What a 30x40, 40x60 and 50x100 Metal Building Costs in Texas (2026)

Short answer, using the per-square-foot ranges in current published cost guides: a 30x40 (1,200 sq ft) is about $12,000–$30,000 as a kit and $24,000–$60,000 as an erected shell on a slab. A 40x60 (2,400 sq ft) is about $24,000–$60,000 as a kit and $48,000–$120,000 erected. A 50x100 (5,000 sq ft) is about $50,000–$125,000 as a kit and $100,000–$250,000 erected. Those are arithmetic on published ranges, not quotes, and none of them includes site work, utilities, insulation, doors beyond the basics, or interior finish.

The Rates Behind the Numbers

Three different products are all sold "per square foot," so it matters which rate you multiply:

Kit (steel package delivered): $10–$25 per sq ft. That is HomeGuide's metal building cost guide (April 2025) for the kit alone. BuildingsGuide gives $15–$25 for the building system with a 10-foot eave.

Erected shell on a slab: $20–$50 per sq ft. HomeGuide's range for a kit with slab, delivery and erection. BuildingsGuide breaks the two big additions out as foundation $4–$8 and erection $5–$10 per square foot.

Finished basic warehouse: $45–$65 per sq ft. Terrapin Construction Group's April 2026 range. Terrapin puts climate-controlled distribution at $75–$120 and finished office or retail at $100–$150 or more.

HomeGuide, BuildingsGuide and Terrapin all sell buildings or construction, so treat these as published ranges rather than independent benchmarks. Our Texas metal building cost guide explains what each scope includes and why 2026 prices sit well above 2019.

30x40 Metal Building Cost (1,200 sq ft)

Kit: 1,200 × $10–$25 = $12,000–$30,000. Erected shell on a slab: 1,200 × $20–$50 = $24,000–$60,000. Finished, at the basic-warehouse rate: 1,200 × $45–$65 = $54,000–$78,000. HomeGuide's own size table gives the same kit and installed figures for a 30x40, and BuildingsGuide's October 2026 estimate for package, foundation and erection is $34,800–$45,600 ($29–$38 per sq ft).

A 30x40 is usually a shop or garage rather than a warehouse, so the finished figure is a rough guide only. For this size we also have our own numbers: in UTS BuildPros planning ranges as of October 2026, a complete 30x40 workshop in Texas with slab, erection, permits and engineering, electrical, insulation, doors and modest finishes runs about $56,000–$100,500, with a typical mid-range build around $68,000–$78,000. Those are planning ranges, not a quote. The line-by-line build-up is in the 30x40 breakdown, and door and slab notes for this size are on our 30x40 metal building page.

40x60 Metal Building Cost (2,400 sq ft)

Kit: 2,400 × $10–$25 = $24,000–$60,000. Erected shell on a slab: 2,400 × $20–$50 = $48,000–$120,000. Finished, at the basic-warehouse rate: 2,400 × $45–$65 = $108,000–$156,000. HomeGuide's size table matches the kit and installed figures, and BuildingsGuide's estimate for package, foundation and erection is $64,800–$86,400 ($27–$36 per sq ft).

A 40x60 is where shops turn into small commercial buildings: a contractor's yard building, a light-industrial bay, a storage building with an office corner. The kit price in an ad for this size is the first line above. Everything that makes it usable comes after. More on uses and door layouts is on the 40x60 metal building page.

50x100 Metal Building Cost (5,000 sq ft)

Kit: 5,000 × $10–$25 = $50,000–$125,000. Erected shell on a slab: 5,000 × $20–$50 = $100,000–$250,000. Finished, at the basic-warehouse rate: 5,000 × $45–$65 = $225,000–$325,000. BuildingsGuide's estimate for package, foundation and erection is $120,000–$165,000 ($24–$33 per sq ft).

At 5,000 square feet the building is almost always commercial, which brings commercial code review, an engineered foundation from a geotechnical report, and in most cities an energy-code compliance check on the envelope. If part of it is conditioned office space, price that area at an office rate, not a warehouse one. See the 50x100 metal building page for span and slab notes.

Why Bigger Buildings Cost Less per Square Foot

The published ranges are wide partly because of size, and BuildingsGuide's size estimates show it: $29–$38 per square foot for a 30x40, $27–$36 for a 40x60 and $24–$33 for a 50x100. Some costs barely change as the footprint grows: engineering, permits, mobilization, the survey, getting a crew and equipment to the site. On a 1,200-square-foot shop those fixed costs are spread over very little floor, so small buildings tend to land toward the top of each range and large ones toward the bottom. The ratio is not fixed, though. A 50x100 on poor soil or a sloped site can cost more per square foot than a 40x60 on a flat, ready pad.

What None of These Numbers Include

Every figure above stops short of a building you can use. The lines that most often move a Texas budget are:

Site work and utilities. Clearing, grading, drainage, driveways, and getting power, water and sewer or septic to the building. On rural land this can rival the shell.

The foundation on clay. North Texas expansive clay can call for a post-tensioned slab or drilled piers designed from a geotechnical report, which pushes the foundation well past the low end of the published range.

Insulation. In Texas heat this is not optional for a building people work in. Our insulation cost guide covers the options and their prices.

Doors and openings. Large overhead doors change the frame design and should be chosen before the building is ordered.

Electrical, plumbing, HVAC and interior finish. Priced like any other commercial work, by licensed contractors.

Permits and soft costs. City permits, stamped foundation design, survey and soils report. Our guide to metal building permits explains when Texas counties can and cannot require one.

How to Get a Real Number for Your Size

Send the footprint, eave height, door sizes, what the building is for, and where it is. Ask every contractor to break the price out the same way: kit, foundation, erection, site work, utilities, insulation, doors, interior, permits and engineering, plus exclusions. Our erection labor cost guide covers the line that most often gets left off a kit quote.

UTS BuildPros quotes metal buildings as complete projects across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Call (940) 231-2640 or request a quote and we will price your size line by line.

Sources

HomeGuide, Metal Building Cost April 2025 (kit and installed ranges, size table).

BuildingsGuide, Pre-Engineered Metal Building, last updated October 2026 (building system, foundation and erection per square foot; size estimates).

Terrapin Construction Group, Pre-Engineered Metal Building Cost per Square Foot, April 2026 (finished building ranges by use).

UTS BuildPros planning ranges for a complete 30x40 workshop in Texas, October 2026, from our Texas cost guide.