Deck / decking build cost in San Francisco

Computed from 367 recent building-permit filings in San Francisco, CA — what people actually declared, not survey guesses.

Typical low · P25$8,000
Median$20,000
Typical high · P75$62,208

✓ Verified from 367 recent building-permit filings in San Francisco, CA

Data refreshed July 2026

The short answer: a typical deck / decking build in San Francisco costs around $20,000, with half of all projects landing between $8,000 and $62,208. If a quote falls well outside that range, it isn't automatically wrong — but it deserves an explanation you can understand.

Before you spend on a deck / decking build

💸 What drives the cost

  • Elevation and structure: a ground-level deck and a raised one with railings are different projects
  • Material: pressure-treated timber vs composite roughly doubles materials but halves maintenance

✂️ How to spend less

  • Simplify the shape — rectangles cost dramatically less per square metre than multi-level curves
  • Build in autumn; decking crews discount heavily out of season

🚩 Red flags when hiring

  • No footing/foundation detail in the quote for a raised deck

Where this number comes from

Every figure on this page is computed from declared valuations on building permits published by San Francisco's open-data portal. We report the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile of 367 recent residential filings — never a single-point "average". Declared values are what applicants file, not final invoices, so treat the range as planning guidance rather than a quote. Full methodology →

Questions people ask

How much does a deck / decking build cost in San Francisco?

Based on 367 recent building-permit filings in San Francisco, the median declared cost is $20,000. Half of all projects fall between $8,000 and $62,208.

Are these figures quotes?

No. Permit valuations are what applicants declare when filing, not final invoices. Treat the range as planning guidance and a sanity-check against the quotes you receive.

Why is the range so wide?

Because identical-sounding projects legitimately differ in size, specification and site conditions. That is why we publish the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile instead of a single misleading "average" — you can see where a quote sits in the real distribution.

Planning something else, or somewhere else? Request a city or project — requests decide what we ingest next.