New UCLA Report Looks into the High Cost to Build Parking - Streetsblog Los Angeles

"Not counting the cost of the land, an aboveground parking space costs on average $52,000 to build. Underground parking is even more expensive at $73,000 per space. As of 2025 a new car costs, on average, about $50,000."

"The report incorporates city parking requirements (for example, for an office building, L.A. City generally requires two parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of building floor space) to track the percentage of overall construction costs attributable to building required parking. For Los Angeles, the cost to construct city-required parking accounts for a quarter to a third of the overall cost of building a new office space."

"For apartments, the report found that building required parking adds roughly $50,000 to $100,000 per unit, and that, for most cities, parking requirements disproportionately increase the cost to build smaller apartments."

"The new report found that since 2012 parking construction costs have risen about 50% faster than general inflation. In large part due to parking costing so much, many cities are reforming their outdated pseudoscientific parking requirements."

A UCLA study analyzing 2025 construction costs across 17 U.S. cities reveals that building a parking space costs more than purchasing a new car. Aboveground parking spaces average $52,000 to construct, while underground spaces cost $73,000. Since 2012, parking construction costs have risen approximately 50% faster than general inflation. Required parking mandates substantially increase building costs: in Los Angeles, parking accounts for one-quarter to one-third of office construction expenses. For apartments, required parking adds $50,000 to $100,000 per unit, disproportionately affecting smaller units. However, many cities are reforming outdated parking requirements, with the majority of studied cities either fully or partially eliminating minimum parking mandates.

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