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The City of Madison, WI building permits

Data through September 2026 · updated 19 Oct 2026

47,076 building permits were issued in the City of Madison from October 2024 to September 2026, about 23,538 a year. Roofing permits lead with 10,858, then plumbing (10,392) and HVAC (7,927). 86% were for homes. The city's file names contractors, but the reports carry no status or final inspection, so we only count permits per firm and don't rate, rank or profile firms from them: these pages show what was built, where and when.

47,076permits issued
23,538a year
86%for homes
Sep 2026records through

What gets built here

Roofing

10,858permits
8,352last 12 mo

Plumbing

10,392permits
5,187last 12 mo

HVAC

7,927permits
4,079last 12 mo

Electrical

6,326permits
3,066last 12 mo

Remodels & repairs

6,212permits
3,124last 12 mo

Solar

1,392permits
603last 12 mo

Garages, sheds & shade structures

1,388permits
637last 12 mo

Additions

501permits
240last 12 mo

New homes

469permits
239last 12 mo

What this page can and can't show

  • ✓Permits the city issued, by kind of work, month and ZIP code.
  • ✓What the job was declared at on the permit.
  • ✓Which contractors filed the most permits (volume, not quality).
  • Who does good work. The city's file names contractors, but the reports carry no status or final inspection, so we only count permits per firm and don't rate, rank or profile firms from them.
  • Which permits were finished. The city's permit reports have no status and no final inspection date.
  • Street addresses or owners. We publish counts and permit rows without them.

Building permits (new homes and buildings, alterations and repairs, re-roofs, decks, garages, raze permits) and electrical, plumbing and HVAC permits issued by the City of Madison Building Inspection Division for property in the city. Permits issued by the surrounding towns and villages (Fitchburg, Middleton, Monona, Sun Prairie, Verona and the rest) and by Dane County are not in these reports.

Hiring someone here?

The permit file can't tell you who does good work. Ask for the contractor's license number and look it up at the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, then ask the city whether they pulled the permit for your job.

Permits by kind of work

Permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, every kind of work with 100 or more. Last 12 months is Oct 2025–Sep 2026. Homes is the share issued as residential permits.

Kind of workPermitsShareLast 12 mo
Roofing10,85823%8,352
Plumbing10,39222%5,187
HVAC7,92717%4,079
Electrical6,32613%3,066
Remodels & repairs6,21213%3,124
Solar1,3923%603
Garages, sheds & shade structures1,3883%637
Additions5011%240
New homes469under 1%239
Demolition194under 1%78
Other1,3733%685

Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: ADUs & casitas (35), fences & walls (5), pools & spas (4).

Download this table (CSV)

Most active contractors by permits filed

The contractors named on the most permits in the City of Madison Development Services Center file, October 2024 through September 2026, with 5 or more each. Share is the part of all 47,076 permits; 95% of them name a contractor we can show. This is volume, not quality: more permits doesn't mean better work. Individuals' names, owner-builders and blanks are left out.

ContractorPermitsShare
Cardinal Heating & Air Conditioning Inc2,7026%
Ridge Top Exteriors Inc1,6363%
All Comfort Services1,1943%
Avid Plumbing LLC1,1803%
Harker Heating & Cooling Inc1,0462%
Pertzborn Plumbing & Fire Protection Corp1,0172%
Dave Jones Plumbing & Heating Inc8752%
Be Heins Contracting LLC7372%
Waunakee Remodeling Inc6661%
Monona Plumbing & Fire Protection5711%

Download this table (CSV)

Madison permit statistics →Madison permits by ZIP code →Madison, WI building permit search: Accela, the permit reports and records requests →

Before you start a project

All guides →

How these numbers are made

Source: City of Madison Development Services Center, Permit Reports (Construction Summary and Electrical, Plumbing and HVAC permit reports, CSV export), read 19 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out. The city's permit reports have no status and no final inspection date, so no finished share is shown.

Building permits (new homes and buildings, alterations and repairs, re-roofs, decks, garages, raze permits) and electrical, plumbing and HVAC permits issued by the City of Madison Building Inspection Division for property in the city. Permits issued by the surrounding towns and villages (Fitchburg, Middleton, Monona, Sun Prairie, Verona and the rest) and by Dane County are not in these reports.

  • The city's permit reports have no status and no final inspection date, so we can't show which permits were finished or how long they took.
  • Job values are the value declared on building permits. Electrical, plumbing and HVAC permits carry no job value.
  • Electrical, plumbing and HVAC permits are dated by the day the permit was filed; building permits by the day they were issued.
  • New homes and new commercial buildings get their own electrical, plumbing and HVAC permits, and those count under electrical, plumbing and HVAC.
  • The construction report has no ZIP code, so a building permit takes the ZIP code the trade permit report shows for the same street address; building permits at an address that has had no trade permit have no ZIP.
  • Re-roofing and siding permits jump from May 2026 (about 2,000 building permits a month in May to July 2026, against 500 to 900 a year earlier), which lifts the latest 12 months.
  • Building permits are sorted into roofing, decks and garages, additions, solar and other kinds of work from the city's description; repairs and alterations that match no trade count as remodels.

Counts are permits, not jobs: one job can need several permits. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. Sources and definitions →

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please credit Contractor Records and link to this page. Suggested citation:

Contractor Records, "The City of Madison, WI building permits", https://contractorrecords.com/madison/, data through September 2026, from City of Madison Building Inspection Division building-permit records.

Link to a table: By kind of work · Most active contractors by permits filed · Browse the permits · Permits each month.

Download the tables (CSV): Permits by kind of work · Most active contractors by permits filed · Permits in the last 12 months.

Common questions

  • How many building permits does Madison issue a year?About 23,538 a year in the City of Madison: 47,076 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, 26,318 of them in the last 12 months. That counts the permits the city issued, homes and commercial, not denied or withdrawn applications.
  • Can I find a contractor's permits in Madison?The city's file names contractors, but the reports carry no status or final inspection, so we only count permits per firm and don't rate, rank or profile firms from them. The table above lists the contractors named on the most permits, as a count only. Check a license at the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services and ask the contractor for the permit number of a past job.
  • What do people build most in Madison?Roofing: 10,858 of the 47,076 permits (23%), then plumbing (10,392), HVAC (7,927), October 2024 through September 2026.
  • How do I look up a building permit in Madison?Filter the permit list on this page by month, kind of work and ZIP code to see what was issued. For one property's permits, search the city's own records by address or permit number; we don't publish addresses. How to look up a permit in Madison →
  • How many permits were issued in Madison last month?2,022 in September 2026, the last full month on file; 26,318 over the last 12 months.

Browse the permits

Browse 47,076 permits

Every permit in the file issued October 2024 through September 2026, newest first. Pick a month, a kind of work or a ZIP code. Each row is one permit: no street address, no names.

The list loads as you reach it (47,076 permits).

IssuedKind of workCity permit typeZIP

Permits each month, the last 12 months

Permits issued each month and the kind of work with the most. A month opens its permits in the list above.

MonthPermitsTop kind of work
Sep 20262,022Roofing (756)
Aug 20262,831Roofing (1,252)
Jul 20263,397Roofing (1,635)
Jun 20263,735Roofing (2,052)
May 20262,923Roofing (1,596)
Apr 20261,775Plumbing (482)
Mar 20261,544Plumbing (487)
Feb 20261,397Plumbing (441)
Jan 20261,648Plumbing (512)
Dec 20251,384Plumbing (395)
Nov 20251,610Plumbing (396)
Oct 20252,052Plumbing (450)

Download this table (CSV)