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Charlotte and the rest of Mecklenburg County, NC building permit statistics

Data through September 2026 · updated 26 Oct 2026

143,503 building permits issued in Charlotte and the rest of Mecklenburg County, June 2025 through September 2026: about 107,627 a year. The biggest kind of work is electrical, with 55,576. 78% were permits for homes. The busiest month for permits is May.

143,503permits issued
113,022last 12 months
78%for homes
Maybusiest month
Sep 2026records through

By kind of work

Permits issued June 2025 through September 2026. Last 12 months is Oct 2025–Sep 2026. Homes is the share issued as residential permits. Busiest month is the calendar month with the most permits on average.

Kind of workPermitsShareLast 12 moHomesBusiest month
Electrical55,57639%43,67176%May
HVAC41,12229%32,11684%May
Plumbing17,92012%14,83282%May
New homes9,3467%7,502100%May
Remodels & repairs4,5063%3,314100%March
Additions2,0521%1,555100%April
Garages, sheds & shade structures1,5511%1,179100%April
Demolition1,5001%1,12673%September
Pools & spas1,146under 1%876100%May
Roofing646under 1%488100%May
Solar507under 1%340100%October
ADUs & casitas115under 1%87100%February
Other7,4395%5,872under 1%July

Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: fences & walls (77).

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By year

Permits issued in each calendar year of the window. Per year scales a part year to 12 months.

YearMonthsPermitsPer year
2025 (from June)752,51790,029
2026 (through September)990,986121,315

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By month

Permits issued each month, June 2025 through September 2026. The tallest bar is the busiest month on file.

Jun 2025: 7,514Jun2025Jul 2025: 8,153JulAug 2025: 7,342Sep 2025: 7,472Oct 2025: 7,611Nov 2025: 5,877Dec 2025: 8,548Jan 2026: 7,372Jan2026Feb 2026: 7,383Mar 2026: 9,579Apr 2026: 10,773May 2026: 11,165Jun 2026: 11,562Jul 2026: 11,822JulAug 2026: 10,922Sep 2026: 10,408
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Jun 20257,514
Jul 20258,153
Aug 20257,342
Sep 20257,472
Oct 20257,611
Nov 20255,877
Dec 20258,548
Jan 20267,372
Feb 20267,383
Mar 20269,579
Apr 202610,773
May 202611,165
Jun 202611,562
Jul 202611,822
Aug 202610,922
Sep 202610,408

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When each kind of work is filed

Permits by calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line), June 2025 through September 2026. Kinds of work do not all peak together. Each month is counted once, so one unusual month moves these numbers.

Electrical

55,576 permits · busiest May, quietest November

January: 83 (100 = an average month)February: 82 (100 = an average month)March: 109 (100 = an average month)April: 121 (100 = an average month)May: 125 (100 = an average month)125June: 110 (100 = an average month)July: 110 (100 = an average month)August: 99 (100 = an average month)September: 96 (100 = an average month)October: 84 (100 = an average month)November: 68 (100 = an average month)December: 98 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

HVAC

41,122 permits · busiest May, quietest November

January: 81 (100 = an average month)February: 81 (100 = an average month)March: 104 (100 = an average month)April: 120 (100 = an average month)May: 122 (100 = an average month)122June: 112 (100 = an average month)July: 115 (100 = an average month)August: 102 (100 = an average month)September: 93 (100 = an average month)October: 84 (100 = an average month)November: 66 (100 = an average month)December: 96 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Plumbing

17,920 permits · busiest May, quietest November

January: 92 (100 = an average month)February: 92 (100 = an average month)March: 125 (100 = an average month)April: 135 (100 = an average month)May: 140 (100 = an average month)140June: 90 (100 = an average month)July: 95 (100 = an average month)August: 95 (100 = an average month)September: 98 (100 = an average month)October: 85 (100 = an average month)November: 61 (100 = an average month)December: 115 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

New homes

9,346 permits · busiest May, quietest November

January: 77 (100 = an average month)February: 79 (100 = an average month)March: 106 (100 = an average month)April: 112 (100 = an average month)May: 129 (100 = an average month)129June: 94 (100 = an average month)July: 124 (100 = an average month)August: 115 (100 = an average month)September: 111 (100 = an average month)October: 78 (100 = an average month)November: 47 (100 = an average month)December: 84 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Remodels & repairs

4,506 permits · busiest March, quietest December

January: 96 (100 = an average month)February: 99 (100 = an average month)March: 107 (100 = an average month)107April: 99 (100 = an average month)May: 92 (100 = an average month)June: 102 (100 = an average month)July: 102 (100 = an average month)August: 101 (100 = an average month)September: 107 (100 = an average month)October: 107 (100 = an average month)November: 90 (100 = an average month)December: 84 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Additions

2,052 permits · busiest April, quietest February

January: 88 (100 = an average month)February: 72 (100 = an average month)March: 104 (100 = an average month)April: 141 (100 = an average month)141May: 97 (100 = an average month)June: 101 (100 = an average month)July: 105 (100 = an average month)August: 106 (100 = an average month)September: 101 (100 = an average month)October: 104 (100 = an average month)November: 86 (100 = an average month)December: 83 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Garages, sheds & shade structures

