General contracting Google Ads cost per click
Across the US, a typical general contracting campaign on Google Ads pays about $5.30 a click. That ranks 76 of the 146 kinds of business measured here, where the one in the middle pays $5.40.
$5.30
Cost per click, US
610,000
Searches a month, US
$3.90 to $21.50
Google's top-of-page bids for the same searches
By service
Clicks for home additions cost the most at $6.10, 63% more than those for custom homes at $3.70. A campaign that takes every service pays somewhere between, set by which ones people search for most where it runs.
| Service | Cost per click | Searches a month |
|---|---|---|
| Home additions | $6.10 | 400,000 |
| Commercial build-outs | $4.80 | 16,000 |
| Custom homes | $3.70 | 190,000 |
By state
A click costs the most in Washington at $7.40, 3.2 times one in Vermont at $2.30. The same searches cost more where more businesses bid on them and each customer is worth more.
Where people search most
| State | Cost per click | Searches a month |
|---|---|---|
| California | $6.10 | 75,000 |
| Texas | $5.00 | 58,000 |
| Florida | $5.40 | 44,000 |
| New York | $3.70 | 31,000 |
| Pennsylvania | $4.80 | 26,000 |
| Ohio | $4.60 | 22,000 |
| North Carolina | $5.00 | 20,000 |
| Illinois | $4.50 | 19,000 |
| New Jersey | $5.10 | 18,000 |
| Georgia | $5.20 | 18,000 |
Dearest and cheapest
| State | Cost per click |
|---|---|
| Washington | $7.40 |
| Maryland | $7.30 |
| Colorado | $6.90 |
| District of Columbia | $6.90 |
| Oregon | $6.30 |
| West Virginia | $2.80 |
| North Dakota | $2.60 |
| Hawaii | $2.60 |
| Wyoming | $2.30 |
| Vermont | $2.30 |
Every state with enough searches (51)
| State | Cost per click | Searches a month |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | $7.40 | 15,000 |
| Maryland | $7.30 | 9,200 |
| Colorado | $6.90 | 14,000 |
| District of Columbia | $6.90 | 1,300 |
| Oregon | $6.30 | 9,100 |
| Virginia | $6.20 | 12,000 |
| Minnesota | $6.20 | 8,500 |
| Utah | $6.10 | 6,300 |
| California | $6.10 | 75,000 |
| Arizona | $5.90 | 12,000 |
| New Hampshire | $5.80 | 2,300 |
| Michigan | $5.60 | 15,000 |
| Delaware | $5.50 | 1,900 |
| Florida | $5.40 | 44,000 |
| Nevada | $5.20 | 4,300 |
| Rhode Island | $5.20 | 1,400 |
| Georgia | $5.20 | 18,000 |
| New Jersey | $5.10 | 18,000 |
| Idaho | $5.10 | 4,200 |
| Massachusetts | $5.00 | 12,000 |
| Texas | $5.00 | 58,000 |
| North Carolina | $5.00 | 20,000 |
| Tennessee | $4.90 | 14,000 |
| South Carolina | $4.80 | 9,900 |
| Pennsylvania | $4.80 | 26,000 |
| Indiana | $4.70 | 11,000 |
| Connecticut | $4.60 | 5,000 |
| Ohio | $4.60 | 22,000 |
| Missouri | $4.50 | 7,900 |
| Kansas | $4.50 | 7,600 |
| Wisconsin | $4.50 | 10,000 |
| Illinois | $4.50 | 19,000 |
| Oklahoma | $4.30 | 4,900 |
| Alabama | $4.20 | 6,900 |
| Kentucky | $4.20 | 5,600 |
| Iowa | $4.10 | 9,400 |
| Arkansas | $3.70 | 3,700 |
| Nebraska | $3.70 | 2,500 |
| New York | $3.70 | 31,000 |
| Louisiana | $3.50 | 5,300 |
| Mississippi | $3.30 | 3,600 |
| Alaska | $3.30 | 1,100 |
| South Dakota | $3.20 | 1,400 |
| New Mexico | $3.20 | 2,100 |
| Maine | $3.00 | 2,100 |
| Montana | $3.00 | 1,700 |
| West Virginia | $2.80 | 2,600 |
| North Dakota | $2.60 | 1,400 |
| Hawaii | $2.60 | 1,100 |
| Wyoming | $2.30 | 1,200 |
| Vermont | $2.30 | 1,000 |
Against Google's own bids
Keyword Planner puts the top-of-page bids for these searches at $3.90 to $21.50: what advertisers bid to show above the results. A typical campaign pays $5.30, inside that range, because Google charges what it takes to beat the ad below and not the bid itself. Planning a budget on the top-of-page bid overstates what clicks will cost.
The price level comes from LocaliQ's own median for this business, from what real campaigns paid; Google's prices only set how its services and the states compare.
Searches peak in January, at 44% above November, the slowest month. A budget sized for the slow months runs out sooner in the busy ones.
Priced near general contracting
Just above and below in the ranking
- Funeral home$5.50
- Weight loss clinic$5.40
- Remodeling$5.30
- Hot tubs and saunas$5.30
- Cabinets and closets$5.30
- Tutoring and test prep$5.20
Others in home services
- Painting$13.70
- Electrical$12.20
- Water and fire damage$10.80
- Home security$10.70
- Roofing$10.70
- Foundation and waterproofing$10.60
- Plumbing$10.50
- Moving$10.10
Where the figures come from
Google's own search counts and click prices for the year to August 2026 (Keyword Planner, through DataForSEO), scaled to what campaigns paid in LocaliQ's published studies, rounded to ten cents. They are medians: half of campaigns pay more. The full method is on the benchmark page, and the budget calculator runs on the same data for any ZIP code.
Bringing your own cost per click down starts in the account:
Written by Grant Epley. Last reviewed October 11, 2026. Search data to August 2026.