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Buffalo, NY building permit statistics

Data through September 2026 · updated 18 Oct 2026

23,383 building permits issued in Buffalo, October 2024 through September 2026: about 11,692 a year. The biggest kind of work is electrical, with 6,358. 11,557 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 2% fewer than the 11,826 in the 12 months before. 77% were permits for homes. The busiest month for permits is October.

23,383permits issued
11,557last 12 months
−2%vs the 12 months before
77%for homes
Octbusiest month
Sep 2026records through

By kind of work

Permits issued October 2024 through September 2026. Last 12 months is Oct 2025–Sep 2026; the 12 months before is Oct 2024–Sep 2025. Homes is the share issued as residential permits. Busiest month is the calendar month with the most permits on average.

Kind of workPermitsShareLast 12 mo12 mo beforeChangeHomesBusiest month
Electrical6,35827%3,1703,188−1%75%October
Plumbing5,18622%2,6942,492+8%80%April
HVAC3,41315%1,7061,7070%80%October
Roofing3,36314%1,5491,814−15%89%October
Remodels & repairs2,34910%1,1341,215−7%100%July
Solar230under 1%15476+103%82%May
Garages, sheds & shade structures155under 1%6689−26%100%May
Additions124under 1%7549+53%100%April
Other2,0129%9331,079−14%20%August

Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: demolition (91), fences & walls (58), new homes (22), pools & spas (22).

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By year

Permits issued in each calendar year of the window. Per year scales a part year to 12 months.

YearMonthsPermitsPer year
2024 (from October)32,87211,488
20251212,37812,378
2026 (through September)98,13310,844

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By month

Permits issued each month, October 2024 through September 2026. The tallest bar is the busiest month on file.

Oct 2024: 1,254Oct2024Nov 2024: 858Dec 2024: 760Jan 2025: 772Jan2025Feb 2025: 733Mar 2025: 872Apr 2025: 1,114May 2025: 994Jun 2025: 1,112Jul 2025: 1,144JulAug 2025: 1,018Sep 2025: 1,195Oct 2025: 1,287Nov 2025: 1,089Dec 2025: 1,048Jan 2026: 715Jan2026Feb 2026: 742Mar 2026: 902Apr 2026: 979May 2026: 894Jun 2026: 977Jul 2026: 967JulAug 2026: 957Sep 2026: 1,000
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Oct 20241,254
Nov 2024858
Dec 2024760
Jan 2025772
Feb 2025733
Mar 2025872
Apr 20251,114
May 2025994
Jun 20251,112
Jul 20251,144
Aug 20251,018
Sep 20251,195
Oct 20251,287
Nov 20251,089
Dec 20251,048
Jan 2026715
Feb 2026742
Mar 2026902
Apr 2026979
May 2026894
Jun 2026977
Jul 2026967
Aug 2026957
Sep 20261,000

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When each kind of work is filed

Permits by calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line), October 2024 through September 2026. Kinds of work do not all peak together. Each month is counted twice (once a year), so one unusual month still moves these numbers.

Electrical

6,358 permits · busiest October, quietest February

January: 92 (100 = an average month)February: 80 (100 = an average month)March: 82 (100 = an average month)April: 100 (100 = an average month)May: 86 (100 = an average month)June: 100 (100 = an average month)July: 102 (100 = an average month)August: 91 (100 = an average month)September: 101 (100 = an average month)October: 130 (100 = an average month)130November: 121 (100 = an average month)December: 115 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Plumbing

5,186 permits · busiest April, quietest November

January: 85 (100 = an average month)February: 90 (100 = an average month)March: 116 (100 = an average month)April: 117 (100 = an average month)117May: 110 (100 = an average month)June: 110 (100 = an average month)July: 90 (100 = an average month)August: 101 (100 = an average month)September: 112 (100 = an average month)October: 99 (100 = an average month)November: 75 (100 = an average month)December: 95 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

HVAC

3,413 permits · busiest October, quietest May

January: 108 (100 = an average month)February: 107 (100 = an average month)March: 100 (100 = an average month)April: 83 (100 = an average month)May: 68 (100 = an average month)June: 85 (100 = an average month)July: 77 (100 = an average month)August: 89 (100 = an average month)September: 99 (100 = an average month)October: 149 (100 = an average month)149November: 115 (100 = an average month)December: 121 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Roofing

3,363 permits · busiest October, quietest January

January: 32 (100 = an average month)February: 34 (100 = an average month)March: 71 (100 = an average month)April: 120 (100 = an average month)May: 113 (100 = an average month)June: 124 (100 = an average month)July: 142 (100 = an average month)August: 106 (100 = an average month)September: 145 (100 = an average month)October: 156 (100 = an average month)156November: 103 (100 = an average month)December: 54 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Remodels & repairs

2,349 permits · busiest July, quietest January

January: 57 (100 = an average month)February: 62 (100 = an average month)March: 84 (100 = an average month)April: 106 (100 = an average month)May: 102 (100 = an average month)June: 116 (100 = an average month)July: 159 (100 = an average month)159August: 113 (100 = an average month)September: 123 (100 = an average month)October: 136 (100 = an average month)November: 86 (100 = an average month)December: 57 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Solar

