- Order of trades. The usual finished share across cities: new home 90.1%, roofing 86.0%, solar 84.3%, plumbing 82.2%, electrical 81.7%, HVAC 78.8%, remodel 78.6%.
- Of 201 city-and-trade figures, 51 are 90% or higher and 15 are under 50%.
- Cities with two or more trades under 50%: Chicago, IL (remodel, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, new home); Sugar Land, TX (electrical, HVAC, roofing); Tyler, TX (roofing, electrical). Read these as how the office records closeout before reading them as unfinished work (see below).
A permit is "finished" here when the permit office has recorded it as passed final inspection, closed or completed. We count only permits issued at least a year before the city's file ends, so every permit has had time to close.
The short version: each trade across cities
"Usual finished share" is the middle of the city figures. Highest and lowest link to that city's compare page for the trade, where every contractor's own finished share is listed.
| Trade | Cities | Usual finished share | Highest | Lowest | Cities under 70% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical | 37 | 81.7% | Cape Coral, FL (94.9%) | Sugar Land, TX (33.5%) | 7 |
| Plumbing | 30 | 82.2% | Saint Paul, MN (99.7%) | Chicago, IL (26.7%) | 10 |
| HVAC | 39 | 78.8% | Miami, FL (95.5%) | Chicago, IL (21.2%) | 14 |
| Roofing | 19 | 86.0% | Cape Coral, FL (98.3%) | Tyler, TX (23.4%) | 4 |
| Remodel | 24 | 78.6% | Bend, OR (96.0%) | Chicago, IL (12.1%) | 9 |
| New home | 26 | 90.1% | Sacramento County, CA (100.0%) | Naperville, IL (14.0%) | 4 |
| Solar | 26 | 84.3% | Bend, OR (98.2%) | Waco, TX (73.0%) | 0 |
Every city, every trade
Each cell is the finished share, then (in brackets) how many permits a year or more old it is based on. Figures link to the city's compare page for that trade; city names link to its permit statistics. A dash means no such trade, no closeout data, or fewer than 200 permits a year old.
| City | Electrical | Plumbing | HVAC | Roofing | Remodel | New home | Solar | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque, NM | — | — | — | — | — | 60.2% (778) | 83.1% (1,844) | |
| Anaheim, CA | 89.0% (571) | 88.0% (397) | 85.7% (762) | 96.4% (779) | — | — | 79.5% (563) | |
| Arlington, VA | 86.5% (2,370) | 82.8% (4,075) | 86.9% (1,692) | — | — | 94.9% (232) | 97.7% (416) | county permits |
| Austin, TX | 90.6% (15,348) | 87.1% (14,444) | 80.4% (11,083) | — | 82.9% (3,878) | 82.3% (2,294) | — | |
| Bellevue, WA | 83.3% (4,730) | 84.6% (706) | 73.7% (3,355) | — | — | — | — | |
| Bellingham, WA | 89.4% (1,781) | — | 92.9% (1,732) | — | — | 83.8% (307) | 97.7% (510) | |
| Bend, OR | 88.0% (2,123) | 82.9% (572) | 93.8% (2,459) | — | 96.0% (270) | 98.0% (998) | 98.2% (758) | |
| Bismarck, ND | 83.9% (1,037) | 81.7% (521) | 90.3% (460) | — | — | 75.4% (401) | — | remodel includes additions |
| Boulder, CO | 75.2% (575) | — | 69.6% (2,475) | 86.0% (1,179) | 81.4% (270) | — | 93.4% (882) | |
| Burlington, VT | 74.7% (1,347) | — | — | — | — | — | — | file ends Mar 2026; roofing includes siding |
| Cambridge, MA | 71.7% (1,409) | 67.8% (1,173) | 54.7% (555) | 92.1% (210) | 49.7% (1,159) | — | — | remodel includes additions |
| Cape Coral, FL | 94.9% (749) | 91.8% (621) | 93.3% (1,923) | 98.3% (815) | — | 90.7% (1,277) | 97.5% (395) | 21 months of data |
| Cary, NC | 73.7% (655) | 91.7% (437) | 78.2% (6,148) | — | 88.0% (583) | 98.9% (765) | 87.7% (465) | |
| Chicago, IL | 38.2% (6,902) | 26.7% (3,994) | 21.2% (2,656) | 69.7% (478) | 12.1% (234) | 38.7% (303) | 74.3% (3,401) | |
| Cincinnati, OH | — | 85.7% (3,889) | 67.3% (3,649) | — | 66.2% (608) | — | — | |
| Citrus Heights, CA | 53.3% (400) | — | 81.8% (1,262) | 86.2% (874) | 73.5% (261) | — | — | remodel includes additions |
