The General Contractor

How these numbers were built: construction-manager and supervisor wages come from the BLS OEWS (SOC 11-9021 Construction Managers, median $104,900/yr in May 2024, and SOC 47-1011 First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades); industry structure comes from the U.S. Census Bureau (NAICS 236118 Residential Remodelers and 236220 Commercial Building Construction via County Business Patterns); the owner cash-flow (SDE) margin and resale multiples come from BizBuySell’s sold construction companies, with the band set lower because a general contractor passes about half of each contract through; materials-and-subs ratios are industry-typical benchmarks (used as a secondary, directional anchor, not a single-firm figure); opening costs come from an item-by-item opening kit priced at dealers and retailers, with insurance from Insureon’s medians for general contractors; financing terms come from the SBA and the Congressional Research Service; and survival signals come from Census/BLS business-dynamics data. Projects-per-crew-per-week, project price, estimating cost per won project, and the labor, materials, and sub stack in the simulator are industry-typical placeholders calibrated to these sources: a general contractor's economics vary widely with project mix, region, and the split between residential remodel and commercial work. Figures are current as of 2024-2026.

The margin band is owner cash flow (SDE) on the full contract value for a firm that pays its crews, set below BizBuySell’s 21.4% construction median because a general contractor passes about half of each contract through to subs and materials. Materials-and-subs ratios are secondary, directional industry benchmarks rather than a single primary study, so this is marked estimated.