230 permits · busiest May, quietest January

January: 57 (100 = an average month)February: 89 (100 = an average month)March: 99 (100 = an average month)April: 120 (100 = an average month)May: 130 (100 = an average month)130June: 99 (100 = an average month)July: 57 (100 = an average month)August: 78 (100 = an average month)September: 120 (100 = an average month)October: 125 (100 = an average month)November: 125 (100 = an average month)December: 99 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Garages, sheds & shade structures

155 permits · busiest May, quietest January

January: 15 (100 = an average month)February: 54 (100 = an average month)March: 39 (100 = an average month)April: 108 (100 = an average month)May: 186 (100 = an average month)186June: 155 (100 = an average month)July: 116 (100 = an average month)August: 132 (100 = an average month)September: 124 (100 = an average month)October: 163 (100 = an average month)November: 54 (100 = an average month)December: 54 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Additions

124 permits · busiest April, quietest January

January: 29 (100 = an average month)February: 48 (100 = an average month)March: 145 (100 = an average month)April: 165 (100 = an average month)165May: 77 (100 = an average month)June: 87 (100 = an average month)July: 126 (100 = an average month)August: 106 (100 = an average month)September: 126 (100 = an average month)October: 145 (100 = an average month)November: 68 (100 = an average month)December: 77 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
Kind of workJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Electrical9280821008610010291101130121115
Plumbing859011611711011090101112997595
HVAC108107100836885778999149115121
Roofing32347112011312414210614515610354
Remodels & repairs5762841061021161591131231368657
Solar57899912013099577812012512599
Garages, sheds & shade structures1554391081861551161321241635454
Additions294814516577871261061261456877

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Homes and everything else

How the city classed each permit. Other covers commercial buildings, signs, towers and similar work.

Permit classPermitsShareLast 12 mo
Homes (residential)18,00377%8,961
Other5,38023%2,596

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By ZIP code

The 10 ZIP codes with the most permits, counted at the property's ZIP code. A ZIP code can cross into a city that runs its own permit office; only the city's permits are counted.

ZIP codePermitsShareTop kind of work
142152,98713%Electrical (980)
142162,48211%Plumbing (682)
142131,9138%Electrical (479)
142141,8678%Electrical (496)
142111,8538%Electrical (597)
142201,8448%Plumbing (468)
142071,8128%Electrical (440)
142061,3486%Electrical (393)
142221,2815%Plumbing (308)
142101,0074%Electrical (318)

All 17 ZIP codes with 250+ permits →

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How Buffalo compares with other cities

From our cross-city data studies: the same measure, read the same way, for every city we cover.

How these numbers are made

Source: City of Buffalo Open Data, Permits dataset 9p2d-f3yt, read 18 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out. The city's public file has no permit status and no final inspection date, only an expiration date, so no finished share is shown.

Building, electrical, plumbing, heating, demolition and other construction permits the City of Buffalo Department of Permit and Inspection Services issues inside city limits. Special use and change of use permits in the same file are not counted. Buffalo's suburbs (Amherst, Cheektowaga, Tonawanda and the rest of Erie County) run their own permit offices and are not in this file.

  • The file has no permit status and no final inspection date, so we show neither a finished share nor time to final.
  • The value is the value of work written on the permit, not the final cost of the job.
  • General repair permits cover roofing, siding, porches and other exterior work; we sort them into roofing and the other kinds of work by the permit's description.
  • The contractor names come from the city's licensed contractors list, matched on the licence number on the permit; permits with no licence number, or one not on the list, name no firm here.
  • A house job can need separate building, electrical, plumbing and heating permits, so one project can count several times, once under each kind of work.

Counts are permits, not jobs: one job can need several permits. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. Sources and definitions →

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please credit Contractor Records and link to this page. Suggested citation:

Contractor Records, "Buffalo, NY building permit statistics", https://contractorrecords.com/buffalo/permit-statistics, data through September 2026, from the City of Buffalo Department of Permit and Inspection Services building-permit records.

Link to a table: By kind of work · By year · By month · When each kind of work is filed · Homes and everything else · By ZIP code.

Download the tables (CSV): Permits by kind of work · Permits by year · Permits by month · Permits by calendar month (index) · Homes and other permits · Permits by ZIP code.

Common questions

  • How many building permits does Buffalo issue a year?About 11,692 a year in Buffalo: 23,383 permits over 24 months, October 2024 through September 2026. 11,557 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 2% fewer than the 11,826 in the 12 months before.
  • Are building permits up or down in Buffalo?11,557 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 2% fewer than the 11,826 in the 12 months before. Plumbing permits grew most (2,492 to 2,694); roofing permits fell most (1,814 to 1,549).
  • What is the busiest month for permits in Buffalo?October, counting every kind of work (130 against an average month of 100). January is the quietest (76). Each kind of work has its own season; the charts above show them.
  • What share of Buffalo permits are for homes?77%: 18,003 of the 23,383 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026 were residential permits.
Buffalo permit data →Buffalo electrical permits →Buffalo plumbing permits →Buffalo HVAC permits →Browse Buffalo permits →