Short answer
Ohio had 21,399 construction establishments with paid employees in 2023, employing 218,060 people with $16.8 billion in annual payroll, according to Census County Business Patterns: 2.63% of the US total, 12th among states by establishments and 9th by employment. The largest public construction companies headquartered in Ohio are M/I Homes ($4.42 billion in 2025 revenue) and Installed Building Products ($2.97 billion), both of Columbus.
- 21,399 construction establishments and 218,060 employees in Ohio in 2023; average pay $76,858.
- Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus each have about 3,600 to 4,200 establishments, but Columbus firms are the largest, at 12.8 employees each.
- The Columbus metro authorized 15,757 housing units in 2025, 47% of Ohio's 33,640.
- M/I Homes and Installed Building Products, both in Columbus, are the state's largest listed construction companies.
- Ohio has 293 construction establishments with 100 or more employees, including 3 with 1,000 or more.
On this page
This report is for anyone working with Ohio contractors across the state: developers and owners comparing builders between regions, companies looking at acquisitions, people choosing where to work, and B2B sellers planning an Ohio territory. For a single metro, the Cleveland construction companies report goes deeper.
Ohio construction by the numbers
US Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, construction sector (NAICS 23), State of Ohio:
| Measure | Ohio, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Construction establishments | 21,399 |
| Employees | 218,060 |
| Annual payroll | $16,759,588,000 |
| Average employees per establishment | 10.2 |
| Average annual pay | $76,858 |
| Share of US construction establishments | 2.63% (of 814,557) |
| Rank among states by establishments | 12th |
Ohio ranks higher for construction jobs (9th) than for establishments (12th) because its contractors are larger than the national average of 9.4 employees. Average pay is within $300 of the national construction figure of $76,580 (our calculation from the CBP state files).
Three Cs, three different markets
| Metro area | Establishments | Employees | Per establishment | Average pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 4,200 | 38,483 | 9.2 | $80,137 |
| Cincinnati (Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana) | 4,176 | 46,869 | 11.2 | $76,235 |
| Columbus | 3,645 | 46,557 | 12.8 | $80,569 |
| Akron | 1,335 | 13,185 | 9.9 | $79,032 |
| Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek | 1,180 | 13,181 | 11.2 | $72,892 |
| Toledo | 973 | 14,184 | 14.6 | $83,610 |
| Canton-Massillon | 812 | 6,892 | 8.5 | $73,781 |
| Youngstown-Warren | 793 | 6,978 | 8.8 | $77,527 |
Cleveland has the most establishments, Columbus the largest firms and Toledo the highest pay and largest average size of the big metros, at 14.6 employees each. Cincinnati's total includes firms on the Kentucky and Indiana side of the river.
Where the homes are being permitted
The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey counted 33,640 housing units authorized in Ohio in 2025, up 7% from 31,411 in 2024, with an estimated construction value of $8.56 billion. Statewide, 17,327 were single-family homes, 1,756 were in two- to four-unit buildings and 14,557 in buildings of five or more units.
| Metro area | Units authorized, 2025 | In buildings of 5+ units | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus | 15,757 | 9,549 | 13,962 |
| Cincinnati (all three states) | 7,264 | 2,491 | 7,089 |
| Cleveland | 4,174 | 1,214 | 4,289 |
| Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek | 1,986 | 532 | 2,056 |
| Akron | 751 | 78 | 1,282 |
| Toledo | 493 | 60 | 928 |
Columbus alone authorized 47% of Ohio's new housing, and 61% of its units were in apartment buildings. Akron fell 41% and Toledo 47%. For a seller to residential builders and the trades that follow them, Ohio is a Columbus story first.
What Ohio's contractors do
| Type of work (NAICS) | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Residential remodelers (236118) | 3,362 | 13,233 |
| New single-family general contractors (236115) | 987 | 4,190 |
| For-sale homebuilders (236117) | 258 | 2,667 |
| Industrial building construction (236210) | 109 | 3,309 |
| Commercial and institutional builders (236220) | 1,167 | 20,882 |
| Plumbing, heating and air conditioning (238220) | 2,970 | 37,781 |
| Electrical contractors (238210) | 1,978 | 30,197 |
| Roofing (238160) | 908 | 7,454 |
| Concrete foundation and structure (238110) | 853 | 7,901 |
| Site preparation (238910) | 1,449 | 16,674 |
| Power and communication lines (237130) | 182 | 8,154 |
| Oil and gas pipelines (237120) | 72 | 3,894 |
| Highway, street and bridge (2373) | 301 | 8,229 |
Mechanical and electrical contractors are the core of the market: 4,948 establishments employing 67,978 people, almost a third of Ohio's construction jobs. The 109 industrial builders average 30 employees each. Remodelers outnumber new single-family builders more than three to one.
Size
| Employees per establishment | Establishments |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 13,196 |
| 5 to 9 | 3,652 |
| 10 to 19 | 2,252 |
| 20 to 49 | 1,516 |
| 50 to 99 | 490 |
| 100 to 249 | 231 |
| 250 to 499 | 44 |
| 500 to 999 | 15 |
| 1,000 or more | 3 |
That's 19,100 establishments (89.3%) with 1 to 19 employees, 2,006 with 20 to 99 and 293 with 100 or more. CBP counts locations with paid employees, not companies, so a builder with Columbus and Cincinnati divisions counts twice; it leaves out the self-employed, and employment is for the pay period including March 12, 2023.
