Every trade card above opens a list of every contractor who pulled that kind of permit in Chicago, October 2023 through September 2026: 8,623 firm listings across 13 kinds of work and 51,700 permits in all. Each row shows how many permits the firm filed, how many the city closed out, its usual filed job value and, where the state keeps one, whether its license matches. Names link to the firm's own page with its permits.
The busiest trades on the Chicago record are electrical (12,436 permits from 855 firms), renovation (7,764 permits from 2,592 firms), plumbing (6,680 permits from 645 firms). The smallest file is windows & doors, with 497 permits from 296 firms, so its lists are short and each firm's record is thin.
Before you call anyone, see what jobs usually cost here, from the values filed on the permits: renovation cost, solar cost, garage cost, roofing cost, fence cost, interior remodel cost, new home cost, porch & deck cost, windows & doors cost.
Nobody at our end ranks anyone. You move five sliders: does exactly this work (how many permits of this kind the firm filed), finishes the job (where the file records it, the share of its permits that passed a final inspection), fits my job & budget (how close its usual job is to yours), busy lately (permits in the last 12 months) and works near me (permits near your ZIP code). Each firm gets a 0–100 fit score from those weights and the list re-sorts as you drag. A short record counts for less, and a license problem puts a firm at the bottom whatever its score. No one can pay to be listed or moved up.
Looking for one company? All Chicago firms A–Z. Want the totals? Chicago permit statistics.