April 2026 total Nonresidential construction starts fell to $75.2 billion, down $1.1 billion from March’s revised $76.3 billion.
Starts remained above the 12-month moving average of $73.8 billion, suggesting overall activity is still running at a healthy pace.
Nonresidential building ended April at $42.2 billion, down 3.8% from March, with the Offices category — which captures most Data Center work — driving nearly all of the decline. Even so, year-to-date nonresidential building starts are up 35.9% from the same 2025 period after a strong first quarter.
ConstructConnect announced today that April 2026 Total Nonresidential Construction Starts — the sum of Nonresidential Building and Civil Construction — were $75.2 billion, down $1.1 billion from March’s revised reading of $76.3 billion.
April’s Total Nonresidential reading of $75.2 billion fell modestly — down $1.1 billion, or 1.5% — from March’s revised figure of $76.3 billion. The primary driver of the monthly softening was a sharp retreat in Private Office and Data Center starts, which fell from $10.4 billion in March to $4.3 billion in April following an unusually elevated prior-month reading.
This contraction was significantly cushioned by broad-based gains elsewhere, with Warehouses adding $2.4 billion, Miscellaneous Commercial gaining $2.5 billion, Sports and Convention Centers up $1.5 billion, and Transportation Terminals rising $1.0 billion.
Year-to-date, Total Nonresidential starts are up 26.5% compared to the same period a year ago.
Michael Guckes, Chief Economist, ConstructConnect
Nonresidential Building (NRB) ended April at $42.2 billion, down 3.8% from the prior month. The Offices subcategory — which captures the bulk of Data Center activity — drove nearly all of the monthly decline after a period of outsized activity in March.
Gains in Warehouses, Sports and Convention Centers, and Miscellaneous Commercial partially offset that pullback.
On a year-to-date basis, NRB starts remain 35.9% above the comparable 2025 period, an indication of how consequential the first-quarter surge in Data Center investment has been for the annual trajectory.
Shown in an image of the best-performing and underperforming large-dollar categories from the Total U.S. Nonresidential Construction Starts for April 2026. Image: ConstructConnect Construction Economy Snapshot
Civil construction, or Heavy Engineering, ended April at $33.0 billion, up 1.6% from March. The month-over-month gain was driven by a $3.2 billion increase in the All Other Civil category.
Roads totaled $11.0 billion in April, while Water/Sewage Treatment ended the month at a relatively steady $6.4 billion. Airports and Bridges each experienced modest pullbacks, as did Power Infrastructure.
Year-to-date, Civil starts are 13.3% above the same period in 2025.
April’s Residential starts continued the protracted weakness visible across the housing market, falling to $16.7 billion — down 14.0% from March and 39.6% below April 2025.
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