For the past several years, design professionals and contractors alike have been noting the strength of the Southeast construction industry. Based on the results of ENR Southeast’s latest Top Design Firms survey, it’s evident that 2018 marked yet another year of expansion for many firms.

Together, the 120 Southeast engineering and architectural firms included on this year’s ranking collectively reported nearly $6 billion in 2018 billings from the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Puerto Rico. That roughly $600-million gain equates to an 11% rise from the $5.4 billion in 2017 revenue reported from the same number of firms last year.

Again it was the firms at the upper end of the ranking that garnered much of that increase. For instance, this year’s top 20-ranked firms’ Southeast revenue tallied $3.7 billion, or about $400 million ahead of last year’s $3.3 billion.

Of the six states and Puerto Rico included in ENR Southeast’s geographic coverage area, only one—Tennessee—showed decreased revenue, with the Volunteer State’s $293.2-million 2018 tally coming in short of the $326.2 million reported a year ago.

Overall, the $2.7 billion generated from Florida projects marked the highest state total, followed by North Carolina’s $1.23 billion and Georgia’s $973.3 million.

Design revenue earned from projects located in South Carolina eked out a small gain over last year with a $458-million total, while Alabama revenue jumped by about $46 million, for a total of $293 million.

Recovery work related to the devastation inflicted on Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria caused design revenue from the U.S. territory to jump from last year’s $11.3 million to approximately $73.9 million for 2018.

In addition to the main ranking, the following pages contain breakout rankings for each state along with numerous project sectors and work disciplines.