Sample unit costs consist of cost entries for ITS components that have been compiled from available sources, typically bid tabulation, or bid tab, data from state DOTs. Bid tabs provide the amount bid by each vendor or bidder for each pay item unit of a contract as well as the total contract. Other sources include project estimates, actual project costs, and cost reports. Sample unit costs are example costs for specific hardware, software, or services. A sample unit cost entry can include one or more types of information such as Capital Cost, O&M Cost, and Lifetime. The ITS component description refers to the specific equipment description developed by the cost provider.

Costs figures are presented in table format both in the original year of expenditure dollars and in inflation or index-adjusted dollars. The Sample Unit Cost data can be exported into a CSV for users to further analyze if desired.