Top 10 U.S. construction companies in 2022

Sales for the world’s 200 biggest contractors has reached a record figure of $1.968 trillion, the highest figure ever recorded, and the U.S. brings in 12.5% of it

Despite no shortage of challenges, including skyrocketing materials costs, supply chain problems and a continuing skilled labor shortage, U.S. construction has been a bright spot on an otherwise murky economic landscape. Th.anks in part to an unprecedented housing boom, many American construction firms are seeing growth like never before.

To see which companies are dominating the American playing field, we pulled the following list from the annual International Construction Top 200, produced by our colleagues over at KHL.com, which ranks firms worldwide in terms of total annual sales.

The big news this year is that sales for the world’s 200 biggest contractors has reached a record figure of $1.968 trillion, the highest figure ever recorded. The total sales figure on the previous ICON 200 was $1.746 trillion.

Worldwide, the U.S. has the second largest showing on the list, behind China. Interestingly, China has nine of the world’s largest construction companies with a combined total sales of $866 billion. That’s 44% of the world’s construction sales. 

In contrast, the U.S. has 33 of the top companies, which have a combined total sales of $246 billion, or 12.5% of the world’s sales. 

Coming in third is Japan, which also has 33 of the top companies, as well as 12.5% of the pie, but with combined sales of $185 billion. 

But to bring it back to our own backyard, so to speak, following is the latest ranking of the top U.S. construction companies. The list includes two new players, in spots 9 and 10, as well as some jockeying around among the firms toward the top.

10. NVR Inc. - New to the top 10 this year is NVR Inc., an American company engaged in home construction. It also operates a mortgage banking and title services business. Based in Reston, VA, the company primarily operates on the East Coast of the United States, but its operations encompass 15 states as well as Washington, D.C.

In 2018, 23% of home settlements occurred in the Washington metropolitan area and 8% of home settlements occurred in the Baltimore metropolitan area.

NVR operates under the Ryan Homes, NVHomes and Heartland Homes brands. The company typically does not engage in land development; it acquires finished land lots that are ready for building, which the company believes mitigates risk.

With $8.74 billion in annual sales, it is ranked 389th on the Fortune 500 as of June 2022.

9. Toll Brothers - Another new addition to the list is Toll Brothers. Founded in 1967 in Pennsylvania by Robert I. Toll and Bruce E. Toll, the company designs, builds, markets, sells and arranges financing for residential and commercial properties in the United States.

The company is ranked 411th on the Fortune 500 and pulls in $8.79 billion in annual sales.

In 2021, the company sold homes at an average selling price of $844,400. Average prices ranged from $663,700 in the South region to $1,376,800 in the Pacific region.

8. Whiting-Turner - Holding steady in 8th place, Whiting-Turner is based in Baltimore, Maryland, providing construction management, general contracting, design-build and integrated project delivery services on projects small and large for a diverse group of customers.

With 50 locations across the U.S., the company was founded in 1909 by G.W.C. Whiting and has always been an engineer-run company. According to its website, Whiting-Turner is “financially independent, with no debt, and maintains a bonding capacity of $4 billion.”

Whiting-Turner has annual sales of $9.2 billion.

7. Emcor Group - EMCOR Group is a company based in Norwalk, Connecticut. Listed on the Fortune 500, EMCOR provides mechanical and electrical construction, industrial and energy infrastructure and facilities services to commercial, industrial, utility and institutional customers.

With annual sales of $9.9 billion, EMCOR employs more than 33,000 professionals at over 80 companies in 170 locations. It provides critical infrastructure systems, including electrical, mechanical, lighting, air conditioning, heating, security, fire protection, and power generation in “virtually every sector of the economy and for a diverse range of businesses, organizations, and government.”

EMCOR maintains the seventh spot on the list for the second year in a row.

6. Bechtel - Falling from the #3 spot from last year is Bechtel Corporation, a family-owned engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company founded in San Francisco, California and headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

“Since 1898, we have helped customers complete more than 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven continents that have created jobs, grown economies, improved the resiliency of the world’s infrastructure, increased access to energy, resources, and vital services, and made the world a safer, cleaner place,” the company’s website states.

With annual sales of $12.2 billion, Bechtel serves the Infrastructure; Nuclear, Security & Environmental; Oil, Gas & Chemicals; and Mining & Metals markets. Its services span from initial planning and investment, through start-up and operations.

5. Fluor Group - Dropping from number four on last year’s list to number five this year, Fluor Corporation is an American multinational engineering and construction firm headquartered in Irving, Texas.

Fluor’s 44,000 employees provide professional and technical solutions that “deliver safe, well‑executed, capital‑efficient projects to clients around the world,” the company states.

Fluor is ranked 196 among Fortune 500 companies and has provided engineering, procurement and construction services for more than 100 years. It’s annual sales total $12.4 billion in 2021 down from $15.6 billion in 2020 and $19.2 billion in 2019.

At the start of 2021, Fluor named a new CEO, David E. Constable, who outlined a new strategy to “become the preeminent leader of professional and technical solutions,” building upon the realignment of its operations into three new business segments - Energy Solutions, Urban Solutions and Mission Solutions.

4. Pulte Group - Rising up the ranks from number six last year, PulteGroup Inc. is a home construction company based in Atlanta, Georgia. The company is the third-largest home construction company in the U.S. based on the number of homes closed. Pulte operates in 44 markets in 23 states.

Since its founding in 1950, PulteGroup claims to have delivered almost 750,000 homes throughout the U.S.

“What began as a single home built by the hands and entrepreneurial spirit of our founder Bill Pulte, is today the nation’s third largest homebuilder with operations in over 40 major cities,” according to the company website. “Marketing under some of the industry’s best known brands: Pulte, Centex, Del Webb, DiVosta, American West, and John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, we can meet the needs of first-time, move-up and active-adult homebuyers.”

Pulte Group has annual sales of $13.9 billion.

3. Jacobs Engineering - Also on the rise, from number five to number three this year, is Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., an American international technical professional services firm. The company provides technical, professional and construction services, as well as scientific and specialty consulting for a broad range of clients globally, including companies, organizations and government agencies.

Based in Dallas, Texas, Jacobs employs 52,000 people worldwide and has $14.1 billion in annual sales.

With a focus on sustainability and modern solutions to the world’s critical issues, such as transportation, water supply and health, Jacobs states it is also working toward becoming a more equitable corporation.

“Together, we are building a new Jacobs; inclusive of diverse people, capabilities and perspectives,” Chair and CEO Steve Demetriou was quoted on the website. “We are winning in the marketplace, capturing attractive growth opportunities for complex work we are uniquely positioned to perform.”

2. Lennar - Falling from the top spot last year, Lennar Corporation is a home construction and real estate company based in Fontainebleau, Florida.

Lennar began in 1954 when Gene Fisher and Arnold Rosen formed F&R Builders in Miami, Florida. In 1956, Leonard Miller became co-owner and partnered with Rosen. Leonard and Arnold combined their names to rename the company Lennar in 1971, the same year Lennar Corporation went public.

After decades of acquisitions and introductions, Lennar merged with CalAtlantic Homes in 2018, creating the largest homebuilding company in the U.S. Lennar has $27.1 billion in annual sales.

1. D.R. Horton - Overtaking Lennar from the #2 spot last year, “America’s Largest Homebuilder” (as its website states) D.R. Horton Inc. continues its rise to the top spot on our list.

Incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Arlington, Texas, the company claims it has been the largest homebuilder by volume in the U.S. since 2002.

Founded by Chairman Donald R. Horton in 1978, D.R. Horton broke ground on its first home in Fort Worth, Texas. “Since that day, the company has defined its success not by bricks and mortar, but by the satisfaction of the families that make our houses their homes. Our foundation is a single, guiding principle: a value-first dedication to the individual needs of each and every one of our nation’s homebuyers,” the company states.

D.R. Horton has 2021 annual sales of $27.7 billion, up from $20.3 billion in 2020 and from $17.6 billion in 2019. According to the corporate website, D.R. Horton has delivered more than 930,000 homes since its inception. The company operates in 45 of homebuilding’s top 50 markets in the U.S., and claims it ranks among the top five in 39 of these.