| Cleveland, OH | 64.5% (2,463) | 58.7% (3,566) | 81.1% (3,175) | 78.0% (2,924) | 57.5% (467) | 82.1% (225) | — | |
| Columbus, OH | 76.0% (8,843) | 68.2% (8,325) | 65.6% (14,137) | — | 69.0% (1,217) | 92.2% (1,461) | — | |
| Denton, TX | — | — | 88.6% (979) | — | — | 97.5% (1,269) | — | |
| Elk Grove, CA | — | 66.0% (543) | 84.7% (2,709) | — | 79.5% (314) | 99.3% (2,190) | 96.4% (2,514) | remodel includes additions |
| Greensboro, NC | 93.8% (10,412) | 94.1% (5,245) | 89.5% (10,475) | — | 84.7% (610) | 97.4% (1,513) | 77.3% (271) | |
| Henderson, NV | 77.4% (1,289) | 69.4% (911) | 83.1% (334) | — | 90.7% (270) | 96.3% (6,261) | 93.1% (4,839) | |
| Honolulu, HI | 78.3% (5,393) | — | — | — | 80.3% (322) | 88.4% (911) | 84.2% (10,961) | file ends Jun 2025 |
| Marin County, CA | 67.7% (583) | — | 74.8% (1,054) | 85.2% (1,047) | — | — | — | unincorporated county |
| Medford, OR | 94.2% (348) | — | 78.8% (968) | — | — | 95.8% (407) | 96.7% (507) | remodel includes additions |
| Miami, FL | 86.6% (1,697) | 91.5% (2,960) | 95.5% (1,548) | 97.6% (2,086) | 93.0% (321) | — | — | |
| Minneapolis, MN | — | 71.3% (13,055) | 76.0% (11,863) | 93.0% (14,830) | 75.0% (2,205) | — | 93.5% (987) | |
| Naperville, IL | 64.8% (233) | — | — | — | — | 14.0% (374) | — | timed only in the permit system used from 2024 |
| Nashville, TN | 89.5% (48,040) | 89.7% (25,504) | 75.6% (27,985) | — | — | — | — | 37 months of data |
| New York City, NY | 76.1% (35,658) | 77.4% (6,908) | 65.1% (853) | — | — | 19.9% (346) | 83.9% (14,424) | HVAC includes boilers |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 86.1% (2,857) | — | 82.7% (1,108) | — | 62.3% (1,170) | — | 78.4% (575) | remodel includes windows |
| Provo, UT | — | — | — | — | — | 87.3% (252) | — | |
| Sacramento County, CA | 80.5% (1,577) | 91.0% (839) | 84.1% (4,658) | 87.7% (2,942) | 90.1% (1,166) | 100.0% (1,312) | 84.4% (590) | unincorporated county; remodel includes additions |
| Saint Paul, MN | 84.6% (10,843) | 99.7% (5,628) | 64.1% (9,790) | 76.3% (12,921) | 60.1% (1,052) | — | 93.8% (519) | file ends Jun 2025 |
| San Diego, CA | 76.6% (951) | 65.6% (1,037) | 60.6% (1,157) | — | 77.7% (568) | — | 73.6% (7,083) | |
| San Diego County, CA | 81.7% (1,419) | 64.1% (780) | 59.4% (3,350) | 80.8% (773) | 91.3% (311) | 87.7% (356) | 82.2% (5,993) | unincorporated county |
| San Francisco, CA | — | — | — | 87.2% (6,304) | 81.4% (1,119) | — | — | |
| Scottsdale, AZ | 72.8% (1,125) | 82.1% (1,478) | 58.8% (1,001) | — | — | 89.5% (427) | 75.7% (1,040) | file ends Dec 2025 |
| Seattle, WA | 94.6% (12,862) | — | 86.1% (12,509) | 87.4% (356) | — | — | 96.9% (1,567) | HVAC = furnaces; heat pumps filed separately |
| Somerville, MA | 89.1% (1,145) | 67.1% (719) | 50.8% (233) | 38.5% (228) | 63.0% (249) | — | — | |
| St. Louis, MO | — | — | — | — | 65.6% (467) | — | — | |
| Sugar Land, TX | 33.5% (804) | 56.4% (963) | 36.1% (912) | 46.5% (1,859) | — | — | 77.8% (262) | |
| Tyler, TX | 46.4% (1,475) | 71.9% (913) | 52.0% (1,089) | 23.4% (2,342) | — | 80.2% (458) | — | remodel includes additions |
| Waco, TX | 89.0% (2,360) | 89.9% (1,739) | 93.4% (1,430) | 72.3% (2,000) | — | 97.1% (904) | 73.0% (268) | file ends May 2026 |
| Wheaton, IL | — | — | 47.4% (633) | — | — | — | — | finish = last passed inspection |
| Wilmington, NC | 82.6% (814) | 82.2% (507) | 89.4% (1,534) | — | — | 96.2% (1,044) | 81.2% (210) |
Why a low rate is usually about the office, not the contractor
The finished share is a fact about the record. Three office habits move it more than anything contractors do:
- Closing on one visit. Offices that final small electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits at a single inspection show high shares for those trades.
