01 — MethodologyHow to read these numbersThe benchmarks on this page are drawn from the three most-cited public fit-out datasets: JLL’s U.S. & Canada Office Fit-Out Costs Guide 2026, built on Q1 2026 pricing across 50 U.S. and Canadian markets; Cushman & Wakefield’s Office Fit Out Cost Guide, Americas 2026, covering 59 markets and published March 2026; and CBRE’s concessions analysis of 4,350 U.S. office leases across 12 markets, 2019-2024.The headline numbers differ by design. JLL’s tiers capture the full tenant project — construction, M&E, security/IT/AV, furniture and professional fees — which is why its medium-spec average lands at $295 per square foot. Cushman & Wakefield’s $162 U.S. average measures hard construction cost only, before furniture, technology and soft costs. Both are right; they answer different questions, and we present them side by side rather than blending them.Specialty benchmarks come from JLL’s 2026 Medical Outpatient Building Fit-Out Cost Guide ($412/SF national average), Cushman & Wakefield’s Life Sciences Fit Out Cost Guide, and published SCIF cost ranges from federal-security cost analyses and JLL’s 2025 SCIF construction insight. All figures were retrieved August 2026 and rounded; treat them as planning ranges, not quotes.What these figures are — and are notThese figures are market estimates assembled from published guides by JLL, Cushman & Wakefield and CBRE, plus the specialty datasets named in each section. They are not iRecruit placement or project data, and they are not a bid: your number will move with building condition, base-building deficiencies, typology, spec level, procurement route and schedule. Published averages also lag live pricing — the 2026 guides reflect late-2025 and Q1 2026 inputs, and contractors surveyed by Cushman & Wakefield overwhelmingly expect further increases. Use these benchmarks to frame a capital plan, pressure-test a TI allowance or sanity-check an early estimate — then validate with a local general contractor and cost consultant before committing to a lease or budget.02 — At a glanceThe benchmarks at a glanceThe whole guide in one screen. Each row jumps to the full section.01Basic / baseline spec$255/SF JLL baseline for open-and-agile space; full progressive range starts near $170/SFBaseline02Mid-spec (medium quality)$295/SF JLL U.S.-Canada average; typical band $230-$375/SF by market and typologyMid-spec03Premium / high spec$310-$355/SF across JLL typologies; traditional high-spec tops out near $425/SFPremium04TI allowance vs. actual costCBRE average allowance $87.51/SF vs. $162/SF C&W hard costs — tenants fund the gapThe gap05Specialty conversionsLab fit-out averages $741/SF (C&W 2026), medical outpatient $412/SF average, SCIFs $350-$1,000+/SFSpecialtyAnchor figures for 2026: $255/SF baseline, $295/SF medium and $355/SF high-spec all-in (JLL); $162/SF U.S. hard-cost average, up 5% year over year (Cushman & Wakefield); and an $87.51/SF average TI allowance (CBRE) that leaves most of the bill with the tenant.
03 — BenchmarksU.S. office fit-out cost per square foot: the 2026 benchmarksThree tiers anchor U.S. fit-out budgeting in 2026. JLL’s guide frames them by typology and spec: a baseline open-plan build near $255 per square foot, a medium-spec project near $295, and high-spec space from $310 to $355 — with full market ranges running $170 to $425. Cushman & Wakefield’s hard-cost lens puts the U.S. average at $162 per square foot, up 5% year over year.$255Baseline fit-out, all-inJLL’s 2026 U.S. & Canada guide pegs a baseline open-and-agile build near $255/SF; the full progressive range runs $170-$380 across its 50 markets.$295Medium-spec average, all-inJLL’s U.S.-Canada average for medium-quality space, typical range $230-$375/SF; medium tiers by typology run $275 (open) to $310 (traditional).$355High-spec buildout, all-inJLL’s traditional high-spec benchmark; the top of the traditional range reaches $425/SF, and spec choices alone can swing cost more than 25% in NYC and SF.$162U.S. hard-cost averageCushman & Wakefield’s 2026 Americas guide: U.S. hard construction average $162/SF (+5% YoY); the Americas overall average is $149/SF (+5.5%).$228Most expensive U.S. marketSan Francisco leads C&W’s 2026 hard-cost ranking at $228/SF, with San Jose $224 and Seattle $223; the Tri-State New York region averages $193 against a $196 gateway mean.