Public construction can also—like private construction—be categorized into residential or non-residential construction projects. While the value of public residential construction spending experienced generally drastic fluctuations in value within the past decade, in contrast, non-residential construction has remained relatively stable. Public construction primarily consists of public building construction (e.g. for education and health care), transportation (e.g. bridges, railroads, streets and highways) as well as construction for public services (e.g. power facilities, water supply, sewage and waste disposal). In 2018, highway and street projects covered the largest share of the dollar value for public construction spending at 92.5 billion U.S. dollars.
Some of the leading engineering and public construction firms located in the United States include Texas-based Fluor Corporation, Jacobs Engineering, based in Pasadena, California, as well as AECOM, based in Los Angeles, California.
