Data through September 2026 · updated 19 Oct 2026
9,445 building permits issued in Memphis and Shelby County, October 2024 through September 2026: about 4,722 a year. The biggest kind of work is remodels & repairs, with 2,643. 4,581 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 6% fewer than the 4,864 in the 12 months before. 76% were permits for homes. The busiest month for permits is July.
Permits issued October 2024 through September 2026. Last 12 months is Oct 2025–Sep 2026; the 12 months before is Oct 2024–Sep 2025. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remodels & repairs | 2,643 | 28% | 1,330 | 1,313 | +1% | 100% | July |
| New homes | 1,840 | 19% | 960 | 880 | +9% | 100% | April |
| Garages, sheds & shade structures | 787 | 8% | 381 | 406 | −6% | 100% | May |
| Additions | 765 | 8% | 353 | 412 | −14% | 100% | March |
| Roofing | 468 | 5% | 221 | 247 | −11% | 100% | March |
| Pools & spas | 344 | 4% | 166 | 178 | −7% | 100% | May |
| Fences & walls | 281 | 3% | 171 | 110 | +55% | 100% | March |
| Other | 2,267 | 24% | 975 | 1,292 | −25% | 0% | July |
Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: demolition (21), ADUs & casitas (15), solar (14).
Permits issued in each calendar year of the window. Per year scales a part year to 12 months.
| Year | Months | Permits | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 (from October) | 3 | 1,075 | 4,300 |
| 2025 | 12 | 4,796 | 4,796 |
| 2026 (through September) | 9 | 3,574 | 4,765 |
Permits issued each month, October 2024 through September 2026. The tallest bar is the busiest month on file.
| Month | Permits |
|---|---|
| Oct 2024 | 423 |
| Nov 2024 | 325 |
| Dec 2024 | 327 |
| Jan 2025 | 342 |
| Feb 2025 | 312 |
| Mar 2025 | 457 |
| Apr 2025 | 457 |
| May 2025 | 400 |
| Jun 2025 | 448 |
| Jul 2025 | 474 |
| Aug 2025 | 378 |
| Sep 2025 | 521 |
| Oct 2025 | 373 |
| Nov 2025 | 290 |
| Dec 2025 | 344 |
| Jan 2026 | 268 |
| Feb 2026 | 344 |
| Mar 2026 | 456 |
| Apr 2026 | 393 |
| May 2026 | 427 |
| Jun 2026 | 368 |
| Jul 2026 | 566 |
| Aug 2026 | 410 |
| Sep 2026 | 342 |
Permits by calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line), October 2024 through September 2026. Kinds of work do not all peak together. Each month is counted twice (once a year), so one unusual month still moves these numbers.
2,643 permits · busiest July, quietest January
1,840 permits · busiest April, quietest November
787 permits · busiest May, quietest November
765 permits · busiest March, quietest February
468 permits · busiest March, quietest October
344 permits · busiest May, quietest January
281 permits · busiest March, quietest January
| Kind of work | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remodels & repairs | 74 | 90 | 111 | 93 | 96 | 96 | 174 | 99 | 84 | 105 | 94 | 84 |
| New homes | 80 | 89 | 119 | 124 | 117 | 120 | 97 | 93 | 108 | 88 | 68 | 98 |
| Garages, sheds & shade structures | 85 | 82 | 108 | 116 | 130 | 120 | 107 | 98 | 116 | 99 | 61 | 78 |
| Additions | 74 | 67 | 141 | 105 | 104 | 93 | 107 | 105 | 118 | 121 | 86 | 80 |
| Roofing | 67 | 85 | 136 | 128 | 128 | 110 | 121 | 82 | 110 | 64 | 95 | 74 |
| Pools & spas | 49 | 91 | 126 | 108 | 136 | 133 | 98 | 126 | 91 | 119 | 63 | 63 |
| Fences & walls | 30 | 43 | 162 | 98 | 128 | 141 | 120 | 124 | 154 | 77 | 73 | 51 |
How the city classed each permit. Other covers commercial buildings, signs, towers and similar work.
| Permit class | Permits | Share | Last 12 mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes (residential) | 7,178 | 76% | 3,606 |
| Other | 2,267 | 24% | 975 |
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 city's permits are counted.
| ZIP code | Permits | Share | Top kind of work |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38002 | 693 | 7% | New homes (283) |
| 38116 | 505 | 5% | Remodels & repairs (302) |
| 38127 | 504 | 5% | Remodels & repairs (172) |
| 38111 | 496 | 5% | Remodels & repairs (138) |
| 38109 | 429 | 5% | Remodels & repairs (173) |
| 38053 | 425 | 4% | New homes (183) |
| 38117 | 392 | 4% | Remodels & repairs (106) |
| 38114 | 372 | 4% | Remodels & repairs (144) |
| 38138 | 358 | 4% | Additions (76) |
| 38118 | 353 | 4% | Remodels & repairs (72) |
From our cross-city data studies: the same measure, read the same way, for every city we cover.
Source: Memphis Open Data Hub, DPD Building Permits (ArcGIS layer), read 19 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out. The file carries no usable permit status, so it can't say which permits were finished, so no finished share is shown.
Building permits the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning & Development issues: the City of Memphis, unincorporated Shelby County and the towns that use the joint office (rows carry Memphis, Cordova, Arlington, Millington, Lakeland, Eads and other postal cities). Germantown, Collierville and Bartlett, which run their own permit offices, appear only where the joint office issued the permit. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are not in this file.
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, "Memphis and Shelby County, TN building permit statistics", https://contractorrecords.com/memphis/permit-statistics, data through September 2026, from the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning & Development 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.