What each job was filed at
"Usual" is the middle permit: half were filed for less, half for more. "Middle half of firms" takes every firm with three or more permits in the trade, finds each firm's usual job, and shows the band the middle 50% of firms sit in. A dash means fewer than eight firms qualify (firm band) or that we can't time the permit type from issue to final (days).
| Job | Usual filed value | Middle half of firms | Permits (share priced) | Usual days to final | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical work | $3,000 | $1,499–$5,000 | 915 (99.1%) | 70 | cost · compare firms |
| Water heater | $5,000 | $3,315–$6,400 | 851 (80.5%) | 50 | cost · compare firms |
| Foundation & seismic | $6,260 | $4,500–$21,606 | 148 (100.0%) | 130 | cost · compare firms |
| Plumbing & sewer | $9,413 | $5,688–$11,000 | 634 (98.4%) | 20 | cost · compare firms |
| Windows & doors | $12,852 | $9,474–$27,250 | 216 (100.0%) | 81 | cost · compare firms |
| HVAC & heat pumps | $13,018 | $11,273–$19,785 | 938 (99.9%) | 69 | cost · compare firms |
| Roof replacement | $21,400 | $16,900–$27,935 | 1,603 (99.5%) | 48 | cost · compare firms |
| Solar panels | $24,187 | $15,500–$28,880 | 410 (99.8%) | 109 | cost · compare firms |
| Demolition | $25,000 | $25,000–$40,000 | 256 (96.1%) | 283 | cost · compare firms |
| Remodel & alteration | $30,000 | $19,090–$50,000 | 673 (99.3%) | 187 | cost · compare firms |
| ADU | $108,045 | $66,111–$133,896 | 206 (99.5%) | — | cost · compare firms |
| New home | $519,098 | — | 128 (100.0%) | — | cost · compare firms |
The record covers permits on single-family, duplex and ADU homes only.
What moves the price in Palo Alto
We have no home values for Palo Alto, so the cost pages can't split firms by the homes they work on. What the file does show is how much the firm matters.
Busy firms against the rest. Each cost page compares the ten busiest firms with every firm that filed fewer than ten permits (data of 19 October 2026):
| Job | 10 busiest firms usually file | Smaller firms usually file |
|---|---|---|
| HVAC & heat pumps | $11,273 | $15,000 (165 firms) |
| Windows & doors | $9,474 | $19,241 (65 firms) |
| Roof replacement | $25,000 | $20,850 (361 firms) |
| Plumbing & sewer | $14,000 | $8,000 (176 firms) |
For HVAC and windows the busy firms file less; for roofs and plumbing they file more. The compare page lists each firm's permits, so you can see what kind of job its usual figure comes from.
The trade's range. Roofing is tight for a city this expensive ($16,900 to $27,935). Foundation and seismic work is wide ($4,500 to $21,606): a bolt-and-brace retrofit and a new foundation share a permit type.
Time. Demolition permits usually stay open 283 days and remodels 187, against 20 for plumbing. Put "permit closed with a final inspection" in the contract.
Filed value is not the price
- It is what the applicant wrote down. Some write the contract price, some the permitted part only.
- Water heaters are under-recorded. Only 80.5% of water-heater permits carry a value, so that row rests on fewer permits than the count suggests.
- The land. New-home and ADU values are construction only.
- Fees. We did not read Palo Alto's fee schedule for this guide, so we don't quote permit fees; the City's Development Center publishes them.
Check a quote in five minutes
- Find your job in the table and open its cost page.
- Put your quote against the "middle half of firms" band.
- Open compare firms, find the contractor, and read its usual filed value, permit count and finished share.
- Ask whether the price includes the permit and the final inspection.
Single-job guides: roof replacement cost, HVAC replacement cost, home remodel cost.
How we know this
Every row is a permit type the City of Palo Alto issued on homes in the window 2023-10 to 2026-09 with at least 100 priced permits making up at least 80% of the type. Usual = median of the permits that carry a value; middle half of firms = 25th to 75th percentile of the usual value of firms with three or more permits in the trade (shown when at least eight firms qualify); days = median from permit issue to final inspection. Busiest-firm figures are copied from each job's cost page and dated.
Numbers come from City of Palo Alto Development Center building permits on single-family, duplex and ADU homes, data through October 19, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Compare every Palo Alto roofer by usual job and finished share →
Questions
- How much does roof replacement cost in Palo Alto?
The usual roofing permit in Palo Alto was filed at $21,400, across 1,603 permits, and the middle half of 127 roofers usually file between $16,900 and $27,935. That is among the highest usual roofing figures in our city-by-city comparison.
- How much does HVAC replacement cost in Palo Alto?
HVAC and heat-pump permits were usually filed at $13,018, with the middle half of 55 firms between $11,273 and $19,785. The usual permit reached final in 69 days.
- How much does water heater replacement cost in Palo Alto?
Water-heater permits were usually filed at $5,000, with the middle half of firms between $3,315 and $6,400. Only 80.5% of these permits carry a value, the lowest share of any job here.
- What is the average home addition cost in Palo Alto?
We don't publish one: Palo Alto filed 100 addition permits in three years, just short of the 100 priced permits we need for a fair figure. The nearest jobs with a figure are an ADU, usually $108,045, and a remodel or alteration, usually $30,000.
- What is the cost to build a house in Palo Alto?
New-home permits were usually filed at $519,098 across 128 permits. That is construction value only; the land is not in it.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
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