1,551 permits · busiest April, quietest February

January: 86 (100 = an average month)February: 74 (100 = an average month)March: 95 (100 = an average month)April: 121 (100 = an average month)121May: 99 (100 = an average month)June: 116 (100 = an average month)July: 103 (100 = an average month)August: 92 (100 = an average month)September: 111 (100 = an average month)October: 118 (100 = an average month)November: 77 (100 = an average month)December: 85 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Demolition

1,500 permits · busiest September, quietest November

January: 87 (100 = an average month)February: 76 (100 = an average month)March: 90 (100 = an average month)April: 121 (100 = an average month)May: 121 (100 = an average month)June: 105 (100 = an average month)July: 115 (100 = an average month)August: 110 (100 = an average month)September: 125 (100 = an average month)125October: 71 (100 = an average month)November: 50 (100 = an average month)December: 76 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
Kind of workJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Electrical83821091211251101109996846898
HVAC818110412012211211510293846696
Plumbing9292125135140909595988561115
New homes777910611212994124115111784784
Remodels & repairs969910799921021021011071079084
Additions8872104141971011051061011048683
Garages, sheds & shade structures86749512199116103921111187785
Demolition877690121121105115110125715076

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Homes and everything else

How the county classed each permit. Other covers commercial buildings, signs, towers and similar work.

Permit classPermitsShareLast 12 mo
Homes (residential)112,59478%87,780
Other30,90922%25,242

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How many permits get finished

Permits issued Jun 2025–Sep 2025, so each has had at least 12 months to reach a final. Finished means the county recorded a final inspection or marked it complete; expired means it lapsed without one.

StatusPermitsShare
Finished24,98382.0%
Still open1,8346.0%
Expired3,66412.0%

How long each kind of permit takes →

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By ZIP code

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 codePermitsShareTop kind of work
2807811,3438%Electrical (4,195)
282779,2086%Electrical (4,032)
282698,5156%Electrical (3,324)
282117,2175%Electrical (2,825)
282156,7925%Electrical (2,406)
282266,6955%Electrical (2,669)
282166,4484%Electrical (2,271)
282106,3084%Electrical (2,578)
282786,0564%Electrical (2,340)
282056,0464%Electrical (2,403)

All 29 ZIP codes with 250+ permits →

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How Mecklenburg County compares with other cities

From our cross-city data studies: the same measure, read the same way, for every city we cover.

Nearby permit data

Permit statistics for other places in Charlotte. Each permit office keeps its own file, so the numbers are not added together.

Gaston County, NC

How these numbers are made

Source: Mecklenburg County GIS, AccelaAllPermits FeatureServer layer 0, with the older BuildingPermits layer for permits still issued in the old system, read 26 Oct 2026. We count permits issued June 2025 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.

Building and trade permits that Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement issued anywhere in the county: Charlotte, the towns of Huntersville, Cornelius, Matthews, Mint Hill, Davidson and Pineville, and unincorporated land. The county issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits for every town, so this one file covers them all. Fire, sign and site-work permits count as other.

  • The county's file names no contractor, so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Mecklenburg County or Charlotte.
  • The county moved its permits to a new system (Accela) in spring 2025. The window starts in June 2025, once the new system's file was filling at its usual rate, so it covers 16 months and there is no comparison with the 12 months before. Permits still issued under the old system for older projects come from the county's older building permit layer and are counted too.
  • Electrical, mechanical (HVAC) and plumbing permits are only in the new system's file. Each new home gets its own electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, and those count under those trades. Monthly plumbing and electrical counts keep rising through early 2026 as projects started under the old system finish.
  • The new system files an equipment changeout as an umbrella record with separate mechanical, electrical or plumbing permits under it; we count the trade permits, not the umbrella record.
  • The kind of work comes from the county's type of work and census building code; roofing, solar, pools, additions and decks are picked out of residential alteration permits by their descriptions.
  • Job value is the building cost the applicant declared on the permit; most trade permits have none. A final date is the county's completion date.
  • Apartment, condo and hotel buildings count as other, not as homes. Cancelled, withdrawn and replaced permits are not counted.

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, "Charlotte and the rest of Mecklenburg County, NC building permit statistics", https://contractorrecords.com/mecklenburg-county/permit-statistics, data through September 2026, from Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement 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 · How many get finished · 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 · Finished, open and expired · Permits by ZIP code.

Common questions

  • How many building permits does Mecklenburg County issue a year?About 107,627 a year in Charlotte and the rest of Mecklenburg County: 143,503 permits over 16 months, June 2025 through September 2026.
  • What is the busiest month for permits in Mecklenburg County?May, counting every kind of work (124 against an average month of 100). November is the quietest (66). Each kind of work has its own season; the charts above show them.
  • What share of Mecklenburg County permits are for homes?78%: 112,594 of the 143,503 permits issued June 2025 through September 2026 were residential permits.
Mecklenburg County permit data →How long permits take in Mecklenburg County →Mecklenburg County electrical permits →Mecklenburg County HVAC permits →Mecklenburg County plumbing permits →Browse Mecklenburg County permits →