- Roofing: usual filed value $16,314 across 24 cities; the highest city figure (Palo Alto, CA, $21,400) is 2.0 times the lowest (Cleveland, OH, $10,500).
- HVAC: usual filed value $9,946 across 24 cities; the highest city figure (New York City, NY, $50,000) is 16.7 times the lowest (Colorado Springs, CO, $3,000).
- Remodel: usual filed value $21,073 across 41 cities; the highest city figure (Naperville, IL, $46,300) is 5.4 times the lowest (Denton, TX, $8,500).
- New home: usual filed value $359,500 across 37 cities; the highest city figure (Bellevue, WA, $948,071) is 7.6 times the lowest (Somerville, MA, $125,000).
- Solar: usual filed value $23,644 across 32 cities; the highest city figure (New York City, NY, $37,400) is 7.5 times the lowest (Saint Paul, MN, $5,000).
"Usual" is the median filed value: half of the permits in that trade were filed for less, half for more. It is what was written on the permit, so treat it as the size of the typical job in that place, not a price you will be quoted.
The short version: each job across cities
"Usual across cities" is the middle of the city figures. Lowest and highest link to that city's cost page for the job.
| Job | Cities | Usual across cities | Lowest city | Highest city |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roofing | 24 | $16,314 | Cleveland, OH ($10,500) | Palo Alto, CA ($21,400) |
| HVAC | 24 | $9,946 | Colorado Springs, CO ($3,000) | New York City, NY ($50,000) |
| Remodel | 41 | $21,073 | Denton, TX ($8,500) | Naperville, IL ($46,300) |
| New home | 37 | $359,500 | Somerville, MA ($125,000) | Bellevue, WA ($948,071) |
| Solar | 32 | $23,644 | Saint Paul, MN ($5,000) | New York City, NY ($37,400) |
Every city, every job
Figures link to that city's cost page for the job; city names link to its permit statistics. A dash means the city has no such trade, records no value on it, or fewer than 100 permits (or under 80% of them) carry one.
Why filed value is not price
- What gets written down differs. A roofing permit can carry the full contract, the materials only or a round estimate.
- What the permit covers differs. An HVAC permit can be one furnace swap or a full system with ductwork; a remodel permit in one city includes additions and in another excludes them (see the Notes column).
- Fee tables. Where an office sets the value from floor area and a standard rate, the figure tracks size, not price. We left out the two places where that is the rule for all permits (Henderson and unincorporated San Diego County).
The most useful comparison is inside one city: what a contractor usually files against the city's usual figure for the same trade. Every compare page shows that per firm. For a deeper look at one job, see our guides to roof replacement cost, HVAC replacement cost, home remodel cost, new home construction cost and solar panel installation cost.
How we know this
What is counted. Permits on houses and small residential buildings (as each city's data allows) that name a contractor and carry a filed value, issued in the city's data window (three years to September 2026 in most cities; see the Notes column). Values under $100 (zeros and placeholders) are dropped before the median is taken.
Thresholds. A city-and-job figure is shown only when 100 or more permits carry a value and those are at least 80% of the trade's permits, the same rule as the city cost pages. Cities whose filed value is a fee-schedule figure (Henderson, unincorporated San Diego County) are left out.
Caveats. Values are not adjusted for inflation across the window. Trade names differ by city; the Notes column says where a column covers more than its name (remodel with additions, HVAC with boilers, roofing with siding). Saint Paul's and Honolulu's files end in June 2025, Scottsdale's in December 2025, Burlington's in March 2026 and Waco's in May 2026. Cape Coral's starts in January 2025. Marin County and Sacramento County are unincorporated-county permits only. Filed value is not a quote, not a final bill and not an appraisal.
Regenerating. The tables are built by seo/tools/studies.py from the same files as every city cost page.
Numbers come from public permit records in 53 cities, data through October 20, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Pick your city and see what each contractor usually files →
Questions
- Is the filed value what the job cost?
No. It is the value the contractor or owner wrote on the permit application. Some write the contract price, some write the cost of materials and labour only for the permitted part, and some offices calculate it from a fee table. It is a good guide to the usual size of a job in one city and a rough guide between cities.
- Why is HVAC so much higher in some cities?
Because the permit covers different work. New York City's HVAC permits include boilers, and its usual filed value is $50,000; Colorado Springs' HVAC and mechanical permits are filed at a usual $3,000. Check what your city's permit covers on its cost page before comparing.
- What is a typical roof replacement worth on a permit?
It depends on the city: the usual roofing permit is filed at $19,345 in Seattle, $16,250 in Miami and $12,000 in Colorado Springs. The full city list is in the table above.
- Why are some cities missing for some jobs?
We show a figure only when at least 100 permits in that trade carry a value and they make up at least 80% of the trade's permits (the same rule as our city cost pages). Several cities record no value on trade permits at all, and Henderson and unincorporated San Diego County record a fee-schedule figure rather than a job value, so they are left out.
- Where can I see the range, not just the usual figure?
Each figure links to that city's cost page for the trade, which shows the spread of filed values, the busiest firms and what each usually files, and a box to compare your own quote with every filed value.
Build your own list
Pick your city and the kind of work. Every firm with a permit on record, sorted by what you value.