- Expiring instead of closing. Where stale permits are expired without a final, every forgotten final inspection shows up as "not finished", even if the work was done.
- No date, only a status. Chicago records whether a permit is complete, not when, and Chicago is at or near the bottom for most of the trades we compared. Read that as how Chicago's file records closeout before reading it as unfinished work.
New homes have the highest usual share, likely because a new house generally needs its final inspections before anyone moves in. Remodel and HVAC permits have the lowest usual shares (see the order of trades above).
That is why the useful comparison is between contractors in the same city and trade, not between cities. Our guide to a contractor's completion rate explains how to read one firm's figure, and why a permit is still open covers what to do about your own.
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 were issued at least a year before the end of the city's data window. Finished means the office recorded a final inspection, closeout, completion or certificate of occupancy; expired, voided and still-open permits count as not finished.
How the figure is built. Each firm's finished share (lightly smoothed toward the city average for firms with few permits, as on the compare pages) is weighted by that firm's number of permits a year or more old, so the result is close to the raw share of all such permits and matches the city's permit statistics page. A cell is shown only when it rests on 200 or more permits a year old.
Caveats. Trade names differ by city; the Notes column says where the column covers more or less than its name. 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, so "a year old" is measured from those dates. Cape Coral's file starts in January 2025. San Diego County, Marin County and Sacramento County are unincorporated-county permits only. Some cities, such as Somerville for roofing, have no closeout figure because the permits are rarely formally closed.
Regenerating. The tables are built by seo/tools/studies.py from the same files as every city 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 compare every contractor's finished share →
Questions
- What does a finished share of 80% mean?
Of the permits in that trade that were at least a year old when the file ends, 80% had been marked finished (final inspection passed, closed or completed) by the permit office. The other 20% were still open, expired or withdrawn on the record.
- Does a low finished share mean contractors leave jobs unfinished?
Not by itself. Most of the gap between cities comes from how each office closes permits: whether it closes small trade permits on one visit, whether it expires stale permits without a final, and whether it records a finish date at all. Compare contractors within one city, where the same rules apply to everyone. In Seattle, for example, 252 electrical firms with 10 or more permits range from 85.1% to 99.0% (10th to 90th percentile).
- Why only permits a year or more old?
A permit issued last month has not had time to finish. Counting only permits at least a year old keeps a busy recent year from making a city look worse.
- How many permits is each figure based on?
The number in brackets after each figure in the city table is the count of permits a year or more old it is based on. We show a figure only when it is 200 or more.
- How do I check one contractor's record?
Open your city's compare page for the trade (each figure in the table links to it). Every firm is listed with its own finished share and permit count, so you can see whether a firm you are considering is above or below the city's usual figure.
Build your own list
Pick your city and the kind of work. Every firm with a permit on record, sorted by what you value.