Data through September 2026 · updated 19 Oct 2026
8,855 building permits issued in Durham, October 2024 through September 2026: about 4,428 a year. The biggest kind of work is new homes, with 4,838. 4,213 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 9% fewer than the 4,642 in the 12 months before. 100% were permits for homes. The busiest month for permits is May.
What this file covers: Building permits only: electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are not in the file.
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 work | Permits | Share | Last 12 mo | 12 mo before | Change | Homes | Busiest month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New homes | 4,838 | 55% | 2,218 | 2,620 | −15% | 100% | May |
| Remodels & repairs | 1,695 | 19% | 877 | 818 | +7% | 100% | May |
| Additions | 809 | 9% | 370 | 439 | −16% | 100% | September |
| Solar | 534 | 6% | 228 | 306 | −25% | 100% | October |
| Garages, sheds & shade structures | 233 | 3% | 111 | 122 | −9% | 100% | July |
| Demolition | 192 | 2% | 128 | 64 | +100% | 100% | May |
| Pools & spas | 104 | 1% | 53 | 51 | +4% | 100% | June |
| Other | 332 | 4% | 168 | 164 | +2% | 100% | July |
Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: ADUs & casitas (92), roofing (19), fences & walls (7).
Permits issued in each calendar year of the window. Per year scales a part year to 12 months.
| Year | Months | Permits | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 (from October) | 3 | 976 | 3,904 |
| 2025 | 12 | 4,719 | 4,719 |
| 2026 (through September) | 9 | 3,160 | 4,213 |
Permits issued each month, October 2024 through September 2026. The tallest bar is the busiest month on file.
| Month | Permits |
|---|---|
| Oct 2024 | 314 |
| Nov 2024 | 357 |
| Dec 2024 | 305 |
| Jan 2025 | 329 |
| Feb 2025 | 411 |
| Mar 2025 | 377 |
| Apr 2025 | 358 |
| May 2025 | 552 |
| Jun 2025 | 404 |
| Jul 2025 | 438 |
| Aug 2025 | 378 |
| Sep 2025 | 419 |
| Oct 2025 | 510 |
| Nov 2025 | 306 |
| Dec 2025 | 237 |
| Jan 2026 | 175 |
| Feb 2026 | 322 |
| Mar 2026 | 381 |
| Apr 2026 | 387 |
| May 2026 | 418 |
| Jun 2026 | 394 |
| Jul 2026 | 375 |
| Aug 2026 | 355 |
| Sep 2026 | 353 |
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.
4,838 permits · busiest May, quietest December
1,695 permits · busiest May, quietest January
809 permits · busiest September, quietest June
534 permits · busiest October, quietest June
233 permits · busiest July, quietest January
192 permits · busiest May, quietest January
104 permits · busiest June, quietest December
| Kind of work | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New homes | 75 | 97 | 114 | 110 | 131 | 128 | 102 | 104 | 87 | 93 | 98 | 61 |
| Remodels & repairs | 51 | 96 | 96 | 93 | 163 | 97 | 121 | 84 | 124 | 118 | 74 | 82 |
| Additions | 83 | 114 | 89 | 86 | 107 | 68 | 111 | 89 | 133 | 104 | 104 | 111 |
| Solar | 79 | 106 | 85 | 72 | 74 | 70 | 90 | 85 | 106 | 258 | 81 | 94 |
| Garages, sheds & shade structures | 57 | 82 | 98 | 82 | 103 | 82 | 144 | 124 | 124 | 113 | 88 | 103 |
| Demolition | 31 | 156 | 69 | 88 | 194 | 81 | 100 | 156 | 181 | 56 | 56 | 31 |
| Pools & spas | 81 | 104 | 92 | 115 | 92 | 138 | 138 | 92 | 81 | 81 | 115 | 69 |
How the city classed each permit. Other covers commercial buildings, signs, towers and similar work.
| Permit class | Permits | Share | Last 12 mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes (residential) | 8,855 | 100% | 4,213 |
| Other | 0 | 0% | 0 |
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. The file doesn't mark permits expired, so a lapsed permit still reads open.
| Status | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Finished | 4,052 | 87.3% |
| Still open | 590 | 12.7% |
From our cross-city data studies: the same measure, read the same way, for every city we cover.
Permit statistics for other places in Raleigh–Durham. Each permit office keeps its own file, so the numbers are not added together.
Source: City and County of Durham GIS, All Building Permits (PublicServices/Inspections MapServer layer 12; Durham Open Data), read 19 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.
Residential building permits from Durham City-County Inspections, the joint office that issues permits for the City of Durham and for unincorporated Durham County: new houses, townhouses and duplexes, additions, alterations, repairs, decks, roofs, accessory buildings and demolitions. Commercial permits and buildings of five or more units in the same file are not counted. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are not in this file. Chapel Hill, Raleigh and the other Triangle towns run their own permit offices and are not in this file.
Counts are permits, not jobs: one job can need several permits. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. Sources and definitions →
Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please credit Contractor Records and link to this page. Suggested citation:
Contractor Records, "Durham, NC building permit statistics", https://contractorrecords.com/durham/permit-statistics, data through September 2026, from Durham City-County Inspections 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.
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.