Earth Support Corp

The bidding marketMassachusetts

What public jobs actually bid for

Across 1,533 Massachusetts public bid openings, the low bidder typically beat the runner-up by 7.7% — about $109K a job. How that gap moves with the number of bidders, the size of the job, the owner and the estimate.
  • Snapshot · as of Jun 29, 2026
  • 1,533 records
  • Massachusetts public bid openings, 2018–2026
  • 1 source · method

Left on the table, per job

$109K

Median gap between the low and the second bid

Second bid over low

7.7%

Median. Middle half of jobs: 3.2%–17.3%

Losing bids over low

21%

Median of 6,101 losing general-contractor bids

Bidders per job

5.0

Average priced GC bids; 14% drew just two

Data as of Jun 29, 2026.

01 · The gap

Money left on the table

The gap is how far the second-lowest price sat above the winning number — what the low bidder could have added and still won. Summed across these openings it comes to $657M on $7.8B of low bids.

The typical low bid beat the runner-up by 7.7%

Openings by the gap between the low and the second bid, in 1-point bins; the last bin pools gaps of 60% and more.
21% of jobs: gap over 20%050100150Median 7.7%0%10%20%30%40%50%60%+
n = 1,533 openingsSource: MA public bid resultsCSV
▸ Show the numbers
Gap (2nd over low)Openings
0%–1%138
1%–2%113
2%–3%112
3%–4%101
4%–5%93
5%–6%83
6%–7%81
7%–8%65
8%–9%77
9%–10%43
10%–11%37
11%–12%41
12%–13%40
13%–14%35
14%–15%28
15%–16%26
16%–17%29
17%–18%24
18%–19%22
19%–20%25
20%–21%23
21%–22%18
22%–23%17
23%–24%12
24%–25%11
25%–26%16
26%–27%13
27%–28%14
28%–29%7
29%–30%7
30%–31%16
31%–32%8
32%–33%11
33%–34%16
34%–35%5
35%–36%7
36%–37%8
37%–38%10
38%–39%6
39%–40%5
40%–41%7
41%–42%4
42%–43%2
43%–44%3
44%–45%3
45%–46%2
46%–47%4
47%–48%2
48%–49%1
49%–50%2
50%–51%3
51%–52%2
52%–53%3
53%–54%1
54%–55%2
55%–56%4
56%–57%2
57%–58%5
58%–59%2
59%–60%1
60%+35

Bigger jobs, tighter gaps — and far more dollars at stake

Median dollar gap between the low and second bid, by size of the low bid. Right: the same gap as a percentage.
  1. Under $1Mn=636
    $31.3K10.4% gap
  2. $1M–5Mn=529
    $154.4K7.7% gap
  3. $5M–20Mn=277
    $443.7K5.2% gap
  4. Over $20Mn=91
    $1.6M4.7% gap

Under $1M, the second bid sits 10.4% above the low; over $20M it is only 4.7% — but that is still $1.6M on a typical job.

6% of jobs, 40% of the money left on the table

  • Under $1M
  • $1M–5M
  • $5M–20M
  • Over $20M

Share of openings · 1,533

41%
35%
18%

Share of all gap dollars · $657M

23%
31%
40%
n = 1,533 openingsSource: MA public bid resultsCSV
▸ Show the numbers
Low bidOpeningsMedian gapMedian $ gapTotal $ gapAvg bidders
Under $1M63610.4%$31K$41M5.0
$1M–5M5297.7%$154K$150M5.2
$5M–20M2775.2%$444K$205M4.7
Over $20M914.7%$1.6M$262M4.1

Losing bids land a median 21% above the low

Every losing general-contractor bid, by how far it sat above the low bid on its job (5-point bins; last bin pools 150% and more).
Middle half 10%–40%02004006008001,000Median 21%0%25%50%75%100%125%150%+

One losing bid in ten was more than 68% over the low. A bid that far out is rarely a close call — it usually means a different read of the scope, the risk or the schedule.

Median losing bid over low, by number of bidders

2
19%
3
18%
4
18%
5
19%
6
22%
7
23%
8
23%
9+
26%

More bidders pull the gap in, but the losing field fans out further.

n = 6,101 losing bidsSource: MA public bid resultsCSV
▸ Show the numbers
Over lowLosing bids
0%–5%755
5%–10%823
10%–15%675
15%–20%615
20%–25%551
25%–30%447
30%–35%418
35%–40%280
40%–45%261
45%–50%192
50%–55%178
55%–60%131
60%–65%112
65%–70%90
70%–75%79
75%–80%68
80%–85%57
85%–90%44
90%–95%39
95%–100%33
100%–105%35
105%–110%25
110%–115%22
115%–120%14
120%–125%23
125%–130%19
130%–135%9
135%–140%17
140%–145%13
145%–150%11
150%+65

02 · Competition

Does competition lower prices?

