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I worked for a company that made and installed fencing #BeforeCovid, we used cedar posts for wooden fences. Usually Western Red Cedar, or (for a higher price) Alaskan Yellow Cedar.
Actual wood species is very dependent on availability (why anyone would use material from the west coast and beyond isn’t exactly servicing the customer well). AND; other effects/nuisances- like subterranean termites- very, very common here in the entire Southeast. The extreme northeast (Bangor) could probably use just about any native species and be fine- rocky soil and almost no termites.
Cedar posts last far longer than Home Depot-grade pressure treated pine. If it’s just a post set in the ground, you can also replace a rotted post easily. If it’s set in concrete, it’s painful because you have to dig the concrete out.
I would never set posts for a wood fence tall enough for privacy, directly into the ground. That's pretty much a guarantee they'll lean this way and that in a couple years at most, plus they'll rot enthusiastically.
I looked at the neighbors' fences yesterday; about half of them have steel posts and about half have wood posts. All are fairly new (like, under 15 years old). The steel posts appear to be 2 1/2 to 3" OD (I didn't walk up to them and measure.) My chain link fence (at least 50 years old and probably 70 or 80 years) has what look like about 1 3/4" OD posts, but they're heavy walled. My fence is also only 4 feet high.
Make sure the posts have caps that don’t trap water..like domed, rounded heads
Set in concrete and make sure the concrete is higher than the ground and (again) sloped not to trap water from rain, sprinklers, or snowmelt
Also raise the bottom of the fence boards 1/2” above the bottom ground and maybe use gravel trench or paver/brick under fence to protect from grass
Use pretreated boards if you can afford them…gotten more $$ in last 6 mo
Ballpark $ for one made using steel posts vs. wood?
If it will look good for at least 25 years I will go with whatever is cheapest. It's for a house in southern Louisiana.
I live in south Louisiana and have a wooden privacy fence installed in 2016 and prefer wood since I don't have drainage issues in my yard. Many yards around here hold water and don't drain very well so that should be a factor. Cost should be another thing to consider.
Termites are in ground dwellers
Some fence posts are prey to termites even if drainage isn’t an issue
Than can be treated against moisture
Don’t know about termites
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