Deck Cost 2026: $10,000–$28,000 for a Mid-Size Deck

Building a mid-size deck on a common single-family house in the US — about 250 to 400 square feet, one level, pressure-treated framing, pressure-treated or composite decking, standard railings, and one stair — often clusters around $10,000–$28,000. The wider national spread, about $6,000–$50,000, covers a small ground-level platform at the low end and a multi-level deck, extra stairs, upgraded railings, or a full composite system at the high end. A roof over the deck, tropical hardwood, and a very large two-story structure can clear that spread. This is a planning range, not a quote.

This page is a deck at a house. A rooftop deck, a dock, and a patio of pavers or a poured slab are different projects. A deck beside a pool is still this page. The water is the pool installation guide. The pressure-treated case, boards and frame both wood, is also on the wood deck guide. Use that page when you already know the deck is wood and the question is a straightforward attached platform. Use this page when composite, a second level, or the railing is part of the decision.

Square-foot rules of thumb are easy to misuse. A 200-square-foot deck is not half the price of a 400-square-foot deck, because the footings, the ledger, the permit, and the stair do not shrink in half. Price the deck you can draw, not a rate you saw on a forum.

Pressure-treated decking usually sits in the lower half of the typical band. On this size, that is the same cluster the wood deck guide puts at $10,000–$18,000. Composite decking on the same kind of frame usually sits in the upper half. A very small ground-level wood platform can land under the typical band and still be a real deck.

The rows below are ways to read one deck. They are not added together. Pressure-treated decking and composite decking replace each other on the same frame. The per-square-foot rows are the cross-check for about 300 square feet, not a second bill on top of the typical band.

Scope	Typical cost
Mid-size deck, about 250 to 400 sq ft, pressure-treated or composite, one stair and railings	$10,000–$28,000
Pressure-treated decking on this size, the same cluster as the wood deck guide	$10,000–$18,000
Pressure-treated decking, installed	$35–$50 per sq ft
About 300 sq ft of pressure-treated decking at that rate	$10,500–$15,000
Composite decking on a wood frame, installed	$50–$70 per sq ft
About 300 sq ft of composite decking at that rate	$15,000–$21,000
Wider national spread, from a small ground-level platform to a multi-level or full composite system	$6,000–$50,000

What the range includes

The typical band assumes an existing single-family house, one level, a footprint of about 250 to 400 square feet, pressure-treated posts, beams, and joists, and either pressure-treated decking or a mid-grade composite board. It includes concrete footings to the local frost depth, a ledger bolted and flashed to the house where an attached deck is allowed, ordinary wood or basic composite railings, one straight stair, haul-away of a small old platform when that removal is ordinary, and a permit. It assumes the yard is reachable by a truck and the soil will take a standard footing.

A simple pressure-treated rectangle in a lower-cost area sits toward the lower half. The same footprint in composite decking, or a shape with several corners, sits at the top of the band and leaves it when the rail is cable or glass or the deck has two levels.

The floor of the national spread, near $6,000, is a small ground-level pressure-treated platform on easy ground. It is not a composite deck that someone discounted. The top, toward $50,000, is where a multi-level deck, more than one stair, a cable or glass rail, and a full composite system — boards, rail, and picture-frame detailing or a composite-framed assembly — usually land together. Ipe or another tropical hardwood, a roof over the deck, and a very large footprint can clear that top. Treat a number above it as a different scope and ask which driver caused it.

None of the bands include new vinyl siding across the ledger wall, new windows, a roof, a fence, a new driveway where the stair lands, or a garage door. The ledger flashing and the siding have to be detailed together, and they are still two scopes. If the same season opens the kitchen for a new door onto the deck, price that work on the kitchen remodel guide. A fence that returns to the deck rail is the fence guide. A stair that lands on a driveway you are also replacing is the driveway guide. A tree over the deck is the tree removal guide. Do not fold any of those into the deck bid.

As a cross-check, not a bid: pressure-treated decking on this attached scope is often discussed around $35–$50 a square foot. On a deck of about 300 square feet, that is roughly $10,500–$15,000, the lower half of the typical band, in line with the wood deck guide. Composite decking on a one-level wood frame is often discussed around $50–$70 a square foot. On that same 300 square feet, that is roughly $15,000–$21,000, and a 400-square-foot composite deck at the high rate reaches the top of the typical band. A full composite system with an upgraded rail is often discussed from that top into the wider spread. Ask for wood and composite as two proposals if you are deciding between them. Ask for the railing as its own line so you can see the boards versus the guards.

