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Columbia, MO building permit statistics

Data through September 2026 · updated 19 Oct 2026

6,252 building permits issued in Columbia, October 2024 through September 2026: about 3,126 a year. The biggest kind of work is HVAC, with 1,759. 3,296 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 12% more than the 2,956 in the 12 months before. 72% were permits for homes. The busiest month for permits is July.

6,252permits issued
3,296last 12 months
+12%vs the 12 months before
72%for homes
Julbusiest 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
HVAC1,75928%899860+5%66%July
Electrical1,01616%516500+3%51%March
Roofing96815%616352+75%84%April
New homes74312%364379−4%100%March
Remodels & repairs60510%320285+12%91%January
Plumbing5359%276259+7%22%November
Solar2474%90157−43%100%August
Garages, sheds & shade structures1573%9166+38%94%July
Additions1172%5958+2%100%August

Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: demolition (38), pools & spas (28), ADUs & casitas (16), fences & walls (11), other (12).

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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)37102,840
2025122,9742,974
2026 (through September)92,5683,424

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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: 270Oct2024Nov 2024: 237Dec 2024: 203Jan 2025: 201Jan2025Feb 2025: 168Mar 2025: 284Apr 2025: 251May 2025: 253Jun 2025: 249Jul 2025: 292JulAug 2025: 260Sep 2025: 288Oct 2025: 271Nov 2025: 225Dec 2025: 232Jan 2026: 204Jan2026Feb 2026: 250Mar 2026: 326Apr 2026: 300May 2026: 290Jun 2026: 331Jul 2026: 329JulAug 2026: 297Sep 2026: 241
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Oct 2024270
Nov 2024237
Dec 2024203
Jan 2025201
Feb 2025168
Mar 2025284
Apr 2025251
May 2025253
Jun 2025249
Jul 2025292
Aug 2025260
Sep 2025288
Oct 2025271
Nov 2025225
Dec 2025232
Jan 2026204
Feb 2026250
Mar 2026326
Apr 2026300
May 2026290
Jun 2026331
Jul 2026329
Aug 2026297
Sep 2026241

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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.

HVAC

1,759 permits · busiest July, quietest February

January: 81 (100 = an average month)February: 68 (100 = an average month)March: 106 (100 = an average month)April: 102 (100 = an average month)May: 116 (100 = an average month)June: 128 (100 = an average month)July: 138 (100 = an average month)138August: 100 (100 = an average month)September: 94 (100 = an average month)October: 102 (100 = an average month)November: 84 (100 = an average month)December: 82 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Electrical

1,016 permits · busiest March, quietest December

January: 79 (100 = an average month)February: 87 (100 = an average month)March: 149 (100 = an average month)149April: 122 (100 = an average month)May: 79 (100 = an average month)June: 113 (100 = an average month)July: 149 (100 = an average month)August: 110 (100 = an average month)September: 89 (100 = an average month)October: 90 (100 = an average month)November: 77 (100 = an average month)December: 57 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Roofing

968 permits · busiest April, quietest January

January: 66 (100 = an average month)February: 93 (100 = an average month)March: 128 (100 = an average month)April: 135 (100 = an average month)135May: 119 (100 = an average month)June: 112 (100 = an average month)July: 114 (100 = an average month)August: 113 (100 = an average month)September: 103 (100 = an average month)October: 76 (100 = an average month)November: 74 (100 = an average month)December: 68 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

New homes

743 permits · busiest March, quietest January

January: 68 (100 = an average month)February: 105 (100 = an average month)March: 137 (100 = an average month)137April: 78 (100 = an average month)May: 100 (100 = an average month)June: 113 (100 = an average month)July: 97 (100 = an average month)August: 108 (100 = an average month)September: 95 (100 = an average month)October: 132 (100 = an average month)November: 73 (100 = an average month)December: 94 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Remodels & repairs

605 permits · busiest January, quietest February

January: 117 (100 = an average month)117February: 75 (100 = an average month)March: 105 (100 = an average month)April: 93 (100 = an average month)May: 113 (100 = an average month)June: 101 (100 = an average month)July: 105 (100 = an average month)August: 79 (100 = an average month)September: 103 (100 = an average month)October: 109 (100 = an average month)November: 87 (100 = an average month)December: 111 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Plumbing

