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Suburban Cook County, IL building permit statistics

Data through December 2025 · updated 20 Oct 2026

179,885 building permits issued in suburban Cook County, January 2024 through December 2025: about 89,942 a year. The biggest kind of work is remodels & repairs, with 36,624. 88,281 permits in the last 12 months on file (Jan 2025–Dec 2025), 4% fewer than the 91,604 in the 12 months before. 85% were permits for homes. The busiest month for permits is May.

What this file covers: This is the Cook County Assessor's copy of the permits the suburbs send in, so it holds only the permits a suburb reported. About 10% of suburbs had not sent their 2026 permits when it was read, so the counts end in December 2025.

179,885permits issued
88,281last 12 months on file
−4%vs the 12 months before
85%for homes
Maybusiest month
Dec 2025records through

By kind of work

Permits issued January 2024 through December 2025. Last 12 months on file is Jan 2025–Dec 2025; the 12 months before is Jan 2024–Dec 2024. 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
Remodels & repairs36,62420%18,18818,436−1%100%June
Roofing33,05918%14,75618,303−19%94%July
Fences & walls16,5609%8,1468,414−3%95%April
Plumbing15,1708%7,9507,220+10%89%April
HVAC10,7356%5,3595,3760%91%July
Electrical7,9094%4,0243,885+4%82%October
Solar6,5554%2,9523,603−18%97%August
Garages, sheds & shade structures6,0353%2,8073,228−13%100%May
Demolition2,5491%1,3311,218+9%76%May
Additions1,723under 1%883840+5%100%April
Pools & spas1,196under 1%612584+5%94%May
New homes1,009under 1%5055040%100%August
Other40,76123%20,76819,993+4%55%May

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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
20241291,60491,604
20251288,28188,281

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By month

Permits issued each month, January 2024 through December 2025. The tallest bar is the busiest month on file.

Jan 2024: 3,956Jan2024Feb 2024: 5,046Mar 2024: 6,871Apr 2024: 8,578May 2024: 9,323Jun 2024: 9,422Jul 2024: 9,392JulAug 2024: 9,423Sep 2024: 8,619Oct 2024: 9,853Nov 2024: 6,416Dec 2024: 4,705Jan 2025: 4,591Jan2025Feb 2025: 4,224Mar 2025: 6,791Apr 2025: 10,024May 2025: 9,689Jun 2025: 8,790Jul 2025: 9,246JulAug 2025: 8,442Sep 2025: 8,757Oct 2025: 8,124Nov 2025: 5,652Dec 2025: 3,951
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Jan 20243,956
Feb 20245,046
Mar 20246,871
Apr 20248,578
May 20249,323
Jun 20249,422
Jul 20249,392
Aug 20249,423
Sep 20248,619
Oct 20249,853
Nov 20246,416
Dec 20244,705
Jan 20254,591
Feb 20254,224
Mar 20256,791
Apr 202510,024
May 20259,689
Jun 20258,790
Jul 20259,246
Aug 20258,442
Sep 20258,757
Oct 20258,124
Nov 20255,652
Dec 20253,951

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When each kind of work is filed

Permits by calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line), January 2024 through December 2025. Kinds of work do not all peak together. Each month is counted twice (once a year), so one unusual month still moves these numbers.

Remodels & repairs

36,624 permits · busiest June, quietest December

January: 71 (100 = an average month)February: 76 (100 = an average month)March: 93 (100 = an average month)April: 116 (100 = an average month)May: 114 (100 = an average month)June: 119 (100 = an average month)119July: 116 (100 = an average month)August: 109 (100 = an average month)September: 114 (100 = an average month)October: 118 (100 = an average month)November: 86 (100 = an average month)December: 67 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Roofing

33,059 permits · busiest July, quietest January

January: 29 (100 = an average month)February: 42 (100 = an average month)March: 91 (100 = an average month)April: 119 (100 = an average month)May: 126 (100 = an average month)June: 122 (100 = an average month)July: 146 (100 = an average month)146August: 135 (100 = an average month)September: 136 (100 = an average month)October: 140 (100 = an average month)November: 84 (100 = an average month)December: 30 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Fences & walls

16,560 permits · busiest April, quietest January

January: 22 (100 = an average month)February: 35 (100 = an average month)March: 99 (100 = an average month)April: 175 (100 = an average month)175May: 175 (100 = an average month)June: 148 (100 = an average month)July: 125 (100 = an average month)August: 112 (100 = an average month)September: 97 (100 = an average month)October: 99 (100 = an average month)November: 64 (100 = an average month)December: 51 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Plumbing

15,170 permits · busiest April, quietest November

January: 95 (100 = an average month)February: 91 (100 = an average month)March: 111 (100 = an average month)April: 114 (100 = an average month)114May: 100 (100 = an average month)June: 105 (100 = an average month)July: 98 (100 = an average month)August: 105 (100 = an average month)September: 105 (100 = an average month)October: 106 (100 = an average month)November: 83 (100 = an average month)December: 86 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