What moves the price

Driver	How it changes the bid
Size and shape	More surface is more framing and more boards. Corners, a picture-frame border, and a break for a tree add labor faster than area.
Material	Pressure-treated decking is the lower half of the typical band. Cedar costs more. Mid-grade composite decking is the upper half. A full composite system, including the rail, leaves that band.
Height and levels	A deck a step off the ground is the simpler job. One story up needs longer posts, more bracing, and railings that are doing real work. A second level is a wider-spread project.
Ledger and flashing	Attaching to the house is where decks fail. Proper flashing, and the right fasteners, are not the place to save. The siding and the roof edge have to stay watertight.
Railings and stairs	One straight stair and a standard guard are in the typical band. A second stair, a stair down a slope, or a cable, glass, or metal rail is its own line. Guards on three sides can cost as much as a noticeable share of the decking.
Site	Slopes, rock, poor access, and a yard the truck cannot reach turn the footing day into the project. Frost depth is whatever the inspector enforces, not a depth from a forum.

If the deck will carry a hot tub, say so at the start. The structure is designed for it or it is not. That is an engineering question, not a board upgrade. Some cities also want an engineer’s stamp above a certain height. Ask before you compare a stamped bid with a prescriptive one.

If the ledger wall is getting new siding, the siding crew should not close the wall over a ledger that still needs flashing. The same is true at the roof edge above the deck and at any window the deck passes. Water stains at the ledger are not automatically a bad board. Trace them to the flashing and, if they start on the roof, to the roof guide before you order decking.

DIY or hire

A low deck with a simple rectangle is a realistic project for someone who has framed before, can set footings plumb and to the depth the inspector wants, and will follow the current prescriptive deck guide the city uses. The ledger connection and the flashing against the house are the parts that rot the wall. If you are unsure, hire at least that connection and the footings, and do the decking yourself.

Hire the whole job if the deck is more than a step off the ground, if it has more than one level, if it needs a beam you cannot size, or if you have not pulled a permit before. Railings are not trim. They are the safety system. A wobbly DIY railing is not a savings. Composite boards are less forgiving of joists that wander out of spacing, because the clips and the gapping are part of the warranty.

Replacing a few surface boards is ordinary DIY when the joists under them are dry and solid. Use the same thickness, leave the gaps the material requires, and do not bury a soft joist under a new board. If a fence returns where the new stair lands, leave the fence line out of the deck proposal. If the stair lands on a driveway you are replacing, the pad and the footing are two crews.

Repair or replace

Repair the surface when the frame is sound: replace cupped or splintered boards, tighten or replace fasteners, and reset a loose railing post if the post base is still good. Clean and recoat wood that is intact and only weathering. That maintenance is cheaper than any of the bands on this page.

Rebuild when posts are soft at the ground, a beam is cracked or rotting, the ledger is separating from the house, joists are notched in ways that worry you, or the deck was built on blocks sitting on the soil in a climate that freezes. Covering a bad frame with new composite boards is a way to buy an expensive surface for a structure that still needs to come out. Hanging a new rail on posts that rock is the same mistake.

If you did not build the deck, look underneath before you price decking. The frame is the project or it is not. A flashlight and a screwdriver into a post base will tell you more than the color of the stain. A gap under a leaning stair is not automatically a bad tread. If the soil has washed out, or the landing has heaved, the grade is the problem. New boards will not hold it. If that landing is the driveway, price the pad on the driveway guide.

How to use this number

Ask for bids that state the footprint, the height, the number of levels, the footing type, the species and size of the framing, the decking product, the railing style, the number of stairs, who pulls the permit, and whether removal of the old deck is included. Compare a one-level pressure-treated deck of this size with the lower half of the typical band, and with the wood deck guide. Compare composite decking on the same frame with the upper half. Compare a second level, a cable or glass rail, extra stairs, and a full composite system with the wider spread, and make the material and the rail options so you can see the boards versus the structure.

A very low bid on an elevated or multi-level deck is a reason to ask about footing depth and ledger flashing, not a reason to celebrate. A high bid should point at height, a second level, access, the railing, or composite. Two or three local bids on the same drawing are the number that matters. How this site sets the band is explained on the methodology page.