The same scope does not cost the same across Texas. A pay item that bids one way in the Houston district bids differently statewide — driven by local material hauls, the mix of contractors who chase Houston work, and how busy the district is. This page shows the real low-bid unit prices contractors submitted on TxDOT Houston lettings, each measured against the statewide median, so you can localize your number instead of trusting a national average that blends all 50 states.
37,656
Letting line items
4,707
Distinct pay items
~0%
Median vs. statewide
Across the most-bid items, the Houston district runs roughly in line with the statewide median — but the per-item column below is what matters. There is no flat metro discount or premium; some items run higher locally and some run lower, and the only way to know is the data.
Lump-sum items (e.g. mobilization) are excluded — they scale with project size, so a unit-rate comparison would mislead. Prices are median low-bid unit prices; the “vs. State” column compares the Houston median to the statewide median for the same pay item.
Why district-level pricing beats a statewide average
A statewide median is a useful baseline, but the spread between districts is real money on a bid. Localizing to the Houston district — and to the specific items in your scope — is the difference between a number that wins and one that leaves margin on the table or prices you out. For the structural reasons agency type and region move prices, see why agency type drives Houston pricing and the full statewide TxDOT unit-price guide. Want to know why these numbers hold up? See what's behind the data.
Other TxDOT districts
Price your Houston bid against this data
Caliche prices your full takeoff off the same real Texas bid record — district by district, item by item.
Frequently asked questions
What are TxDOT unit prices in the Houston district?
They're the average low-bid unit prices contractors actually submitted on TxDOT lettings in the Houston district over the last three years — for items like RC pipe, excavation, concrete, asphalt, and traffic control. The table above shows the most-frequently-bid items with the Houston median price and the number of lettings behind each.
How do Houston prices compare to the rest of Texas?
It varies item by item — which is exactly why a single statewide average or a national cost book misleads. The "vs. statewide" column shows the real per-item difference for Houston.
Where does this data come from?
These are real low-bid unit prices from public TxDOT Houston district lettings — the prices contractors actually submitted, part of the public bid record, not a national cost book or a modeled estimate. Every figure shows the number of lettings behind it so you can weigh it yourself.
How current are these prices?
The index rebuilds nightly as new lettings land, so the figures track recent bidding — not an annual cost-book release.