HVAC

10,735 permits · busiest July, quietest February

January: 103 (100 = an average month)February: 75 (100 = an average month)March: 77 (100 = an average month)April: 91 (100 = an average month)May: 112 (100 = an average month)June: 115 (100 = an average month)July: 131 (100 = an average month)131August: 102 (100 = an average month)September: 89 (100 = an average month)October: 119 (100 = an average month)November: 87 (100 = an average month)December: 99 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Electrical

7,909 permits · busiest October, quietest February

January: 78 (100 = an average month)February: 77 (100 = an average month)March: 96 (100 = an average month)April: 116 (100 = an average month)May: 98 (100 = an average month)June: 107 (100 = an average month)July: 99 (100 = an average month)August: 123 (100 = an average month)September: 109 (100 = an average month)October: 124 (100 = an average month)124November: 89 (100 = an average month)December: 86 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Solar

6,555 permits · busiest August, quietest March

January: 78 (100 = an average month)February: 64 (100 = an average month)March: 55 (100 = an average month)April: 76 (100 = an average month)May: 85 (100 = an average month)June: 104 (100 = an average month)July: 122 (100 = an average month)August: 155 (100 = an average month)155September: 153 (100 = an average month)October: 138 (100 = an average month)November: 97 (100 = an average month)December: 71 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Garages, sheds & shade structures

6,035 permits · busiest May, quietest February

January: 34 (100 = an average month)February: 33 (100 = an average month)March: 84 (100 = an average month)April: 137 (100 = an average month)May: 154 (100 = an average month)154June: 139 (100 = an average month)July: 139 (100 = an average month)August: 119 (100 = an average month)September: 122 (100 = an average month)October: 129 (100 = an average month)November: 75 (100 = an average month)December: 36 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
Kind of workJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Remodels & repairs7176931161141191161091141188667
Roofing2942911191261221461351361408430
Fences & walls22359917517514812511297996451
Plumbing9591111114100105981051051068386
HVAC103757791112115131102891198799
Electrical78779611698107991231091248986
Solar78645576851041221551531389771
Garages, sheds & shade structures3433841371541391391191221297536

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Homes and everything else

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

Permit classPermitsShareLast 12 mo
Homes (residential)153,70885%74,509
Other26,17715%13,772

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How Suburban Cook County compares with other cities

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

Nearby permit data

Permit statistics for other places in Chicago. Each permit office keeps its own file, so the numbers are not added together.

Chicago, ILNaperville, ILWheaton, IL

How these numbers are made

Source: Cook County Assessor's Office, Assessor - Permits (Cook County Open Data, dataset 6yjf-dfxs), read 20 Oct 2026. We count permits issued January 2024 through December 2025; denied and withdrawn permits are left out. The file carries no usable permit status, so it can't say which permits were finished, so no finished share is shown.

Building permits from the suburbs of Cook County (Evanston, Schaumburg, Berwyn, Cicero, Oak Park, Des Plaines, Orland Park, Skokie and about 115 other cities, villages and towns, plus unincorporated areas), as the suburbs report them to the Cook County Assessor. Chicago is not counted here: it has its own pages on this site. Each suburb issues its own permits; this file is the Assessor's copy, so it holds only the permits a suburb sent in.

  • The file names no contractor (the applicant is usually the homeowner), so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages here.
  • Suburbs send their permits to the Assessor weeks to months after issue, and by October 2026 about a tenth of them had not yet sent 2026 permits, so the window ends in December 2025, the last month with near-complete reporting.
  • The file's status is the Assessor's own review of each permit for property tax, not a final inspection, and the file has no final dates, so we show no finished share and no time to final; every permit is listed as open.
  • The kind of work comes from each suburb's short work description, which the Assessor calls more reliable than its own codes. Driveways, patios, decks, signs and fire alarm work fall under Other.
  • The value is the job value the suburb recorded on the permit.
  • The file has no ZIP code we can publish, so there are no ZIP code pages.
  • A permit that covers several parcels (a condo building, say) is counted once.

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, "Suburban Cook County, IL building permit statistics", https://contractorrecords.com/cook-county/permit-statistics, data through December 2025, from the suburbs of Cook County (as reported to the Cook County Assessor's Office) 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.

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

Common questions

  • How many building permits does Suburban Cook County issue a year?About 89,942 a year in suburban Cook County: 179,885 permits over 24 months, January 2024 through December 2025. 88,281 permits in the last 12 months on file (Jan 2025–Dec 2025), 4% fewer than the 91,604 in the 12 months before.
  • Are building permits up or down in Suburban Cook County?88,281 permits in the last 12 months on file (Jan 2025–Dec 2025), 4% fewer than the 91,604 in the 12 months before. Plumbing permits grew most (7,220 to 7,950); roofing permits fell most (18,303 to 14,756).
  • What is the busiest month for permits in Suburban Cook County?May, counting every kind of work (127 against an average month of 100). January is the quietest (57). Each kind of work has its own season; the charts above show them.
  • What share of Suburban Cook County permits are for homes?85%: 153,708 of the 179,885 permits issued January 2024 through December 2025 were residential permits.
Suburban Cook County permit data →Suburban Cook County remodel and repair permits →Suburban Cook County roofing permits →Suburban Cook County fence and wall permits →Browse Suburban Cook County permits →