Data through November 2025 · updated 19 Oct 2026
33,773 building permits issued in Howard County, December 2023 through November 2025: about 16,886 a year. The biggest kind of work is electrical, with 11,976. 17,326 permits in the last 12 months on file (Dec 2024–Nov 2025), 5% more than the 16,447 in the 12 months before. 100% were permits for homes. The busiest month for permits is July.
Permits issued December 2023 through November 2025. Last 12 months on file is Dec 2024–Nov 2025; the 12 months before is Dec 2023–Nov 2024. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical | 11,976 | 35% | 6,236 | 5,740 | +9% | 100% | July |
| Plumbing | 9,666 | 29% | 4,712 | 4,954 | −5% | 100% | July |
| HVAC | 3,024 | 9% | 1,674 | 1,350 | +24% | 100% | July |
| Solar | 2,095 | 6% | 1,420 | 675 | +110% | 100% | October |
| Garages, sheds & shade structures | 1,752 | 5% | 832 | 920 | −10% | 100% | April |
| Remodels & repairs | 1,275 | 4% | 655 | 620 | +6% | 100% | October |
| New homes | 1,014 | 3% | 366 | 648 | −44% | 100% | April |
| Additions | 996 | 3% | 508 | 488 | +4% | 100% | April |
| Pools & spas | 204 | under 1% | 88 | 116 | −24% | 100% | March |
| Demolition | 133 | under 1% | 114 | 19 | +500% | 100% | January |
| Other | 1,596 | 5% | 699 | 897 | −22% | 100% | March |
Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: fences & walls (42).
Permits issued in each calendar year of the window. Per year scales a part year to 12 months.
| Year | Months | Permits | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 (from December) | 1 | 1,205 | 14,460 |
| 2024 | 12 | 16,476 | 16,476 |
| 2025 (through November) | 11 | 16,092 | 17,555 |
Permits issued each month, December 2023 through November 2025. The tallest bar is the busiest month on file.
| Month | Permits |
|---|---|
| Dec 2023 | 1,205 |
| Jan 2024 | 1,303 |
| Feb 2024 | 1,196 |
| Mar 2024 | 1,125 |
| Apr 2024 | 1,466 |
| May 2024 | 1,518 |
| Jun 2024 | 1,333 |
| Jul 2024 | 1,616 |
| Aug 2024 | 1,507 |
| Sep 2024 | 1,430 |
| Oct 2024 | 1,421 |
| Nov 2024 | 1,327 |
| Dec 2024 | 1,234 |
| Jan 2025 | 1,254 |
| Feb 2025 | 1,197 |
| Mar 2025 | 1,464 |
| Apr 2025 | 1,401 |
| May 2025 | 1,463 |
| Jun 2025 | 1,567 |
| Jul 2025 | 1,620 |
| Aug 2025 | 1,600 |
| Sep 2025 | 1,631 |
| Oct 2025 | 1,669 |
| Nov 2025 | 1,226 |
Permits by calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line), December 2023 through November 2025. Kinds of work do not all peak together. Each month is counted twice (once a year), so one unusual month still moves these numbers.
11,976 permits · busiest July, quietest December
9,666 permits · busiest July, quietest February
3,024 permits · busiest July, quietest December
2,095 permits · busiest October, quietest December
1,752 permits · busiest April, quietest December
1,275 permits · busiest October, quietest January
1,014 permits · busiest April, quietest July
996 permits · busiest April, quietest February
| Kind of work | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical | 86 | 86 | 89 | 92 | 112 | 110 | 123 | 112 | 113 | 102 | 91 | 84 |
| Plumbing | 94 | 88 | 97 | 100 | 106 | 100 | 113 | 108 | 97 | 112 | 89 | 96 |
| HVAC | 95 | 83 | 92 | 110 | 95 | 81 | 135 | 125 | 108 | 106 | 92 | 78 |
| Solar | 60 | 73 | 85 | 89 | 91 | 110 | 107 | 114 | 149 | 155 | 110 | 56 |
| Garages, sheds & shade structures | 74 | 74 | 80 | 135 | 119 | 118 | 109 | 114 | 123 | 107 | 92 | 55 |
| Remodels & repairs | 72 | 83 | 90 | 120 | 96 | 104 | 119 | 100 | 114 | 143 | 76 | 82 |
| New homes | 157 | 85 | 71 | 162 | 92 | 104 | 66 | 93 | 76 | 90 | 84 | 118 |
| Additions | 84 | 81 | 95 | 128 | 102 | 111 | 111 | 96 | 98 | 98 | 105 | 92 |
How the county classed each permit. Other covers commercial buildings, signs, towers and similar work.
| Permit class | Permits | Share | Last 12 mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes (residential) | 33,773 | 100% | 17,326 |
| Other | 0 | 0% | 0 |
The 10 ZIP codes with the most permits, counted at the property's ZIP code. A ZIP code can cross into a city that runs its own permit office; only the county's permits are counted.
| ZIP code | Permits | Share | Top kind of work |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21042 | 7,110 | 21% | Electrical (2,460) |
| 20723 | 4,541 | 13% | Electrical (1,444) |
| 21043 | 3,807 | 11% | Electrical (1,339) |
| 21044 | 3,581 | 11% | Electrical (1,299) |
| 21045 | 2,963 | 9% | Plumbing (1,110) |
| 21075 | 2,235 | 7% | Electrical (763) |
| 21029 | 1,627 | 5% | Electrical (650) |
| 20759 | 1,240 | 4% | Electrical (466) |
| 21046 | 1,142 | 3% | Electrical (476) |
| 21104 | 993 | 3% | Electrical (266) |
From our cross-city data studies: the same measure, read the same way, for every city we cover.
Permit statistics for other places in the area. Each permit office keeps its own file, so the numbers are not added together.
Arlington, VAWashington, DCFairfax County, VAMontgomery County, MDRockville, MDPrince George's County, MD
Source: Howard County Open Data, Building, Electrical, Fire, Grading, Mechanical, Plumbing & Sign Permits (Socrata dataset kvz2-j5cj), read 19 Oct 2026. We count permits issued December 2023 through November 2025; denied and withdrawn permits are left out. The county's file has no permit status or final inspection date, so it can't say which permits were finished, so no finished share is shown.
Residential permits Howard County's Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits issues countywide: new houses and townhouses, alterations, additions, decks and porches, solar, pools, demolition, and electrical, plumbing, HVAC and fire-sprinkler permits for homes. Howard County has no incorporated towns, so Columbia, Ellicott City, Elkridge, Clarksville, the Howard County parts of Laurel and Mount Airy and the rest of the county are all in this file. Commercial and sign permits in the same file are not counted, and grading permits are left out.
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, "Howard County, MD building permit statistics", https://contractorrecords.com/howard-county/permit-statistics, data through November 2025, from Howard County Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits 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 · By ZIP code.
Download the tables (CSV): Permits by kind of work · Permits by year · Permits by month · Permits by calendar month (index) · Homes and other permits · Permits by ZIP code.