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Remodel and repair permits in suburban Cook County, IL

Data through December 2025 · updated 20 Oct 2026

36,624 remodel and repair permits were issued in suburban Cook County, January 2024 through December 2025: about 18,312 a year and 20% of all permits. 18,188 remodel and repair permits in the last 12 months on file (Jan 2025–Dec 2025), about the same as the 18,436 in the 12 months before. The busiest month is June.

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.

36,624permits issued
18,188last 12 months on file
Junbusiest month
$9,000usual declared value
Dec 2025records through

Remodel and repair permits by month

Permits issued each month, January 2024 through December 2025.

Jan 2024: 1,007Jan2024Feb 2024: 1,308Mar 2024: 1,475Apr 2024: 1,722May 2024: 1,723Jun 2024: 1,983Jul 2024: 1,748JulAug 2024: 1,615Sep 2024: 1,609Oct 2024: 1,864Nov 2024: 1,313Dec 2024: 1,069Jan 2025: 1,150Jan2025Feb 2025: 1,019Mar 2025: 1,368Apr 2025: 1,828May 2025: 1,761Jun 2025: 1,656Jul 2025: 1,785JulAug 2025: 1,710Sep 2025: 1,876Oct 2025: 1,726Nov 2025: 1,323Dec 2025: 986
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Jan 20241,007
Feb 20241,308
Mar 20241,475
Apr 20241,722
May 20241,723
Jun 20241,983
Jul 20241,748
Aug 20241,615
Sep 20241,609
Oct 20241,864
Nov 20241,313
Dec 20241,069
Jan 20251,150
Feb 20251,019
Mar 20251,368
Apr 20251,828
May 20251,761
Jun 20251,656
Jul 20251,785
Aug 20251,710
Sep 20251,876
Oct 20251,726
Nov 20251,323
Dec 2025986

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When remodel and repair permits are filed

By calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line). June is the busiest (119), December the quietest (67). A busy month at the permit counter usually means a longer wait for a contractor.

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
The same numbers as a table
MonthIndex
January71
February76
March93
April116
May114
June119
July116
August109
September114
October118
November86
December67

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What a remodel and repair permit is declared at

The value written on the permit at application, from 35,902 permits with one. Not a quote and not the final bill.

MeasureValue
Usual declared value$9,000
Middle half$3,600–$20,880

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The county's own permit types

How the county filed these permits. We group its types into kinds of work; this is the split.

Permit typePermitsShare
Other - Remodeling22,51061%
Other - Minor New Construction8,06122%
Remodeling - Interior Only2,1796%
Remodeling - Exterior Only1,7475%
Basement Room - Rec Room7712%
(none)6652%
New Construction - Minor Imprvmt259under 1%
Attic Room - Bathrooms218under 1%
Major Improvement - Burnout119under 1%
Other - Major New Construction53under 1%

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Nearby permit data

Remodel and repair permits for other places in Chicago. Each permit office keeps its own file, so the numbers are not added together.

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, "Remodel and repair permits in suburban Cook County, IL", https://contractorrecords.com/cook-county/remodel-permits, 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 month · Season · Declared value · Permit types.

Download the tables (CSV): Remodels & repairs permits by month · Remodels & repairs permits by calendar month (index) · Remodels & repairs permits: declared value · Remodels & repairs permits by permit type.

Common questions

  • How many remodel and repair permits does Suburban Cook County issue a year?About 18,312 a year in suburban Cook County: 36,624 permits issued January 2024 through December 2025, 18,188 of them in the last 12 months on file (to December 2025).
  • When do people in Suburban Cook County file the most remodel and repair permits?June (119 against an average month of 100); December is the quietest (67). If you can choose, a quiet month at the permit counter can mean contractors have more room in their schedules.