At the top of the tab, yes. Going from two bidders to three roughly halves the typical gap (19.2% → 9.3%). From 7 bidders on it settles near 5%, while the spread between the low and the high keeps widening — extra bidders mostly add higher numbers.

Each extra bidder narrows the gap — and widens the spread

Median gap (second bid over low) and median spread (high bid over low), by number of priced general-contractor bids.
  • Gap: second bid over low
  • Spread: high bid over low
0%20%40%60%80%23456789+GapSpread

General contractors on the bid tab

n = 1,533 openingsSource: MA public bid resultsCSV
▸ Show the numbers
BiddersOpeningsMedian gapMedian $ gapMedian spread
221119.2%$307K19.2%
33229.3%$121K28.2%
42457.8%$111K36.2%
52067.1%$115K40.3%
61736.9%$108K45.4%
71425.6%$78K51.8%
81044.6%$58K58.5%
9+1305.0%$55K63.5%

Try it: how far above the low does the next bid land?

Pick how many general contractors bid and how big the job is. Every figure is a median over the matching openings.
General contractors bidding
Size of the low bid

With 3 bidders on a job of any size, the second bid typically lands

9.3%above the low

Typical dollar gap
$121K
Middle half of jobs
4%–22%
High bid over low
28.2%
Based on
322 openings

Dots are medians, drawn to scale from the low bid.

Struck-out sizes have fewer than 10 openings for that fieldSource: MA public bid resultsCSV
▸ Show the numbers
BiddersLow bidOpeningsMedian gapMiddle halfMedian spread
2Under $1M8125.7%11%–41%25.7%
2$1M–5M7220.2%9%–34%20.2%
2$5M–20M378.6%4%–19%8.6%
2Over $20M218.7%3%–18%8.7%
3Under $1M14611.3%4%–28%35.2%
3$1M–5M9611.1%5%–22%30.3%
3$5M–20M556.0%3%–14%18.5%
3Over $20M255.6%3%–10%13.4%
4–5Under $1M1799.2%4%–21%53.4%
4–5$1M–5M1518.2%3%–14%40.3%
4–5$5M–20M995.2%2%–9%26.7%
4–5Over $20M224.1%2%–7%21.4%
6–8Under $1M1758.5%4%–16%76.1%
6–8$1M–5M1545.3%2%–9%42.3%
6–8$5M–20M704.1%2%–7%33.2%
6–8Over $20M203.7%2%–6%25.0%
9+Under $1M556.7%3%–13%94.6%
9+$1M–5M564.4%1%–9%52.0%
9+$5M–20M163.1%1%–5%39.8%

03 · The estimate

Low bid vs the engineer’s estimate

Most bid records carry no real estimate — the listed “estimated value” is overwritten with the low bid on 94% of these openings. But 122 jobs state a pre-bid estimate or budget in their description. On those, the low bid came in under the estimate 61% of the time, and landed within ±10% of it only 31% of the time.

Small sample. 122 jobs, chosen by whichever owners chose to publish an estimate. Estimates may predate the bid by months. Treat these as a sense of scale, not a forecast for any one job.

The low bid came in under the estimate on 61% of jobs

Low, second and high bid as a share of the stated pre-bid estimate. Line: middle 80% of jobs; bar: middle half; dot: median.
Under the estimateOver the estimate−40%−20%Estimate+20%+40%+60%+80%+100%+120%Low bidmedian −7%Second bidmedian +1%High bidmedian +35%

The median low bid came in 6.6% below the estimate; the median second bid sat almost on it (+1.1%), and the median high bid ran 35.4% over.

n = 122 openings with a stated estimateSource: MA public bid resultsCSV
▸ Show the numbers
Bid10th pct25thMedian75th90thUnder estimate
Low bid−30%−18%−7%+11%+34%61%
Second bid−18%−9%+1%+23%+53%48%
High bid−5%+11%+35%+65%+111%14%

More bidders, more low bids under the estimate

Share of jobs where the low bid came in under the stated estimate, by field size.
  1. 2–3 biddersn=45
    53%−3.8% median
  2. 4–5 biddersn=32
    56%−2.0% median
  3. 6+ biddersn=45
    73%−9.5% median

Of the 122 jobs, 43% came in more than 10% under the estimate and 26% more than 10% over.

n = 122 openingsSource: MA public bid resultsCSV
▸ Show the numbers
BiddersOpeningsLow under estimateMedian low vs estimate
2–3 bidders4553%−3.8%
4–5 bidders3256%−2.0%
6+ bidders4573%−9.5%

04 · Owners & counties

Where the fields run thin

Among owners with at least 10 openings, the average field runs from 3.2 to 8.9 bidders. Town of Barnstable, Town of Plymouth and City of Boston averaged 3.2–3.7 bidders a job; MassDOT’s highway lettings averaged 5.6 with a 5.1% gap across 199 openings.

