Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
January 2025 - January 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
Public Administration advertisers in the United States spent much of the year paying noticeably less per click than the broader market, but with far sharper swings. CPC fell steadily from early-year levels, punctuated by a dramatic June spike before resuming a downward slide into year-end and the new year. Compared to the global benchmark, this segment was cheaper on average and far more volatile, with an atypical Q4 that did not mirror the global surge in costs.
This analysis is based on $3B worth of advertising data from our dataset, which provides strong directional benchmarks. This analysis explores ad performance trends for Public Administration in the United States compared to the global benchmark.
Across January 2025 to January 2026, Facebook Ads CPC for Public Administration in the United States averaged $0.69, ranging from a high of $1.55 in June to a low of $0.28 in January 2026—a 5.6x spread. The period opened at $1.02 in January 2025 and closed at $0.28 in January 2026, a 73% decline.
The standout movement came mid-year: CPC jumped from $0.50 in May to $1.55 in June (+210%), then fell back to $0.58 in July (−63%). After that shock, costs trended lower: $0.79 in August, $0.45 in September, a brief lift to $0.79 in October, and then a clear slide through Q4—$0.41 in November, $0.32 in December—ending at $0.28 in January 2026.
Volatility, measured as average month‑over‑month absolute change, was $0.34—about five times the global benchmark’s $0.07—underscoring a choppier cost environment for this industry-country slice.
The rhythm across the year showed a step-down by quarter:
While the global market typically sees CPC pressure build into Q4, this segment diverged. Rather than climbing in November, U.S. Public Administration CPCs compressed to $0.41 and continued down into December and January. The outlier was June, which temporarily sat well above the rest of the year.
Against global Facebook Ads benchmarks, the United States Public Administration CPC was consistently cheaper on average—$0.69 vs. $1.11 (about 38% lower). The global trend was comparatively steady across 2025, averaging roughly $1.13 through the first three quarters, peaking at $1.32 in November, and then sliding to $0.85 in January 2026 (−25% from January 2025).
Relative gaps varied month to month:
Overall, the selected market was more volatile and more downward-trending than the global average, with a pronounced late-year decoupling from the benchmark’s Q4 rise.
These Facebook Ads benchmarks highlight CPC trends for the Public Administration industry in the United States: lower-than-global costs on average, dramatic mid-year dislocation, and a soft Q4 that diverged from the broader market. Understanding CPC performance for Public Administration in the United States helps marketers evaluate country-specific ad costs and compare industry ad performance to the global baseline.
Insights & analysis of Facebook advertising costs
Cost Per Click (CPC) is the amount advertisers pay each time a user clicks on their Facebook ad. In the Public Administration industry, Facebook ad costs can be influenced by seasonal trends and market competition. For campaigns targeting United States, advertisers often face higher costs due to high competition and purchasing power. Different campaign objectives lead to varying costs based on how Facebook optimizes for your specific goals. The data shown represents median values across multiple campaigns, and individual results may vary based on ad quality, audience targeting, and campaign optimization.
We use the median CTR because the underlying distribution of click-through rates is highly skewed, with a small share of campaigns achieving extremely high CTRs. These outliers can inflate a simple average, making it less representative of what most advertisers actually experience. By using the median—which sits at the midpoint of all campaigns—we provide a more rigorous and realistic benchmark that reflects the true underlying data model and helps you set attainable performance expectations.
Note: This data represents industry median values and benchmarks. Your actual costs may vary based on specific targeting, ad creative quality, and campaign optimization.
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All data is sourced from over $3B in Facebook ad spend, collected across thousands of ad accounts that use Superads daily to analyze and improve their campaigns. Every data point is fully anonymized and aggregated—no individual advertiser is ever exposed.
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Late November (Thanksgiving & Black Friday weekend), December (Christmas), Back-to-school (July–September), Summer travel season (Memorial Day onwards)
CPM and CPC might rise around major holidays like Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day, especially in travel and entertainment. Black Friday/Thanksgiving weekend triggers massive spikes in retail ad competition. December ad demand typically peaks—retail campaigns require significantly higher budgets. Back-to-school promotions drive increased competition. Juneteenth may see regional engagement rise.
CPC (Cost Per Click) is what you pay each time someone clicks on your ad, on any Facebook Ads placement. It's calculated by dividing your total spend by the number of clicks received. Facebook Ads lists Clicks, Link Clicks and Outbound Clicks separately. The former is the sum of all types of clicks (including, for example, clicks to your profile page, to a link or to a comment).
The truth is that varies, so play with our tool to get some benchmarks that are relevant to you. CPC values are highly dependent on the region, industry and campaign objective. The US is one of the most expensive markets.
Several factors affect CPC: your audience targeting, competition in your industry, ad relevance score, and creative performance. If your ad isn't getting engagement or relevance is low, CPC tends to spike.
CPC spikes usually happen because of increased competition in your target audience, seasonal trends (like holidays), poor ad relevance scores, or algorithm changes. Check if your audience targeting has become too narrow or if your creative is showing fatigue.
Yes, there's a noticeable difference between platforms. Mobile CPCs often run lower than desktop. How many times do check Instagram on your phone and how often do you open it in your computer? There's simply much more mobile inventory. Tip: segment your performance data by placement to understand where your clicks are coming from. Spoiler: it's likely all mobile.
For most businesses, optimizing for conversions will deliver much better ROI than focusing purely on CPC. A low CPC is meaningless if those clicks don't convert. However, if you're running awareness campaigns or some kind content promotion, CPC optimization might potentially make sense, although most experts have switched to conversion optimization by now.
Your specific audience targeting, creative quality, bidding strategy, and account history all influence your CPC. Industry averages provide a reference point, but your historical performance is a more reliable benchmark for setting expectations and measuring improvement.
Instagram CPCs are generally slightly higher due to stronger purchase intent and higher competition among advertisers. But it depends on the audience and creative.
Discover detailed cost benchmarks for different Facebook advertising metrics:
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Cost per thousand impressions across different markets
Benchmark click-through rates for Facebook ads
Cost per lead across different markets
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