These are City of San Diego permits only; Chula Vista, El Cajon and the unincorporated county issue their own (see our San Diego County ADU cost guide).
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; it is the number to hold a quote against.
| Job | Usual filed value | Middle half of firms | Permits (share priced) | Usual days to final | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation & seismic retrofit | $10,000 | $9,000–$33,561 | 344 (93.0%) | 105 | cost · compare firms |
| Damage repair | $14,000 | $9,000–$36,742 | 400 (86.2%) | 206 | cost · compare firms |
| Patio cover, garage & accessory structure | $18,925 | $12,210–$20,160 | 242 (97.9%) | 183 | cost · compare firms |
| Remodel & alteration | $18,998 | $10,241–$38,500 | 1,681 (82.5%) | 162 | cost · compare firms |
| Pool & spa | $51,300 | $46,006–$60,420 | 525 (94.9%) | 244 | cost · compare firms |
| Home addition | $85,351 | $61,775–$142,054 | 671 (96.6%) | 343 | cost · compare firms |
| ADU (companion unit) | $127,372 | $105,805–$174,174 | 1,278 (96.9%) | 442 | cost · compare firms |
| New home | $383,691 | $324,878–$580,732 | 389 (81.5%) | 358 | cost · compare firms |
Solar, electrical, plumbing, HVAC and no-plan trade permits have compare pages but no cost page: San Diego records a job value only on building permits (0.0% of 10,027 solar permits carry one). Their solar, HVAC and plumbing compare pages still rank firms by permits and finished share.
What moves the price in San Diego
The home. Each cost page splits firms into thirds by the usual value of the homes they work on (San Diego County assessed values). Those are Proposition 13 values, which usually sit below market value; on that basis the single-family figure is $571,000.
| Job | Firms on the least expensive third | Firms on the most expensive third |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation & seismic retrofit | $9,000 | $68,332 |
| Remodel & alteration | $10,241 | $40,000 |
| New home | $333,581 | $990,822 |
| Patio cover, garage & accessory | $16,896 | $27,501 |
| Home addition | $81,034 | $107,982 |
| ADU | $136,252 | $124,432 |
Figures from each cost page, data of 15 October 2026. Foundation work goes from a $9,000 retrofit to $68,332 and remodels quadruple with home value; ADUs go slightly the other way, so for an ADU the house is not what sets the price.
The firm. In remodels the ten busiest firms usually file $7,000 a permit, while the 475 firms with fewer than ten permits usually file $25,000 (San Diego remodel cost page). ADUs run the other way: $157,552 for the ten busiest builders against $118,248 for 611 smaller ones (San Diego ADU cost page).
The season. ADU permits peak in April (index 134, where 100 is an average month) and are fewest in September (58). We have no prices by month.
What a San Diego permit costs
From the City's Information Bulletin 501, Fee Schedule for Construction Permits - Structures (December 2025 edition; read 23 October 2026). Plan check and inspection are charged separately:
| Project type | Plan check | Inspection |
|---|---|---|
| Addition or remodel of a single dwelling or duplex (incl. attached ADU to 1,100 sq. ft. and detached ADU to 500 sq. ft.), first 500 sq. ft. | $3,275.45 + $6.51 per extra sq. ft. | $2,077.66 + $4.16 per extra sq. ft. |
| New single dwelling or duplex (incl. detached ADU over 500 sq. ft.), first 3,000 sq. ft. | $7,538.70 + $3.82 per extra sq. ft. | $7,833.94 + $3.93 per extra sq. ft. |
| Pool or spa, private custom | $2,470.49 | $493.90 |
| Patio cover, single dwelling | $1,317.05 | $493.90 |
| Foundation repair, each building | $1,976.70 | $329.26 |
| Garage or storage, single dwelling | $1,399.93 | hourly |
The two State fees follow valuation: the seismic fee is 13 cents per $1,000 for one- and two-story homes (about $17 on the usual $127,372 ADU), and the building standards fee is $1 per $25,000. Valuation is set from the City's Building Valuation Schedule (Information Bulletin 101).
Filed value is not the price
- The City has its own valuation. The bulletin points to its Building Valuation Schedule for the valuation the State fees use, so a permit's value may be the City's figure rather than your contract.
- Prop 13 home values. The home-value thirds use assessed values that lag the market, so a long-held house sits lower than a recently bought one of the same market value.
- Trade permits carry no value. Solar, plumbing, electrical and HVAC are unpriced here, so this page says nothing about their prices.
- The lot. New-home and ADU values are construction only.
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. Inside it is normal here; above it, ask what the extra covers.
- Open compare firms, find the contractor, and read its usual filed value, permit count and finished share.
- Ask whether the price includes plan check and inspection fees, which run into thousands here, and the final inspection; the usual addition permit took 343 days to reach final.
Single-job guides: what is an ADU, home addition cost, home remodel cost. To check a California license, see San Diego contractor license lookup.
How we know this
Every row is a permit type with a cost page: the City of San Diego issued at least 100 priced permits of it in the window 2023-10 to 2026-09, 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. Home-value thirds and busiest-firm figures are copied from each job's cost page and dated. Fees are quoted from Information Bulletin 501 linked under Sources.
Numbers come from City of San Diego Development Services approvals, data through October 15, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Compare every San Diego ADU builder by usual job and finished share →
Questions
- How much does ADU construction cost in San Diego?
The usual ADU (companion unit) permit in the City of San Diego was filed at $127,372, across 1,278 permits, and the middle half of 93 builders usually file between $105,805 and $174,174. The usual ADU permit took 442 days from issue to final inspection.
- What is the cost of a home renovation in San Diego?
Remodel and alteration permits were usually filed at $18,998 (1,681 permits), with the middle half of 96 remodelers between $10,241 and $38,500. Remodelers on the most expensive third of homes usually file $40,000, nearly four times the $10,241 on the least expensive third (San Diego remodel cost page, data of 15 October 2026).
- How much does solar panel installation cost in San Diego?
The permit file can't say: 0.0% of the City's 10,027 solar permits carry a job value, because San Diego records values only on building permits. The usual solar permit took 72 days to reach final. For filed solar prices in cities that record them, see our solar panel installation cost guide.
- How much do plumbers charge in San Diego?
San Diego's 1,844 plumbing permits carry no job value (0.0% priced), so we can't give a usual price. The plumbing compare page lists 375 firms by permit count and finished share, and the usual plumbing permit reached final in 41 days.
- How much is a building permit in San Diego?
Most home permits are flat or area-based. Under Information Bulletin 501, an addition or remodel of a single dwelling is $3,275.45 plan check and $2,077.66 inspection for the first 500 sq. ft., plus $6.51 and $4.16 per extra sq. ft.; a custom private pool is $2,470.49 plan check plus $493.90 inspection. On top, the State seismic fee is 13 cents per $1,000 of valuation.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
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For one city
- San Diego ADU Home Density Bonus Program after the 2025 changes: where it still applies, the caps, and hiring a builder
- Do I need a permit for an ADU in San Diego? The building permit, size and parking rules, fees and the 30-day plan route
- San Diego building permit search: how to look up permits on an address