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Patio Cost in Los Angeles: What a Patio or Deck Costs in 2026
Byline: Asher Ben-Haim
Cost figures in this article are current as of September 2026.
As of 2026, a 16-by-20-foot deck in Los Angeles costs about $18,400 to $26,900, depending on whether it's built in pressure-treated wood or composite, according to the 2025 Cost vs. Value report from the Journal of Light Construction (JLC) and Zonda. For patio cost in Los Angeles, the same report prices a fully built-out backyard patio at about $55,000, including an outdoor kitchen, fire pit, and pergola. For a plain paver patio, the closest benchmark is national and older. A 2023 National Association of Realtors report priced an 18-by-16-foot concrete paver patio at $10,500. A tall, hillside, or engineered deck usually costs more, because these benchmarks assume a low structure on easy ground.
At Built to Perfection, we've been building in Los Angeles and Orange County since 2001 and have filed 356 building permits along the way. On outdoor work, the number almost always comes down to the same four things: how high the structure sits, what the ground is doing, where the water goes, and what the new work connects to.
Los Angeles Patio and Deck Cost Benchmarks
JLC and Zonda price three outdoor projects for the Los Angeles market. Your bid won't match any of them, and it shouldn't, because your yard isn't the one in the report. Use them as reference points.
Source: JLC and Zonda, 2025 Cost vs. Value report, the most recent Los Angeles edition available as of 2026.
The resale column comes from a survey of more than 6,000 Realtors. It's an estimate of what the project adds at sale, and nobody can promise you that number.
We haven't found an independent source that publishes current installed per-square-foot rates for Los Angeles, and the online calculators disagree too widely to help. A defined project with a named source is a steadier place to start.
Why Patios and Decks Are Priced Differently
A patio is surface work at ground level. A deck is a framed structure standing on posts.
What Drives Patio Costs
With a patio, much of the cost sits below the surface. Excavation, a compacted base, and enough slope to carry water away from the house all come before any paving goes down. Material affects the price too, since concrete, pavers, and natural stone each need a different base and a different amount of hand labor.
Tying into existing hardscaping adds cost of its own. Concrete moves as it heats, cools, and dries. The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association notes that reinforcing mesh doesn't prevent cracking. Where new paving meets an existing slab, wall, or step, the joints between them need careful planning.
What Drives Deck Costs
As a deck gets taller, the posts, beams, footings (the concrete bases under the posts), railings, and stairs all get bigger, and so does the price. An attached deck also needs a secure, waterproofed connection to the house, as the American Wood Council's deck construction guide lays out.
Costs climb faster once a deck is tall enough to need an engineer. Irvine, for example, requires structural plans and calculations from a licensed engineer for decks more than 30 inches above grade (the surrounding ground). At that point, you're paying for engineering and heavier framing before the first board goes down.
What Raises Patio and Deck Costs on LA Lots
After 25 years of building here, I'd put site conditions right alongside material choice as the biggest swing in a Los Angeles bid. On hillside lots, the site usually matters more.
Slope and grading. Sloped lots can need excavation, retaining walls, or taller footings. In the City of Los Angeles, grading can require its own permit and inspections.
Soil. The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) has specific foundation requirements for expansive soil, which is clay that swells when it's wet and shrinks as it dries. Every bid should say what soil it assumes.
Drainage. In the City of Los Angeles, water draining off a new structure or regraded ground has to reach the street, a natural watercourse, or an approved drainage facility. New work also can't push more runoff onto a neighbor's property. Getting it there can mean new drains or regrading.
Access. Narrow side yards and steep driveways make every delivery and haul-away take longer.
Covers. An attached patio cover is its own structural project, with its own footing and framing requirements.
We walk the site before we price any patio or deck, and any patio builder in Los Angeles should do the same. If they can't tell you where the water will go and what the ground needs, the bid isn't finished.
Wood vs. Composite Deck Cost
As of 2026, JLC's LA composite benchmark runs about $8,500 more than the same-size wood deck, with composite used for both the decking and the railing.
The USDA's Forest Products Laboratory puts the service life of a water-repellent preservative finish on exposed wood decking at about one year. Composite needs regular cleaning and can get hot in direct sun. Warranties like Trex's cover replacing or refunding the product but exclude installation cost. We pick deck materials for how they hold up to LA sun, heat, and seasonal moisture over years of use.
Do You Need a Permit for a Patio or Deck in Los Angeles?
Often not for a low deck, but it depends on your address. In the City of Los Angeles, platforms no more than 30 inches above grade and not over a basement or story below are exempt. The state code, unincorporated LA County, and every Orange County city word it differently.