Town of Barnstable and Town of Plymouth drew the thinnest fields: 3.2 and 3.5 bidders a job

Public owners with at least 10 openings. Bidders: average priced GC bids per job. Gap: median second bid over low. Search by name; click a heading to sort.

24 of 24 rows

Competition by public owner
MassDOT Highway Division5.65.1%
Mass. Dept. of Conservation & Recreation5.47.0%
City of Boston3.711.1%
Town of Barnstable3.213.1%
City of Quincy5.010.9%
Town of Plymouth3.57.6%
City of Cambridge3.99.2%
MBTA3.97.1%
Town of Ayer8.97.2%
City of Worcester4.96.2%
Town of Tewksbury6.85.3%
City of Waltham4.96.6%
Page 1 / 2
24 owners · 555 openingsSource: MA public bid resultsCSV

Suffolk and Barnstable draw the thinnest fields (3.9 bidders); Worcester the most crowded (5.8)

Average priced general-contractor bids per opening, by county (counties with 50+ openings compared in the title). Right: median gap.
  1. Worcestern=190
    5.86.5% gap
  2. Franklinn=52
    5.76.5% gap
  3. Bristoln=107
    5.46.8% gap
  4. Middlesexn=361
    5.36.5% gap
  5. Norfolkn=147
    5.18.2% gap
  6. Plymouthn=110
    5.17.3% gap
  7. Hampshiren=56
    5.06.8% gap
  8. Hampdenn=85
    4.910.0% gap
  9. Berkshiren=56
    4.67.2% gap
  10. Essexn=138
    4.49.0% gap
  11. Barnstablen=93
    3.99.1% gap
  12. Suffolkn=116
    3.910.2% gap
  13. Nantucketn=15
    2.98.6% gap
n = 1,526 openings · 13 countiesSource: MA public bid resultsCSV
▸ Show the numbers
CountyOpeningsAvg biddersMedian gapMedian spread
Nantucket152.98.6%24.7%
Suffolk1163.910.2%34.3%
Barnstable933.99.1%35.3%
Essex1384.49.0%38.0%
Berkshire564.67.2%27.5%
Hampden854.910.0%36.5%
Hampshire565.06.8%33.1%
Plymouth1105.17.3%39.3%
Norfolk1475.18.2%38.1%
Middlesex3615.36.5%39.1%
Bristol1075.46.8%44.4%
Franklin525.76.5%41.6%
Worcester1905.86.5%39.9%

MassDOT highway lettings: 5.6 bidders, 5.1% gap

Average priced general-contractor bids per opening, by type of public owner (types under 30 openings grouped as Other public). Right: median gap.
  1. MassDOT Highwayn=199
    5.65.1% gap
  2. Townn=663
    5.08.1% gap
  3. Authority / districtn=156
    5.011.1% gap
  4. State agencyn=66
    4.87.4% gap
  5. Cityn=293
    4.89.1% gap
  6. Other publicn=71
    4.66.1% gap
  7. School / campusn=85
    4.45.8% gap

MassDOT Highway Division

Openings
199
Median low bid
$6.1M
Median gap, low to 2nd
$281K
High over low
31.2%
n = 1,533 openingsSource: MA public bid resultsCSV
▸ Show the numbers
Owner typeOpeningsAvg biddersMedian gapMedian $ gap
Town6635.08.1%$78K
City2934.89.1%$147K
MassDOT Highway1995.65.1%$281K
Authority / district1565.011.1%$68K
School / campus854.45.8%$54K
Other public714.66.1%$153K
State agency664.87.4%$111K

05 · Over time

Is competition rising?

Openings from 2025–2026 drew more bidders per job (6.0) than 2022–2023 (4.7). Read that with care: this is a captured sample, heavy on 2021–22, not a census of the market — and 2026 covers only part of the year (86 openings).

Bidders per job: 4.7 in 2022–23, 6.0 in 2025–26

Average priced general-contractor bids per opening, by bid year. Hover a column for the count of openings.
02.557.520192020202120222023202420252026
n = 1,476 openingsSource: MA public bid resultsCSV
▸ Show the numbers
YearOpeningsAvg biddersMedian gapMedian spread
20191444.07.6%29.9%
2020746.17.5%43.8%
20212955.07.0%38.0%
20224364.78.9%39.4%
20231684.76.4%33.1%
20241515.28.3%36.2%
20251226.15.7%41.1%
2026866.07.4%52.5%

The gap hasn’t moved in one direction

Median gap between the low and second bid, by bid year.
0%2%4%6%8%10%20192020202120222023202420252026all years 7.7%
n = 1,476 openingsSource: MA public bid resultsCSV
▸ Show the numbers
YearOpeningsMedian gapMedian $ gap
20191447.6%$102K
2020747.5%$97K
20212957.0%$80K
20224368.9%$98K
20231686.4%$153K
20241518.3%$203K
20251225.7%$164K
2026867.4%$110K

06 · How the job is let

Invited bidding and earth-retention scope

Pre-qualified, invited general-contractor bidding drew more bidders than open bidding (5.4 vs 4.9) and a tighter gap (5.3% vs 8.2%) — a vetted field tends to price closer together.

Invited fields priced about 3 points tighter

Open GC bidding vs pre-qualified / invited GC bidding. Each metric has its own scale.
  • Open bidding (n=1,285)
  • Pre-qualified / invited (n=232)

Avg bidders

  • 4.9
  • 5.4

Median gap

  • 8.2%
  • 5.3%

Median spread

  • 39.0%
  • 32.0%
n = 1,517 openingsSource: MA public bid resultsCSV
▸ Show the numbers
MethodOpeningsAvg biddersMedian gapMedian spread
Open GC Bidding1,2854.98.2%39.0%
Pre-Qual/Invited GC2325.45.3%32.0%

Jobs with earth-retention scope drew 5.2 bidders, not 4.8

Openings whose description mentions shoring, retaining walls, underpinning, slope work or micropiles, against the rest.
  • Earth-retention scope (n=533)
  • No such scope (n=1,000)

Avg bidders

  • 5.2
  • 4.8

Median gap

  • 7.5%
  • 7.8%

Median $ gap

  • $131.6K
  • $101.6K

Scope is a keyword screen of the project text, not a verified scope of work.

n = 1,533 openingsSource: MA public bid resultsCSV
▸ Show the numbers
ScopeOpeningsAvg biddersMedian gapMedian spread
Earth-retention scope tagged5335.27.5%40.9%
No earth-retention tag1,0004.87.8%36.8%

Where these numbers come from

Method, sources & caveats

A bid opening here is one Massachusetts public project with at least two priced general-contractor bids. For each we take the lowest price, the second-lowest and the highest.

Gap
(second bid − low bid) ÷ low bid. The “money left on the table”.
Spread
(high bid − low bid) ÷ low bid.
Losing bid premium
(losing bid − low bid) ÷ low bid, for every bid above the low.
Bidders
Distinct general contractors with a price on the tab (plan holders without a price are not counted).

Medians throughout, because a handful of very wide gaps pull averages up (the mean gap is 13.0% against a median of 7.7%). No contractor, project or individual bid is shown; the firm-level view lives in Contractors.

  • Massachusetts only: every public project record with priced bids in this extract is in Massachusetts (100% of public priced records).
  • Public work only. Private jobs almost never publish bid tabs (7 of 741 private records carry any bid amount), so they are excluded.
  • General-contractor prices only (raw roles 'General Contractor Bidder', 'Apparent Low General Contractor', 'Awarded General Contractor'). Subcontractor trade bids are a different race and are left out. Where a firm appears twice on one job, its lowest price is used.
  • Cleaning: 35 openings were dropped where the second bid was more than 2× the low or the high more than 4× the low — almost always a dropped decimal point (a bid entered 10× or 100× too large) or a unit price typed into the lump-sum field.
  • In 49 of 1,523 openings with a flagged winner, the apparent-low/awarded firm was not the lowest number — typically a withdrawn, rejected or non-responsive low bid. Gaps here are always measured between the two lowest numbers.
  • The listed estimated value is not an engineer's estimate: it equals the low bid in 94% of openings. The estimate comparison uses only the 122 jobs whose description states a pre-bid estimate or budget — a small, self-selected sample.
  • The extract was pulled 2026-06-29 and is heavy on 2021–22 bid openings; year-to-year differences reflect what was captured, not the size of the market. 2026 is a partial year.
  • Owner types with fewer than 30 openings (often a single agency) are grouped as 'Other public' in the owner-type chart; every owner with 10+ openings still appears in the owner table.
  • Earth-retention scope is a keyword screen of project text (shoring, retaining walls, underpinning, slope work, micropiles), not a verified scope of work.

Groups with fewer than 10 records are suppressed so no single project or firm can be singled out.

Data as of
Jun 29, 2026
Generated
Sep 11, 2026
Records
1,533
Refresh
Frozen snapshot
  • Massachusetts public bid results and project recordsPublic recordBid tabulations from public bid openings, published as market aggregates.

Published by Earth Support Corp as a public resource. Regional statistics for planning and curiosity. They are not an engineering report, a bid recommendation or a statement about any particular site, firm or project. Spot an error? Tell us and we will correct it. Full method: methodology.

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