Original Data · Material Prices
Contractor Price Index: Building Material Costs
30 materials a contractor buys, read by name at named suppliers, rolled into one number. Method and sources below.
What the Contractor Price Index measures
The base read was taken on October 1, 2026 at 8 named sellers, product by product, on the seller’s own page.
It tracks what a remodeling or trade contractor pays at the counter for framing lumber, roofing, drywall, concrete, paint, electrical, plumbing, flooring, sheet goods, insulation, bulk landscape material and fasteners. Each month it answers one question: did the same basket cost more or less than it did at the base read?
It is not the federal Consumer Price Index. Call it the Contractor Price Index or CPI-C.
The October 2026 base, by group
Every group reads 100 on the base read of October 1, 2026. From November on, each group shows its move against this base.
| Group | Weight | Priced | Index |
|---|---|---|---|
| Framing lumber | 12 | 2 of 2 | 100.0 |
| Roofing | 11 | 3 of 3 | 100.0 |
| Drywall | 9 | 3 of 3 | 100.0 |
| Concrete | 8 | 2 of 2 | 100.0 |
| Paint and coatings | 9 | 4 of 4 | 100.0 |
| Electrical | 9 | 2 of 2 | 100.0 |
| Plumbing | 9 | 3 of 3 | 100.0 |
| Flooring and floor coatings | 7 | 3 of 3 | 100.0 |
| Sheet goods | 8 | 2 of 2 | 100.0 |
| Insulation | 7 | 2 of 2 | 100.0 |
| Landscape bulk materials | 5 | 2 of 2 | 100.0 |
| Fasteners | 6 | 2 of 2 | 100.0 |
30 of 30 products priced in the base read, 45 seller reads in all.
What the counter price looked like
A 2x4x8 treated stud listed at $4.39 at Sutherlands and $4.89 at McCoy’s Building Supply on October 1, 2026.
A 250 ft coil of 12/2 NM-B cable listed at $179.00 at Sutherlands and $163.99 at McCoy’s, a 9 percent gap for the same size of wire.
A 10 ft stick of 1/2 in Type M copper listed at $27.99 and $29.99. An Owens Corning Oakridge architectural bundle listed at $49.99 and $44.99.
The same Grip-Rite 16d sinker box, part 16CTDSKR5, listed at $30.99 at Sutherlands and $27.99 at McCoy’s. Same part number, 11 percent apart.
SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a job photo into an itemized estimate you can price against these numbers.
Labor beside the materials
Materials are one side of a bid. These are national hourly wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025.
| Trade | Mean hourly | Median hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Carpenters | $31.55 | $29.12 |
| Electricians | $34.37 | $30.38 |
| Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters | $34.70 | $30.67 |
| Roofers | $27.95 | $26.65 |
| Painters, construction and maintenance | $26.64 | $23.75 |
Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters earned a median $30.67 an hour and electricians $30.38, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These figures are not part of the index number.
Price the job, not just the lumber
SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds, with material and labor line items. Pricing is $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr, about $20/mo on annual, with a 7-day free trial.
How the index is built
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Fix the basket
30 named products in 12 groups, weights set by SimplyWise and frozen for 12 months.
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Read the shelf price weekly
By product name, on the same page element as the price. Branch prices take the median.
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Compare like with like
Each price is divided by the same seller’s price at the base read. A product not read drops out.
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Combine and publish
Geometric mean inside a group, fixed weights across groups, counts printed every release.
We never estimate, smooth or carry a price forward. Sale prices are left out. A correction gets a dated entry in a revisions log on this page.
Download the data. Every priced row (CSV) and group indexes by date (CSV). CC BY 4.0, SimplyWise attribution required.
What it does not measure
Not installed cost, not labor, not what you pay on a trade account, and not regional prices beyond the branches read. The weights are our judgment of where a remodeling contractor’s material dollars go, not a survey.
Home Depot, Lowe’s and Menards are not in it. Their sites block automated reads and their terms prohibit them, so we read independent sellers that publish prices openly.
Revisions
None yet. The base read of October 1, 2026 stands as published. Any correction gets a dated line here.
Keep reading
Sources
Shelf prices quoted above
- Sutherlands, 2x4x8 treated yellow pine ($4.39, read 2026-10-01).
- McCoy's, 2x4x8 treated Southern Pine ($4.89, read 2026-10-01).
- Sutherlands, 12/2 NM-B cable, 250 ft ($179.00, read 2026-10-01).
- McCoy's, 12/2 NM-B cable, 250 ft ($163.99, read 2026-10-01).
- Sutherlands, 1/2 in x 10 ft Type M copper ($27.99, read 2026-10-01).
- McCoy's, 1/2 in x 10 ft Type M copper ($29.99, read 2026-10-01).
- Sutherlands, Grip-Rite 16CTDSKR5 16d sinker, 5 lb ($30.99, read 2026-10-01).
- McCoy's, Grip-Rite 16CTDSKR5 16d sinker, 5 lb ($27.99, read 2026-10-01).
- Sutherlands, Owens Corning Oakridge bundle ($49.99, read 2026-10-01).
- McCoy's, Owens Corning Oakridge bundle ($44.99, read 2026-10-01).
Wages
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025, plumbers median hourly (read through the public API, 2026-10-01).
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025, electricians median hourly (read through the public API, 2026-10-01; all five trades use the same series pattern).
Common questions on the Contractor Price Index
What is the SimplyWise Contractor Price Index?
A monthly index of what 30 named building materials cost a contractor at independent building-supply sellers, in 12 weighted groups. The series sets October 2026 at 100, from the base read of October 1, 2026.
How is the Contractor Price Index calculated?
Each product's price is divided by its price in the base month, October 2026. Products in a group are combined with a geometric mean, and the 12 groups are combined with fixed weights that sum to 100.
Which stores does SimplyWise read prices from?
Sutherlands, McCoy's Building Supply, Benjamin Moore, Elliott Electric Supply, Carpet Exchange, Lanoha Nurseries, Odyssey Landscape Supply and Sherwin-Williams. Home Depot, Lowe's and Menards block automated reads, so they are not in it.
Is this the same as the Consumer Price Index?
No. The federal CPI measures household prices. The SimplyWise Contractor Price Index, or CPI-C, measures building materials a contractor buys, read at named sellers.
How much does 12/2 NM-B wire cost right now?
A 250 ft coil of 12/2 NM-B with ground listed at $179.00 at Sutherlands and $163.99 at McCoy's Building Supply on October 1, 2026.
Can SimplyWise price a job from a photo?
Yes. SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds, with material and labor line items. Free to try, $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr.
Turn this month’s prices into a signed quote.
Snap a photo, get an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds.