Detached garage cost in Burlington, VT

Related projects, priced for Burlington

Because every project leans on different trades, Burlington's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, concrete driveway runs +4% and garage door level.

When to schedule detached garage in Burlington

We use NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for Burlington Intl Ap (5 miles from the city center). These are 30-year monthly averages, not forecasts.

May through October is the stretch where pouring concrete runs into the fewest weather problems in Burlington (6 of 12 months). January, February, March, April, November and December have an average overnight low of 40°F or below.

The 40°F line is a deliberately cautious stand-in. The American Concrete Institute's cold-weather guide (ACI 306R-16) defines cold-weather concreting around an average daily air temperature below 40°F, which is colder than our test of an average overnight low at or below 40°F, so we flag a few extra shoulder months. In cold weather crews may need heated enclosures, insulating blankets or accelerated mixes, and those measures can raise a quote.

Burlington gets about 38 inches of precipitation in a normal year, including roughly 88 inches of snow. The wettest months are June, July and October (4.3 inches in June). Inside the workable window, August and September are the driest, at 3.5 and 3.7 inches. The station averages about 8 days a year at 90°F or above.

Does the season change the price? Probably, but we do not have a sourced seasonal price curve, so the estimator shows a year-round figure and does not adjust by month. When you collect quotes, ask whether scheduling in a slower month gets a better rate.

Detached garage: what moves the price in Burlington

• Garage apartments

  A garage with living space is a different project: HomeGuide puts them at $80,000-$300,000.

• Permits

  You need a permit for a detached garage: $150-$500 on average, with separate electrical or plumbing permits if those are involved.

• Electrical

  Running power to a detached garage costs $1,000-$3,800 for a standard build and $5,000 or more for a long trench or amperage upgrade (Angi, Trusscore).

Pick a size, pick a tier: detached garage pricing in Burlington

Three bands are cut from the same cited range and localized for Burlington wages and prices. They overlap on purpose: a good standard job and a modest premium job can cost the same. The grid below prices the same bands at 4 common sizes.

How Burlington compares

Of the five closest metros, 3 are cheaper than Burlington. Manchester is the lowest at about $43,300 (midpoint, 576 sq ft), 140 miles away.

Across 300 US metros, Burlington comes in at #92 from the top. The priciest is Honolulu, HI at $57,900; the cheapest is Brownsville, TX at $35,500 (midpoints, 576 sq ft). Statewide, Burlington is 1% above the Vermont figure.

Burlington is the only Vermont metro we cover, so the statewide page is the only in-state comparison. It uses statewide wages, which include rural areas.

Cities with a workforce like Burlington's

Big cities and small ones price differently, so here is Burlington against the 4 metros with the closest total employment.

Local wages behind the labor line

Wages are the part of this estimate that changes most from town to town. 5 trades carry the job here, and each is compared with its US median. The weighted result for Burlington is 1.06 times the national level.

For carpenters (47-2031, weighted 45%) the local median is $30.19 an hour, which is 4% above the national $29.12. The middle half of them earn between $25.00 and $31.59 an hour. BLS counts 900 of them working in the area, 74.9 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 43.1), so the local bench is deeper than average.

Construction laborers (47-2061), 20% of the weighting: a median of $24.01 an hour, 6% above the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $23.00 and $28.38 an hour. About 460 work in the metro. That is 38.3 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 70.5 nationally, so expect fewer local crews to bid.

For cement masons and concrete finishers (47-2051, weighted 15%) the local median is $30.06 an hour, which is 10% above the national $27.41. The middle half of them earn between $28.68 and $33.35 an hour. BLS counts 120 of them working in the area, 10.0 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 13.3), so the local bench is thinner than average.

Electricians (47-2111), 10% of the weighting: a median of $32.14 an hour, 6% above the US median of $30.38. The middle half of them earn between $28.21 and $37.69 an hour. About 470 work in the metro. That is 39.1 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 48.7 nationally, so expect fewer local crews to bid.

Roofers (47-2181) carry 10% of the labor weighting. BLS does not publish this trade for the Burlington metro, so we used the Vermont statewide median: $28.39 an hour against $26.65 for the US. The middle half of them earn between $23.44 and $29.38 an hour.

Quotes come from real crews, not medians. If the carpenters on your job are paid at the 75th percentile ($31.59 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $470. At the 25th percentile ($25.00) it shrinks by about $1,750. The total moves by 1.1% or 3.9%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.

For context on the local economy, BLS counts 120,150 jobs in the Burlington-South Burlington area. That makes it the 182nd largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.08% of US employment.