North Carolina Sitework Costs, Region by Region

The fastest-growing market in the state and the one with the most surprises underfoot. The Durham Triassic basin runs through the heart of the Triangle: White Store, Creedmoor and Mayodan soils shrink and swell enough to force undercut, moisture conditioning and select fill on sites that look like ordinary red clay. Western Wake and Orange counties add shallow granite. Labor and sub demand sit just under Richmond, Virginia.

Counties: Wake County, Durham County, Orange County, Chatham County, Johnston County, Franklin County, Granville County, Harnett County, Lee County, Person County, Vance County, Warren County

Charlotte's dirt is mostly workable saprolite, but rock is closer than most out-of-state builders expect: partially weathered granite and diabase sit within reach of utility trenches across Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and Gaston. The Iredell and Enon soils on the mafic belts carry real shrink-swell. A big, competitive sub base keeps unit rates just under the Triangle.

Counties: Mecklenburg County, Union County, Cabarrus County, Gaston County, Iredell County, Lincoln County, Rowan County, Cleveland County, Stanly County, Anson County

Lower labor rates than the Triangle or Charlotte with generally forgiving ground. The exception is the Dan River basin along the Virginia line, where Triassic clays behave like their Durham cousins. Moderate rock in the western Triad; long hauls for stone in the rural counties.

Counties: Guilford County, Forsyth County, Davidson County, Randolph County, Alamance County, Rockingham County, Stokes County, Surry County, Yadkin County, Davie County, Caswell County, Montgomery County, Richmond County

The cheapest earthwork in the state — until the water table shows up. Sandy soils grade easily and rock is nonexistent, but seasonal water sits within two feet across the flatwoods, and the pocosin counties (Tyrrell, Hyde, Washington, Pamlico) hide organic muck that will not carry a load. Dewatering, stone stabilization and undercut decide the price, not the excavator.

Counties: Cumberland County, Hoke County, Moore County, Scotland County, Robeson County, Bladen County, Sampson County, Columbus County, Duplin County, Wayne County, Wilson County, Nash County, Edgecombe County, Halifax County, Northampton County, Hertford County, Bertie County, Martin County, Pitt County, Greene County, Lenoir County, Jones County, Craven County, Pamlico County, Beaufort County, Washington County, Tyrrell County, Hyde County, Camden County, Pasquotank County, Perquimans County, Chowan County, Gates County

Cheap dirt, expensive site. Coastal wages, hurricane-season windows, flood-zone fill rules and dewatering on nearly every site push the multiplier above the rest of the coastal plain. Acid-sulfate marsh sediments in Carteret, Brunswick and New Hanover need screening before they are cut.

Counties: New Hanover County, Brunswick County, Pender County, Onslow County, Carteret County, Dare County, Currituck County

Low labor rates, high quantities. Benched cuts, engineered fills, shallow rock and boulder colluvium make earthwork on a mountain site cost more per pad than anything on the coast, and access roads and erosion control on grade often exceed the building pad itself. Price the slope, not the acreage.

Counties: Buncombe County, Henderson County, Haywood County, Madison County, Yancey County, Mitchell County, Avery County, Watauga County, Ashe County, Alleghany County, Wilkes County, Caldwell County, Burke County, McDowell County, Rutherford County, Polk County, Transylvania County, Jackson County, Macon County, Swain County, Graham County, Clay County, Cherokee County, Catawba County, Alexander County