Total construction starts increased 0.7% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.24 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network. Gains were driven entirely by the nonbuilding sector, as both residential and nonresidential building activity declined during the month.
Nonresidential building starts fell 15.4% in January, while residential starts declined 6.4%. In contrast, nonbuilding construction starts surged 24.3%. On a year-over-year basis, total construction starts rose 5.0% compared to January 2025. Residential starts were down 17.0%, nonresidential starts decreased 10.3%, and nonbuilding starts jumped 46.1%.
Looking at the 12-month period ending January 2026, total construction starts increased 6.1% compared to the prior 12 months. Residential starts declined 6.0%, while nonresidential starts grew 5.5% and nonbuilding starts climbed 21.0%.
“Nonbuilding construction remained the primary engine of growth in the first month of 2026,” said Eric Gaus, Chief Economist at Dodge Construction Network. “Three mega-projects in the nonbuilding sector accounted for nearly $20 billion—almost half of January’s growth. Without those projects, total construction starts would have been negative.”
Residential Construction
Residential building starts declined 6.4% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $345 billion. Single-family starts edged up 1.5% month over month, while multifamily starts dropped sharply, down 17.8%.
Compared to January 2025, residential starts were down 17.0%, with single-family activity falling 21.5% and multifamily starts down 9.2%.
For the 12 months ending January 2026, total residential starts decreased 6.0%. Single-family starts fell 15.2% year over year, while multifamily starts increased 13.6%.
The largest multifamily projects breaking ground in January included the $335 million 38 Gramercy Park East Condominiums in New York, New York; the $265 million Lakeview Residence in West Palm Beach, Florida; and the $200 million Homestead Gateway mixed-residential tower in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Nonresidential Construction
Nonresidential building starts fell 15.4% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $378 billion. Commercial starts declined 27.3%, led by steep drops in offices and data centers (-52.2%), hotels (-17.4%), and parking garages (-6.7%). These declines were partially offset by gains in warehouse construction (+10.2%) and retail starts (+6.5%).
Institutional construction declined 15.2% for the month, reflecting reduced activity in education (-21.9%) and miscellaneous institutional projects (-26.1%). Healthcare construction provided some relief, increasing 10.5% month over month. Manufacturing construction rebounded sharply, rising 97.5% in January.
On a year-over-year basis, nonresidential starts were down 10.3%. Commercial starts increased 14.2%, while institutional starts fell 29.6%.
For the 12 months ending January 2026, total nonresidential starts rose 5.5%. Commercial starts increased 19.4%, institutional starts declined 4.4%, and manufacturing starts grew 3.5%.
Major nonresidential projects to break ground in January included the $1.2 billion New York Presbyterian Cancer Center in New York, New York; the $1 billion Amkor Semiconductor Advanced Packaging facility (Phase 1) in Peoria, Arizona; and the $714 million QTS CLT1 Data Center (Phase 1) in York, South Carolina.
Nonbuilding Construction
Nonbuilding construction starts climbed 24.3% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $522 billion. Growth was driven almost entirely by electric power and utility projects, which surged 184.8% for the month. Offsetting declines were recorded in highways and bridges (-42.3%), miscellaneous nonbuilding construction (-31.5%), and environmental public works (-5.9%).
For the 12 months ending January 2026, nonbuilding starts rose 21.0%. Environmental public works declined 5.3%, while highway and bridge starts increased 3.4%. Miscellaneous nonbuilding activity rose 36.2%, and utility and gas projects surged 67.9%.
The largest nonbuilding projects breaking ground in January included the $12 billion Port Arthur LNG Liquefaction Phase 2 (Trains 3 and 4) in Port Arthur, Texas; the $6 billion Homer City Energy Campus (4.4 GW) in Homer City, Pennsylvania; and the $1.5 billion Tehuacana Creek 1 Solar and Battery Storage project in Navarro, Texas.
Regional Performance
Regionally, total construction starts increased in the Northeast (+32.0%), South Central (+9.6%), and South Atlantic (+2.2%) in January. Starts declined in the West (-21.1%) and the Midwest (-12.6%).
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