535 permits · busiest November, quietest February

January: 81 (100 = an average month)February: 76 (100 = an average month)March: 117 (100 = an average month)April: 112 (100 = an average month)May: 92 (100 = an average month)June: 90 (100 = an average month)July: 99 (100 = an average month)August: 96 (100 = an average month)September: 110 (100 = an average month)October: 117 (100 = an average month)November: 128 (100 = an average month)128December: 83 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Solar

247 permits · busiest August, quietest May

January: 58 (100 = an average month)February: 58 (100 = an average month)March: 49 (100 = an average month)April: 44 (100 = an average month)May: 34 (100 = an average month)June: 58 (100 = an average month)July: 44 (100 = an average month)August: 214 (100 = an average month)214September: 151 (100 = an average month)October: 141 (100 = an average month)November: 185 (100 = an average month)December: 165 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Garages, sheds & shade structures

157 permits · busiest July, quietest February

January: 69 (100 = an average month)February: 15 (100 = an average month)March: 76 (100 = an average month)April: 99 (100 = an average month)May: 153 (100 = an average month)June: 69 (100 = an average month)July: 161 (100 = an average month)161August: 99 (100 = an average month)September: 115 (100 = an average month)October: 130 (100 = an average month)November: 122 (100 = an average month)December: 92 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
Kind of workJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
HVAC8168106102116128138100941028482
Electrical79871491227911314911089907757
Roofing6693128135119112114113103767468
New homes681051377810011397108951327394
Remodels & repairs11775105931131011057910310987111
Plumbing81761171129290999611011712883
Solar58584944345844214151141185165
Garages, sheds & shade structures69157699153691619911513012292

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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)4,49772%2,382
Other1,75528%914

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How many permits get finished

Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025, so each has had at least 12 months to reach a final. Finished means the city recorded a final inspection or marked it complete; expired means it lapsed without one.

StatusPermitsShare
Finished1,66356.3%
Still open67822.9%
Expired61520.8%

How long each kind of permit takes →

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By ZIP code

The 3 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
652033,08949%HVAC (980)
652021,70627%HVAC (415)
652011,45623%HVAC (364)

All 3 ZIP codes with 250+ permits →

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How Columbia 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 Columbia GIS, Building Permit Application Status (ArcGIS layer behind the city's Development Permits Viewer), read 19 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.

Building and trade permits the City of Columbia issues inside city limits for homes and other non-commercial work: new houses, duplexes and townhouses, home alterations and additions, re-roofs, heating and cooling, electrical, plumbing and gas, residential solar, decks and foundation repair. Commercial building permits, right-of-way and utility permits, fire systems, signs and grading in the same file are not counted, and neither is unincorporated Boone County, which issues its own permits.

  • The city's file names no contractor on permits issued since its 2018 system change, so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Columbia.
  • The city doesn't split trade and re-roof permits into homes and businesses; we count one as a home permit when the lot is zoned for one- or two-family homes or manufactured homes, or the permit's description names a house.
  • A new house gets separate electrical, mechanical and plumbing sub-permits, so one project can count several times, once under each kind of work.
  • The value is the valuation on the permit; many trade permits carry none.
  • A final date is the city's finaled date. Trade sub-permits under a building permit add no days, because the file dates most of them on the day they closed; permits that expired carry no final date even where the file shows one.

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, "Columbia, MO building permit statistics", https://contractorrecords.com/columbia-mo/permit-statistics, data through September 2026, from the City of Columbia Community Development Department 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 · How many get finished · 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 · Finished, open and expired · Permits by ZIP code.

Common questions

  • How many building permits does Columbia issue a year?About 3,126 a year in Columbia: 6,252 permits over 24 months, October 2024 through September 2026. 3,296 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 12% more than the 2,956 in the 12 months before.
  • Are building permits up or down in Columbia?3,296 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 12% more than the 2,956 in the 12 months before. Roofing permits grew most (352 to 616); solar permits fell most (157 to 90).
  • What is the busiest month for permits in Columbia?July, counting every kind of work (119 against an average month of 100). January is the quietest (78). Each kind of work has its own season; the charts above show them.
  • What share of Columbia permits are for homes?72%: 4,497 of the 6,252 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026 were residential permits.
Columbia permit data →How long permits take in Columbia →Columbia HVAC permits →Columbia electrical permits →Columbia roofing permits →Browse Columbia permits →