a 20-story concrete tower are different buildings, and they do not all cost $268 a foot.
We cover the per-unit side in the apartment construction cost per unit guide, because that is how lenders and appraisers usually talk. This piece is the per-square-foot angle, the number general contractors and subs bid from.
The Q3 2026 RSMeans Table by City
Here is the full table BD+C published for Gordian's four- to seven-story apartment model:
| Location | Q3 2025 | Q3 2026 | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|---|
| National average | $246.75 | $267.75 | 8.51% |
| Dallas | $200.94 | $220.96 | 9.96% |
| Charlotte, N.C. | $207.82 | $225.24 | 8.38% |
| Miami | $207.44 | $231.17 | 11.44% |
| Albuquerque, N.M. | $217.13 | $237.37 | 9.32% |
| Atlanta | $218.68 | $237.82 | 8.75% |
| Denver | $224.31 | $246.51 | 9.90% |
| Madison, Wis. | $252.05 | $276.96 | 9.90% |
| San Diego | $287.67 | $316.50 | 10.02% |
| Boston | $294.20 | $320.50 | 8.94% |
| New York | $329.43 | $356.16 | 8.11% |
Source: Gordian RSMeans data via BD+C, September 15, 2026. BD+C notes that square-foot models are for planning and budgeting and are not meant for detailed estimates.
Every city in the table rose more than 8% in a year. New York, at $356.16, was about 33% above the national average, and Dallas, at $220.96, was about 17% below it. If your market is not on the list, the gap between Dallas and New York gives you the realistic spread for a mid-rise building in a major U.S. metro.
How Building Height and Type Change the Number
Gordian publishes free RSMeans model pages for three apartment height bands. They use 2019 data, so they are not current prices, but because they come from the same cost database in the same year, they are a fair way to compare one apartment type against another:
| RSMeans 2019 model (national average) | Modeled building | Union labor | Open shop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apartment, 1 to 3 story | 3 stories, 22,500 SF, brick veneer, reinforced concrete | $195.97/SF | $175.99/SF |
| Apartment, 4 to 7 story | 6 stories, 60,000 SF, brick veneer, reinforced concrete | $193.94/SF | $174.26/SF |
| Apartment, 8 to 24 story | 15 stories, 145,000 SF, brick veneer, reinforced concrete | $227.00/SF | $205.08/SF |
Sources: RSMeans model pages for 1 to 3 story, 4 to 7 story and 8 to 24 story apartments, 2019 data release.
Two things stand out. First, in the RSMeans models the low-rise and mid-rise buildings land within a few dollars of each other per square foot when both are modeled with the same brick-and-concrete construction. The jump comes with the high-rise model, which was about 16% higher than the mid-rise. Second, the default models are not wood-frame garden apartments or wood-over-podium buildings. The 1 to 3 story page lists fiber cement over wood frame as an alternate option, which tells you RSMeans treats the structural and exterior system as a separate decision from height. A wood-frame garden building and a concrete low-rise are different estimates even at the same story count.
So the honest answer to "how much more does a podium or a high-rise cost than garden" is that it depends more on the structural system, parking and code requirements than on the label. We have not found a current, sourced national dataset that prices garden, wood mid-rise and podium buildings separately, and we are not going to publish invented bands for them. For podium-specific cost drivers, see the podium apartment construction cost breakdown, which uses the same RSMeans mid-rise benchmark.
Gordian's $268 national figure for four- to seven-story buildings is the current mid-rise benchmark. For the same number adjusted to each state's construction labor rates, see the apartment building cost guide.
What changes as you go up
Even without a published price for each type, the scope differences are well known and worth pricing separately with your subs:
- Elevators, which most low-rise walk-ups do not need and every mid-rise and high-rise does.
- Fire separation, sprinklers and standpipes, which become more demanding as height and occupant load increase under the building code.
- Structural system: wood platform framing, a concrete podium with wood above, or a concrete or steel frame throughout.
- Structured parking, which a garden complex usually avoids with surface lots and a podium or high-rise often cannot.
