Cost Estimators

Cost estimators collect and analyze data in order to assess the time, money, materials, and labor required to manufacture a product, construct a building, or provide a service. They generally specialize in a particular product or industry.

Duties

Cost estimators typically do the following:

• Identify factors affecting costs, such as production time, materials, and labor
• Read blueprints and technical documents in order to prepare estimates
• Collaborate with engineers, architects, clients, and contractors
• Calculate, analyze, and adjust estimates
• Recommend ways to cut costs
• Work with sales teams to prepare estimates and bids for clients
• Maintain records of estimated and actual costs

Accurately estimating the costs of construction and manufacturing projects is vital to the survival of businesses. Cost estimators provide managers with the information they need in order to submit competitive contract bids or to price products appropriately.

Estimators analyze production processes to determine how much time, money, and labor a project needs. Their estimates account for many things, including allowances for wasted material, bad weather, shipping delays, and other variables that can increase costs and lower profits.

In building construction, cost estimators use software to simulate the construction process and evaluate the price of design choices. They often check databases and their own records to compare the costs of similar projects.

The following are examples of types of cost estimators:

Construction cost estimators prepare estimates for building, road, and other construction projects. They may calculate the total cost of constructing a bridge or commercial shopping center, or they may calculate the cost of just one part, such as the foundation. They identify costs of elements such as raw materials and labor, and they may set a timeline for how long they expect the project to take. Although many work directly for construction firms, some work for contractors and engineering firms.

Manufacturing cost estimators calculate the expense of developing, producing, or redesigning a company’s goods or services. For example, an estimator working for a home appliance manufacturer may determine a new dishwasher’s production costs, aiding managers in making decisions about its assembly.

Other workers, such as operations research analysts and construction managers, also may estimate costs in the course of their usual duties.

Cost estimators held about 221,400 jobs in 2024. The largest employers of cost estimators were as follows:

Cost estimators work mostly in office settings, and some estimators visit construction sites and factory assembly lines during the course of their work.

Work Schedules

Most cost estimators work full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week.

Cost estimators typically need a bachelor’s degree to enter the occupation, although workers with several years of experience in construction sometimes qualify in that industry without a degree.

The median annual wage for cost estimators was $77,070 in May 2024.

Employment of cost estimators is projected to grow 4 percent from 2024 to 2034, decline.

About 16,900 openings for cost estimators are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.