How many building permits does Newark issue a year?

About 3,362 a year in the City of Newark: 6,725 permits over 24 months, August 2024 through July 2026. 3,342 permits in the last 12 months on file (Aug 2025-Jul 2026), about the same as the 3,383 in the 12 months before.

Are building permits up or down in Newark?

3,342 permits in the last 12 months on file (Aug 2025-Jul 2026), about the same as the 3,383 in the 12 months before. Plumbing permits grew most (181 to 297); remodel and repair permits fell most (1,322 to 1,213).

What is the busiest month for permits in Newark?

March, counting every kind of work (122 against an average month of 100). September is the quietest (65). Each kind of work has its own season; the charts above show them.

What share of Newark permits are for homes?

66%: 4,408 of the 6,725 permits issued August 2024 through July 2026 were residential permits.

Newark, NJ Permit Statistics (2026): 6,725 Permits

By kind of work

Permits issued August 2024 through July 2026. Last 12 months on file is Aug 2025–Jul 2026; the 12 months before is Aug 2024–Jul 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	2,535	38%	1,213	1,322	−8%	100%	March
Electrical	906	13%	443	463	−4%	69%	July
Demolition	725	11%	338	387	−13%	8%	September
Plumbing	478	7%	297	181	+64%	89%	January
New homes	369	5%	195	174	+12%	100%	April
Other	1,692	25%	850	842	+1%	22%	July

Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: additions (20).

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By year

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 August)	5	1,425	3,420
2025	12	3,187	3,187
2026 (through July)	7	2,113	3,622

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By month

Permits issued each month, August 2024 through July 2026. The tallest bar is the busiest month on file.

The same numbers as a table

Month	Permits
Aug 2024	326
Sep 2024	167
Oct 2024	414
Nov 2024	233
Dec 2024	285
Jan 2025	314
Feb 2025	341
Mar 2025	289
Apr 2025	241
May 2025	262
Jun 2025	245
Jul 2025	266
Aug 2025	205
Sep 2025	199
Oct 2025	267
Nov 2025	198
Dec 2025	360
Jan 2026	276
Feb 2026	212
Mar 2026	392
Apr 2026	318
May 2026	316
Jun 2026	277
Jul 2026	322

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When each kind of work is filed

Permits by calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line), August 2024 through July 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.

Remodels & repairs

2,535 permits · busiest March, quietest September

Electrical

906 permits · busiest July, quietest January

Demolition

725 permits · busiest September, quietest June

Plumbing

478 permits · busiest January, quietest April

New homes

369 permits · busiest April, quietest July

The same numbers as a table

Kind of work	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Remodels & repairs	117	107	163	91	98	89	85	89	39	120	65	136
Electrical	48	94	69	126	131	98	136	95	79	126	89	109
Demolition	93	78	93	98	109	68	108	106	122	106	109	111
Plumbing	156	128	98	48	93	121	95	85	78	136	63	100
New homes	117	104	130	133	88	104	65	98	68	133	75	85

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Homes and everything else

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

Permit class	Permits	Share	Last 12 mo
Homes (residential)	4,408	66%	2,235
Other	2,317	34%	1,107

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How Newark compares with other cities

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

Finished share of permits a year or more old, compared across cities. Permit completion rates by city →
Share of permits still open a year after they were issued, compared across cities. Permits still open after a year, by city →
Firms per city, how many are active and how many are new, across 53 cities. How many contractors each city has →
Busiest Mar, quietest Sep for permits here; see when each trade peaks in 50 cities. Busiest months for home projects, by city →

How these numbers are made

Source: New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, NJ Construction Permit Data (data.nj.gov), Newark rows, read 23 Oct 2026. We count permits issued August 2024 through July 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out. Newark files a certificate with the state for only about one permit in seven, and the register has no expired or cancelled status, so no finished share is shown.

Construction permits the City of Newark construction office issued and reported to the state, for the City of Newark only. East Orange, Irvington, Harrison, Belleville and the rest of Essex County are not included.

Newark publishes no permit file of its own. These are the permits Newark reports to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, whose register names no contractor, so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Newark.
The state register was last updated in August 2026, so the window runs from August 2024 through July 2026.
Newark reports certificates of approval or occupancy to the state for only about one permit in seven, so the register can't show which permits finished or how long a permit takes.
Most permits are filed as alterations. Electrical and plumbing are permits that carried only that trade's fee; any job with a building fee counts as a remodel. Homes include apartment buildings as well as one- and two-family houses.
The register has no ZIP code, so there are no ZIP pages.
The value is the estimated construction cost on the permit, which sets the fee. It is not a final cost.

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 Newark, NJ building permit statistics", https://contractorrecords.com/newark/permit-statistics, data through July 2026, from the City of Newark Construction Code Office 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.

Download the tables (CSV): Permits by kind of work · Permits by year · Permits by month · Permits by calendar month (index) · Homes and other permits.

Common questions

How many building permits does Newark issue a year?About 3,362 a year in the City of Newark: 6,725 permits over 24 months, August 2024 through July 2026. 3,342 permits in the last 12 months on file (Aug 2025–Jul 2026), about the same as the 3,383 in the 12 months before.
Are building permits up or down in Newark?3,342 permits in the last 12 months on file (Aug 2025–Jul 2026), about the same as the 3,383 in the 12 months before. Plumbing permits grew most (181 to 297); remodel and repair permits fell most (1,322 to 1,213).
What is the busiest month for permits in Newark?March, counting every kind of work (122 against an average month of 100). September is the quietest (65). Each kind of work has its own season; the charts above show them.
What share of Newark permits are for homes?66%: 4,408 of the 6,725 permits issued August 2024 through July 2026 were residential permits.

Newark permit data →Newark remodel and repair permits →Newark electrical permits →Newark demolition permits →Browse Newark permits →