- Interior corridors, stairs and lobbies, which add built area that does not rent.
What the RSMeans Number Includes
The RSMeans model pages show how the square-foot total is built. For the 2019 four- to seven-story model, the component subtotal was $145.01 per square foot with union labor. Contractor fees for general conditions, overhead and profit were added at 25% of that subtotal ($36.25), and an architectural fee at 7% ($12.69), for a total of $193.94. The three-story model uses the same 25% contractor fee and 7% architectural fee; the 8 to 24 story model uses 25% and 6%.
Land, financing, permits, impact fees, and owner costs such as furniture and marketing are not in those totals. Budget them separately.
Gross vs Rentable: The Trap in Per-SF Math
When you divide project cost by square footage, you have to know which square footage. Gross building area includes corridors, stairs, elevator shafts, lobbies, mechanical rooms and amenity space. Net rentable area is only what tenants pay for. Building-type models like RSMeans are priced per gross square foot.
Buildings with interior double-loaded corridors, elevators and large amenity spaces convert a smaller share of their gross area into rentable area than walk-up buildings with exterior breezeways. Calculate your own net-to-gross ratio from the floor plans rather than using a rule of thumb, and state clearly in any pro forma whether a per-square-foot figure is per gross or per rentable foot. The two can differ enough to change whether a deal works.
Per Square Foot vs Per Unit
Per-unit and per-square-foot costs move differently because unit size varies. A building full of studios has more kitchens, bathrooms, water heaters, electrical panels and HVAC units per square foot than the same area in two-bedroom units, so its mechanical, electrical and plumbing cost per square foot is higher even if its cost per unit is lower.
For a national per-unit reference, our per-unit guide uses the Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey: about $166,000 of permit valuation per unit for buildings with five or more units in 2025. Permit valuation is the structure value on the permit, not a full development cost, so treat it as a floor rather than an all-in budget.
Where Costs Are Heading
The RSMeans apartment model rose in every quarter of the past year, from $246.75 in Q3 2025 to $247.91, $250.66, $256.03 and then $267.75 in Q3 2026. Gordian's 2026 data release found that labor wages entering 2026 were 4.6% higher than a year earlier (BD+C, March 12, 2026). Mortenson's Q3 2026 Construction Cost Index, which covers nonresidential work, was up 5.60% year over year (BD+C, Sept. 21, 2026).
On wood-frame apartments, framing lumber is the material to watch; the current price picture is in our lumber price report. Run your framing package through the cost estimator with current pricing before you lock a guaranteed maximum price.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to build an apartment building per square foot in 2026?
The national average for a four- to seven-story apartment building is $268 per square foot in Q3 2026 (Gordian RSMeans, $267.75 exactly), from $221 in Dallas to $356 in New York. Add land, financing, permits and other soft costs on top.
How much did apartment construction costs rise in the past year?
The RSMeans four- to seven-story apartment model rose 8.51% from Q3 2025 to Q3 2026, from $246.75 to $267.75 per square foot. Every city in BD+C's table rose more than 8%.
Is a high-rise apartment more expensive per square foot than a mid-rise?
In Gordian's free RSMeans model pages, which use 2019 data, the 8 to 24 story apartment model was $227.00 per square foot with union labor against $193.94 for the 4 to 7 story model, about 16% higher. The 1 to 3 story model was $195.97, close to the mid-rise.
Is there a published cost per square foot for garden or podium apartments?
Not as a free, current national figure that we could verify. The RSMeans models are defined by height band and wall system rather than by "garden" or "podium." Price the structural system, parking and elevators for your specific building rather than relying on a generic band.
What is the difference between cost per square foot and cost per unit for apartments?
Cost per unit divides total cost by the number of apartments; cost per square foot divides by building area. A building of small units has a high per-square-foot cost and a lower per-unit cost. Lenders usually talk per unit; contractors bid per square foot. Check a pro forma both ways.
Does the RSMeans figure include soft costs?
It includes contractor fees for general conditions, overhead and profit and an architectural fee, but not land, financing, permits, impact fees or owner costs.