Public companies headquartered in Ohio
| Company | Headquarters | Business | Revenue, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| M/I Homes | Columbus | Homebuilding | $4.42 billion |
| Installed Building Products | Columbus | Insulation and other building product installation | $2.97 billion |
| Preformed Line Products | Mayfield Village | Manufactures hardware for power and communication networks | $669.3 million in net sales |
| Range Impact | Cleveland | Over-the-counter company; consulting and royalty revenue | $3.7 million |
These are the SEC-registered, listed companies in construction industry codes with principal executive offices in Ohio, with revenue from each company's 10-K for 2025. Only the first two are contractors in the usual sense: Preformed Line Products is classed under utility line construction but is a manufacturer. Revenue is company-wide, not Ohio only.
Checking an Ohio contractor
Registration rules vary by city, so the check depends on where the work is. Cleveland, for example, registers general, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, sewer and demolition contractors and publishes the active list. Wherever you are:
- Ask which city or county registrations the firm holds for your jurisdiction, and confirm them with the building department.
- Look up its permit history in that jurisdiction's portal: recent permits of the same type are the best evidence it does the work.
- Get liability and workers' compensation certificates and confirm them with the issuer.
- Ask for references on two or three recent jobs of similar size, and visit one.
Selling across Ohio
| Size band | Establishments | Who usually decides |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 19 employees | 19,100 | The owner |
| 20 to 99 employees | 2,006 | Owner with an operations, purchasing or project manager |
| 100 or more | 293 | Purchasing, fleet, safety and division leaders |
Split Ohio by metro rather than treating it as one territory: Columbus for growth and new housing, Cleveland and Cincinnati for commercial, industrial and renovation work, and the smaller metros for owner-run trades. Our guide on finding decision makers covers who to contact at the larger firms.
Illustrative example. Scioto Upfitters and its prices are invented; the establishment and employee counts are from CBP 2023.
Scioto Upfitters (sciotoupfit.example) fits out vans and pickups with shelving, ladder racks and power for trade contractors. Its market is Ohio's plumbing, HVAC and electrical contractors: 4,948 establishments with 67,978 employees. If one vehicle serves every two field employees and 60% of those employees are in the field, that's about 20,400 vehicles; replaced every eight years, roughly 2,550 a year need upfitting. Winning 10% of those at $6,500 each is about $1.66 million a year. It starts with the three largest metros, where most of the mechanical and electrical firms are. Bebop builds a list like that, metro by metro, from a plain-language description, with a playbook for each contractor.
Statewide sources
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Census Building Permits Survey | Housing units authorized by state, metro, county and place |
| AGC of Ohio | Commercial and industrial contractors statewide, with a member directory |
| Ohio Contractors Association | Heavy civil, highway and utility contractors since 1918 |
| Cleveland open data | An example of a city contractor register and permit file |
For factories rather than contractors, see Ohio manufacturing companies.
Next step: go to the fastest-growing metro with the Columbus construction companies report.
Sources
- County Business Patterns 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Building Permits Survey, annual state and CBSA data 2024 and 2025, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- M/I Homes, Inc. Form 10-K for 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 13 February 2026
- Installed Building Products, Inc. Form 10-K for 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 26 February 2026
- Preformed Line Products Company Form 10-K for 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 5 March 2026
- Range Impact, Inc. Form 10-K for 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 31 March 2026
- AGC of Ohio, Associated General Contractors of Ohio, accessed 30 October 2026
- Ohio Contractors Association, Ohio Contractors Association, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many construction companies are there in Ohio?
The US Census Bureau counted 21,399 construction establishments with paid employees in Ohio in 2023, employing 218,060 people. That's 2.63% of the US total, 12th among states by establishments and 9th by employment. Each establishment is a location with paid staff, not a company, and contractors working alone aren't included.
What are the largest construction companies in Ohio?
Among public companies headquartered in Ohio, the largest construction companies by revenue are M/I Homes of Columbus, with $4.42 billion in 2025, and Installed Building Products of Columbus, with $2.97 billion, according to their 10-K filings. Ohio's large commercial, industrial and heavy civil contractors are mostly private and don't publish revenue, so association directories and business journal lists are the way to compare them.
Which Ohio city has the most construction companies?
By metro area, Cleveland had the most construction establishments in 2023 with 4,200, just ahead of Cincinnati (4,176, including the Kentucky and Indiana suburbs) and Columbus (3,645). Columbus and Cincinnati each employ more construction workers, about 46,600 to 46,900, because their firms are larger. Columbus also leads for new housing, with 15,757 units authorized in 2025.
Where is construction growing in Ohio?
Columbus. The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey counted 15,757 housing units authorized in the Columbus metro in 2025, up from 13,962 in 2024 and 47% of Ohio's total of 33,640. Most were in apartment buildings. Cincinnati rose slightly to 7,264, while Cleveland, Dayton, Akron and Toledo were flat or down.