~40%Technology systems shareJLL 2026: M&E runs about 29% and security/IT/AV about 10% of a typical North American fit-out, and median SITAV cost rose 8% year over year.Sources: JLL U.S. & Canada Office Fit-Out Costs Guide 2026 (Q1 2026 pricing, 50 markets); Cushman & Wakefield Office Fit Out Cost Guide, Americas 2026 (59 markets); CBRE U.S. office concessions analysis, 4,350 leases, 2019-2024; JLL Medical Outpatient Building Fit-Out Cost Guide 2026 (retrieved Aug 2026).What’s in the number — and what isn’tJLL’s tier figures are all-in tenant costs: M&E services are the single largest component at roughly 29% of a typical North American project, security/IT/AV about 10%, and furniture 13-16% of total cost in JLL’s global dataset. Cushman & Wakefield’s $162 average is hard construction only — electrical alone is 24% of it — so furniture, AV/IT, design fees, permits and move costs stack on top. When you weigh a landlord’s TI allowance against these benchmarks, be explicit about the definition: allowances are usually negotiated against hard costs, while the check the tenant ultimately writes covers the all-in number. 04 — Cost driversWhat moves the numberThe spread between $170 and $425 per square foot is not noise — it is a short list of decisions and market conditions. These are the levers the 2026 guides attach real deltas to, ranked by how much of the budget they touch.>25%Spec tier & typologyJLL: in New York and San Francisco, typology and specification choices alone can swing project cost by more than 25% — the cheapest lever an owner controls.24%Electrical & powerElectrical is the largest single line in C&W’s 2026 hard-cost breakdown at 24%, pressured by copper pricing and electrification-driven demand.+8%AV, IT & security densityMedian security/IT/AV cost rose 8% year over year (JLL 2026) as AI-era infrastructure, conferencing and access-control density keep climbing.+7%Regional labor marketsC&W: the Northeast escalated 7% YoY versus 2.1% in the Midwest, with Boston up 19%. Skilled-trade scarcity is the primary escalator in both guides.83%Tariffs on materials & FF&EC&W expects tariffs on imported materials to keep domestic pricing elevated; 83% of surveyed GCs expect supplier price hikes, hitting imported furniture and lighting packages.-10.3%Shrinking TI allowancesCBRE: the average U.S. allowance fell 10.3% to $87.51/SF in 2024 from a $97.55 peak — owners of in-demand buildings concede less, so tenants fund more of a rising cost.The pattern across the drivers: labor scarcity and technology density push costs up structurally, while spec discipline and typology choice remain the owner’s strongest counterweights. Teams that lock specification early — and staff the project with people who can hold it — are the ones landing inside the JLL bands rather than above them. 05 — VariationMarket by market: where the big-eight metros landNational averages hide a two-times spread between coastal gateways and Sun Belt metros. Here is where the eight markets owners ask about most sit in the 2026 guides — Cushman & Wakefield figures are hard costs; JLL rankings reflect all-in project cost.New York City$193/SF+C&W Tri-State hard costs average $193/SF; JLL ranks New York among the five costliest fit-out markets globally, with high-spec space pushing past $400/SF.SF Bay Area$224-$228San Francisco ($228/SF) and San Jose ($224/SF) top C&W’s 2026 Americas hard-cost ranking; labor rates, codes and seismic standards drive the premium.Boston+19% YoYThe sharpest U.S. escalation in C&W’s 2026 data; JLL groups Boston with New York and San Francisco among the priciest fit-out markets in the world.ChicagoMid-rangeJLL places Chicago (with Seattle) in the competitive mid-range; C&W’s Midwest escalation of 2.1% was the slowest of any U.S. region.Dallas & AustinBelow $162Texas metros price below the $162/SF U.S. hard-cost average; JLL names Dallas among the most cost-competitive major fit-out markets for 2026.Atlanta & MiamiSun BeltJLL ranks Atlanta with Dallas among the most competitive all-in markets, though C&W hard costs put Atlanta at $163/SF — just above the U.S. average — while Miami sits lower at $143/SF.Anchor figures: San Francisco $228 and San Jose $224 per square foot lead C&W’s 2026 hard-cost ranking, the Tri-State New York region averages $193, and the U.S. mean is $162 — with JLL placing New York, San Francisco and Boston among the five most expensive fit-out markets globally. 