diff --git a/news/6852.feature b/news/6852.feature
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..30097e82a8f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/news/6852.feature
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+Cache wheels that ``pip wheel`` built locally, matching what
+``pip install`` does. This particularly helps performance in workflows where
+``pip wheel`` is used for `building before installing
+<https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/user_guide/#installing-from-local-packages>`_.
+Users desiring the original behavior can use ``pip wheel --no-cache-dir``.
diff --git a/src/pip/_internal/wheel.py b/src/pip/_internal/wheel.py
index 71d9765ce42..ac4bf029f14 100644
--- a/src/pip/_internal/wheel.py
+++ b/src/pip/_internal/wheel.py
@@ -1102,7 +1102,7 @@ def build(
         :param should_unpack: If True, after building the wheel, unpack it
             and replace the sdist with the unpacked version in preparation
             for installation.
-        :return: True if all the wheels built correctly.
+        :return: The list of InstallRequirement that failed to build.
         """
         # pip install uses should_unpack=True.
         # pip install never provides a _wheel_dir.
@@ -1124,19 +1124,15 @@ def build(
             ):
                 continue
 
-            # Determine where the wheel should go.
-            if should_unpack:
-                if (
-                    cache_available and
-                    should_cache(req, self.check_binary_allowed)
-                ):
-                    output_dir = self.wheel_cache.get_path_for_link(req.link)
-                else:
-                    output_dir = self.wheel_cache.get_ephem_path_for_link(
-                        req.link
-                    )
+            if (
+                cache_available and
+                should_cache(req, self.check_binary_allowed)
+            ):
+                output_dir = self.wheel_cache.get_path_for_link(req.link)
             else:
-                output_dir = self._wheel_dir
+                output_dir = self.wheel_cache.get_ephem_path_for_link(
+                    req.link
+                )
 
             buildset.append((req, output_dir))
 
@@ -1174,10 +1170,6 @@ def build(
                     python_tag=python_tag,
                 )
                 if wheel_file:
-                    build_success.append(req)
-                    self.wheel_filenames.append(
-                        os.path.relpath(wheel_file, output_dir)
-                    )
                     if should_unpack:
                         # XXX: This is mildly duplicative with prepare_files,
                         # but not close enough to pull out to a single common
@@ -1202,6 +1194,25 @@ def build(
                         assert req.link.is_wheel
                         # extract the wheel into the dir
                         unpack_file(req.link.file_path, req.source_dir)
+                    else:
+                        # copy from cache to target directory
+                        try:
+                            ensure_dir(self._wheel_dir)
+                            shutil.copy(
+                                os.path.join(output_dir, wheel_file),
+                                self._wheel_dir,
+                            )
+                        except OSError as e:
+                            logger.warning(
+                                "Building wheel for %s failed: %s",
+                                req.name, e,
+                            )
+                            build_failure.append(req)
+                            continue
+                    self.wheel_filenames.append(
+                        os.path.relpath(wheel_file, output_dir)
+                    )
+                    build_success.append(req)
                 else:
                     build_failure.append(req)
 
diff --git a/tests/functional/test_wheel.py b/tests/functional/test_wheel.py
index 92f2c9ef479..b123d0693cd 100644
--- a/tests/functional/test_wheel.py
+++ b/tests/functional/test_wheel.py
@@ -62,6 +62,30 @@ def test_pip_wheel_success(script, data):
     assert "Successfully built simple" in result.stdout, result.stdout
 
 
+def test_pip_wheel_build_cache(script, data):
+    """
+    Test 'pip wheel' builds and caches.
+    """
+    result = script.pip(
+        'wheel', '--no-index', '-f', data.find_links,
+        'simple==3.0',
+    )
+    wheel_file_name = 'simple-3.0-py%s-none-any.whl' % pyversion[0]
+    wheel_file_path = script.scratch / wheel_file_name
+    assert wheel_file_path in result.files_created, result.stdout
+    assert "Successfully built simple" in result.stdout, result.stdout
+    # remove target file
+    (script.scratch_path / wheel_file_name).unlink()
+    # pip wheel again and test that no build occurs since
+    # we get the wheel from cache
+    result = script.pip(
+        'wheel', '--no-index', '-f', data.find_links,
+        'simple==3.0',
+    )
+    assert wheel_file_path in result.files_created, result.stdout
+    assert "Successfully built simple" not in result.stdout, result.stdout
+
+
 def test_basic_pip_wheel_downloads_wheels(script, data):
     """
     Test 'pip wheel' downloads wheels