How many building permits does Milwaukee issue a year?

About 1,540 a year in the City of Milwaukee: 3,079 permits issued June 2024 through May 2026, 1,470 of them in the last 12 months on file (to May 2026). That counts the permits in the City of Milwaukee's public permit work file, homes and commercial, not denied or withdrawn applications; the file doesn't hold every permit the city issues (see what it covers above).

Can I find a contractor's permits in Milwaukee?

Not from this file: the city publishes its permits without the contractor's name, so we can't list or rank firms. Ask the contractor for the permit number of a past job.

What do people build most in Milwaukee?

Remodels & repairs: 1,215 of the 3,079 permits (39%), then garages, sheds & shade structures (274), new homes (157), June 2024 through May 2026.

How do I look up a building permit in Milwaukee?

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 Milwaukee

How many permits were issued in Milwaukee last month?

132 in May 2026, the last full month on file; 1,470 over the last 12 months on file (to May 2026).

Milwaukee, WI Building Permits: 3,079 Permits by Kind of Work

3,079permits issued

1,540a year

55%for homes

May 2026records through

What gets built here

Remodels & repairs

1,215permits

574last 12 mo on file

Garages, sheds & shade structures

274permits

127last 12 mo on file

What this page can and can't show

✓The permits in the City of Milwaukee's public permit work file, by kind of work, month and ZIP code.
✓What the job was declared at on the permit.
Who did the work. The city's file doesn't name contractors, so we can't rank, compare or profile firms here.
Which permits were finished. The file carries no usable permit status, so it can't say which permits were finished.
Street addresses or owners. We publish counts and permit rows without them.

Residential and commercial alteration and new-construction permits the City of Milwaukee's Department of Neighborhood Services issues inside city limits, as the city publishes them. Electrical, plumbing, HVAC and other trade permits are not in this file, and neither are Wauwatosa, West Allis and the other Milwaukee County suburbs, which run their own permit offices.

Guides for this kind of work

All guides →

Permits by kind of work

Permits issued June 2024 through May 2026, every kind of work with 100 or more. Last 12 months on file is Jun 2025–May 2026. Homes is the share issued as residential permits.

Kind of work	Permits	Share	Last 12 mo
Remodels & repairs	1,215	39%	574
Garages, sheds & shade structures	274	9%	127
New homes	157	5%	59
Other	1,433	47%	710

Download this table (CSV)

Milwaukee permit statistics →Milwaukee permits by ZIP code →Milwaukee building permit search: the DNS lookup, open data and records →

Guides for Milwaukee

Local permit rules and lookups, each with Milwaukee's own permit numbers.

Milwaukee building permit search: the DNS lookup, open data and records

How these numbers are made

Source: City of Milwaukee Open Data, Residential and Commercial Permit Work Data (buildingpermits), read 18 Oct 2026. We count permits issued June 2024 through May 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.

Residential and commercial alteration and new-construction permits the City of Milwaukee's Department of Neighborhood Services issues inside city limits, as the city publishes them. Electrical, plumbing, HVAC and other trade permits are not in this file, and neither are Wauwatosa, West Allis and the other Milwaukee County suburbs, which run their own permit offices.

The city's file names no contractor, so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Milwaukee.
The city publishes only building alteration and new-construction permits, about 1,500 a year. Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing and other trade permits are not in the file, so this is a slice of the city's permit work, not all of it.
The file has no description, so home alterations cannot be split into trades; they are all counted as remodels and repairs.
Every permit in the file is marked issued and there are no final dates, so we show no finished share and no time to final.
The city's latest file runs to mid-June 2026, so the window ends in May 2026.
The value is the construction cost on the permit; about four in ten permits list none.

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 Milwaukee, WI building permits", https://contractorrecords.com/milwaukee/, data through May 2026, from the City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services building-permit records.

Link to a table: By kind of work · Browse the permits · Permits each month.

Download the tables (CSV): Permits by kind of work · Permits in the last 12 months on file.

Common questions

How many building permits does Milwaukee issue a year?About 1,540 a year in the City of Milwaukee: 3,079 permits issued June 2024 through May 2026, 1,470 of them in the last 12 months on file (to May 2026). That counts the permits in the City of Milwaukee's public permit work file, homes and commercial, not denied or withdrawn applications; the file doesn't hold every permit the city issues (see what it covers above).
Can I find a contractor's permits in Milwaukee?Not from this file: the city publishes its permits without the contractor's name, so we can't list or rank firms. Ask the contractor for the permit number of a past job.
What do people build most in Milwaukee?Remodels & repairs: 1,215 of the 3,079 permits (39%), then garages, sheds & shade structures (274), new homes (157), June 2024 through May 2026.
How do I look up a building permit in Milwaukee?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 Milwaukee →
How many permits were issued in Milwaukee last month?132 in May 2026, the last full month on file; 1,470 over the last 12 months on file (to May 2026).

Browse the permits

Browse 3,079 permits

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

MonthKind of workZIP code

The list loads as you reach it (3,079 permits).

Issued	Kind of work	City permit type	ZIP

Permits each month, the last 12 months on file

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

Month	Permits	Top kind of work
May 2026	132	Remodels & repairs (53)
Apr 2026	119	Remodels & repairs (48)
Mar 2026	93	Remodels & repairs (41)
Feb 2026	112	Remodels & repairs (45)
Jan 2026	80	Remodels & repairs (37)
Dec 2025	77	Remodels & repairs (33)
Nov 2025	105	Remodels & repairs (44)
Oct 2025	157	Remodels & repairs (53)
Sep 2025	150	Remodels & repairs (48)
Aug 2025	145	Remodels & repairs (45)
Jul 2025	142	Remodels & repairs (63)
Jun 2025	158	Remodels & repairs (64)

Download this table (CSV)