06 — TrendWhat moved 2024 to 2026Escalation re-accelerated. Cushman & Wakefield measured 4.7% average fit-out escalation in its 2025 guide and 5.5% across the Americas in 2026 (5% in the U.S.), while JLL’s global guide puts regional increases at 2% to 6% for the year. The Northeast ran hottest at 7%, with Boston up 19% and Los Angeles up 15%; the Midwest, at 2.1%, barely moved. Labor is the consistent culprit — both guides flag skilled-trade scarcity, electricians above all, as the primary escalator.Tariffs moved from risk factor to line item. C&W’s 2026 guide expects tariffs on imported materials to keep domestic pricing elevated, with copper and concrete exposed to electrification demand, and imported FF&E — furniture, fixtures and lighting packages — carrying duty-driven premiums when sourced abroad. Contractor sentiment is one-directional: 79% of general contractors surveyed by C&W expect labor and material costs to rise over the next six months, none expect declines, and 83% expect suppliers to raise prices.Downtown flight-to-quality reshaped who pays. CBRE’s concessions data shows average TI allowances falling 10.3% to $87.51 per square foot in 2024 as owners of top-tier buildings — where demand is concentrated — conceded less; top-tier effective rents rose 5.2% while lower-tier rents fell 1.2%, widening the gap between them to 6.4 percentage points from 3.3 a year earlier. Tenants trading up to trophy space are absorbing richer specs and thinner subsidies at the same time. 07 — WorkforceThe workforce behind the number: who owners need to hold budgetEvery driver above ultimately resolves to people. A TI program that lands inside JLL’s bands needs project managers who lock scope before pricing, superintendents fluent in occupied-building logistics — after-hours work, freight-elevator scheduling, noise and dust protocols around operating tenants — and preconstruction leads who run fast-track packages so long-lead electrical gear and millwork don’t set the schedule. With electrical at 24% of hard cost and technology systems near 40% of an all-in budget, MEP-literate supervision is often the difference between a $295 outcome and a $355 one.iRecruit assembles those teams for owners, occupiers, general contractors and interiors specialists: TI and corporate-interiors project managers, superintendents, MEP coordinators, and preconstruction and estimating leads, spanning project engineer through executive. If a 2026 buildout is on your capital plan, the hiring lead time belongs in the schedule alongside permits and procurement.For the hiring side of this market, see the Commercial Fit-Out practice. 08 — FAQFrequently asked questions How much does an office fit-out cost per square foot in the U.S. in 2026?+JLL’s 2026 U.S. & Canada guide puts a medium-spec project at $295 per square foot (typical range $230-$375), with baseline builds near $255 and high-spec near $355. Cushman & Wakefield’s hard-construction-only U.S. average is $162 per square foot.Why do JLL and Cushman & Wakefield report such different averages?+Scope. JLL’s figures are all-in tenant costs including M&E, security/IT/AV, furniture and professional fees; C&W’s $162 average covers hard construction only. Compare any allowance or estimate against the same definition before drawing conclusions.Does a typical TI allowance cover the cost of a buildout?+Rarely. CBRE’s 12-market analysis puts the average allowance at $87.51 per square foot in 2024 — down 10.3% year over year — against $162 in U.S. hard costs and $295 all-in for medium spec. Tenants generally fund the difference out of pocket or through amortized rent.How much more do specialty spaces cost than standard office?+Lab fit-outs average $741 per square foot in Cushman & Wakefield’s 2026 Life Sciences Fit Out Cost Guide — down 2.9% year over year — with office-to-lab conversions quoted nearer $300 and specialised cGMP space above $1,200. Medical outpatient fit-outs average $412 (JLL 2026), and SCIFs range from about $350 to over $1,000, with rooms under 200 SF budgeted at $1,500 or more. High-spec trading-floor builds sit at the top of JLL’s $425 traditional range on power and AV density.Will fit-out costs keep rising through 2026 and 2027?+Contractor sentiment says yes: 79% of GCs in C&W’s 2026 survey expect labor and material increases over the next six months and none expect declines, with tariffs keeping imported materials and FF&E elevated. Build escalation into any budget that prices after Q1 2026. Planning a 2026 buildout?Get the interiors team in place before pricing locks iRecruit assembles TI project managers, superintendents and preconstruction leads for corporate interiors programs — from project engineer to executive.Scope a search →Candidates — register with us →