An exemption covers the platform only. A roof over it, electrical or gas work, grading, and drainage changes can still need permits. Setbacks (how close you can build to the property line), HOA rules, and wildfire requirements still apply too. When a low deck attaches to the house, we ask the building department how it's classified rather than guess. On every project we build, we pull the permits and handle plan check and inspections, so you don't have to. For more on the city side, see our guide to the Los Angeles construction permitting process.
How Long Does Plan Check Take?
In Irvine, initial plan check takes about two to four business days for a residential deck, after about two business days to confirm the application is complete. For a non-standard patio cover, it's about five. Plan check is the city's review of your drawings before it issues a permit, and every round of corrections adds time. We haven't seen LADBS or LA County publish a comparable timeline for decks, so be wary of anyone who promises a fixed number of weeks.
How Much Do Patio and Deck Permits Cost?
There's no single deck permit fee in Los Angeles. As of 2026, the City of Los Angeles bases building permit fees on the value of the work. The plan check fee is generally 90% of the permit fee, and grading is billed separately. Irvine's fee schedule effective August 15, 2026 charges $0.54 per square foot for plan check and $0.66 per square foot for inspection on residential patio covers, each with a $95.67 minimum.
Why Do Patios and Decks Cost More in Los Angeles?
On identical projects, the gap is smaller than most homeowners expect. As of 2026, JLC's LA wood deck benchmark costs almost exactly the national figure, and its composite deck and backyard patio each run about 7% higher. The bigger difference comes from what those flat-lot benchmarks leave out.
Labor. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 estimates, released in 2026, put the mean hourly wage for construction and extraction workers in the LA metro area at $37.07, about 18% above the national figure of $31.42.
Rebuilding demand. LA County and the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) estimate the January 2025 wildfire recovery will generate 141,000 to 209,000 job-years of work (one job for one year) over several years. That work draws on the same local construction workforce.
Site and rules. Hillsides, soil, drainage, grading permits, and fire-zone rules add scope a national average doesn't capture.
None of this adds up to a fixed LA surcharge. You'll see it in specific line items on your bid.
How to Tell If a Patio or Deck Bid Is Complete
Why does one bid come in far below the others? In our experience, it usually left something out. Check that each bid spells out:
Dimensions, height, and materials by product name
Demolition, excavation, and hauling away debris and extra soil
Base preparation and footings, plus the soil conditions assumed
Drainage, including where the water ends up
Railings, stairs, and lighting
Engineering, if the height or slope calls for it
Permit, plan check, and inspection fees, and who pulls the permit
Cleanup and a clear list of exclusions
As of 2026, the Contractors State License Board requires a written contract for home improvement work over $500, including the scope, payment schedule, who obtains permits, and the contractor's license number. Changes belong in a signed change order before the work happens. State law also caps most home improvement down payments at $1,000 or 10% of the contract price, whichever is less. The narrow exception is for contractors carrying specific performance and payment bonds. Later payments can't get ahead of the work.
Before you sign with anyone, check their license. Ours is CSLB License #837987, Class B General Building.
Patio and Deck Costs as Part of a Larger Remodel or Addition
Many of our outdoor projects run alongside a kitchen remodel, an addition, or whole-home work, and we manage them as one project on one timeline. That way, grading, drainage, and the step from house to yard get solved once. 3D design is included in every design-build project, so you can see how the patio or deck meets the house before anything is built.
On a combined project, some items can land on the indoor estimate, the outdoor one, or neither. Common ones are a new door to the yard, utility lines run from the house, and the connection between a deck and new framing. The JLC patio price, for example, includes a new glass door. Make sure every bid accounts for those items somewhere. For the indoor side of the numbers, see our breakdown of room addition costs in Los Angeles.
A Los Angeles backyard remodel, fire pit included.
Charlene and Paul U. in Long Beach worked with our project manager, Shay Bokra, on a major outdoor space. Afterward, they wrote: "We appreciate every phone call you took, every question you answered, and for keeping the project running smoothly. Our new outdoor space is beautiful."
Planning a Patio or Deck in Los Angeles or Orange County?
We build patios and decks from Santa Clarita to Newport Beach. Every outdoor project runs through the same design-build process as a kitchen or an addition. As of 2026, our minimum project size for any service is $7,500.
We'll do a walk-through of your yard with you and tell you plainly what's likely to drive your number. Call us at (888) 955-0535 or reach out through our contact page to schedule a free in-home consultation.
About the author: Asher Ben-Haim founded Built to Perfection in 2001 and has led its residential work in Los Angeles and Orange County since.
