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Norfolk, VA building permit statistics

Data through September 2026 · updated 19 Oct 2026

13,323 building permits issued in Norfolk, October 2024 through September 2026: about 6,662 a year. The biggest kind of work is electrical, with 3,913. 7,063 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 13% more than the 6,260 in the 12 months before. 100% were permits for homes. The busiest month for permits is March.

13,323permits issued
7,063last 12 months
+13%vs the 12 months before
100%for homes
Marbusiest month
Sep 2026records through

By kind of work

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 workPermitsShareLast 12 mo12 mo beforeChangeHomesBusiest month
Electrical3,91329%2,0031,910+5%100%March
HVAC3,70828%2,0121,696+19%100%August
Plumbing2,60920%1,4441,165+24%100%March
Remodels & repairs1,32710%713614+16%100%May
Solar6245%304320−5%100%March
New homes4904%264226+17%100%March
Additions2822%129153−16%100%June
Demolition1401%6872−6%100%August
Other1421%8161+33%100%April

Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: roofing (49), garages, sheds & shade structures (36), ADUs & casitas (3).

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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
2024 (from October)31,6996,796
2025126,0366,036
2026 (through September)95,5887,451

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By month

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

Oct 2024: 645Oct2024Nov 2024: 535Dec 2024: 519Jan 2025: 515Jan2025Feb 2025: 440Mar 2025: 595Apr 2025: 470May 2025: 498Jun 2025: 481Jul 2025: 514JulAug 2025: 596Sep 2025: 452Oct 2025: 523Nov 2025: 436Dec 2025: 516Jan 2026: 538Jan2026Feb 2026: 637Mar 2026: 786Apr 2026: 653May 2026: 567Jun 2026: 613Jul 2026: 633JulAug 2026: 573Sep 2026: 588
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Oct 2024645
Nov 2024535
Dec 2024519
Jan 2025515
Feb 2025440
Mar 2025595
Apr 2025470
May 2025498
Jun 2025481
Jul 2025514
Aug 2025596
Sep 2025452
Oct 2025523
Nov 2025436
Dec 2025516
Jan 2026538
Feb 2026637
Mar 2026786
Apr 2026653
May 2026567
Jun 2026613
Jul 2026633
Aug 2026573
Sep 2026588

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When each kind of work is filed

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.

Electrical

3,913 permits · busiest March, quietest December

January: 93 (100 = an average month)February: 98 (100 = an average month)March: 121 (100 = an average month)121April: 100 (100 = an average month)May: 94 (100 = an average month)June: 103 (100 = an average month)July: 94 (100 = an average month)August: 98 (100 = an average month)September: 94 (100 = an average month)October: 116 (100 = an average month)November: 106 (100 = an average month)December: 82 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

HVAC

3,708 permits · busiest August, quietest June

January: 99 (100 = an average month)February: 107 (100 = an average month)March: 113 (100 = an average month)April: 95 (100 = an average month)May: 87 (100 = an average month)June: 83 (100 = an average month)July: 106 (100 = an average month)August: 115 (100 = an average month)115September: 104 (100 = an average month)October: 97 (100 = an average month)November: 87 (100 = an average month)December: 107 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Plumbing

2,609 permits · busiest March, quietest November

January: 100 (100 = an average month)February: 97 (100 = an average month)March: 145 (100 = an average month)145April: 109 (100 = an average month)May: 90 (100 = an average month)June: 110 (100 = an average month)July: 93 (100 = an average month)August: 112 (100 = an average month)September: 82 (100 = an average month)October: 92 (100 = an average month)November: 74 (100 = an average month)December: 95 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Remodels & repairs

1,327 permits · busiest May, quietest August

January: 89 (100 = an average month)February: 86 (100 = an average month)March: 121 (100 = an average month)April: 118 (100 = an average month)May: 123 (100 = an average month)123June: 91 (100 = an average month)July: 111 (100 = an average month)August: 77 (100 = an average month)September: 91 (100 = an average month)October: 109 (100 = an average month)November: 86 (100 = an average month)December: 97 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Solar

624 permits · busiest March, quietest November

January: 92 (100 = an average month)February: 60 (100 = an average month)March: 144 (100 = an average month)144April: 73 (100 = an average month)May: 96 (100 = an average month)June: 125 (100 = an average month)July: 133 (100 = an average month)August: 131 (100 = an average month)September: 96 (100 = an average month)October: 129 (100 = an average month)November: 52 (100 = an average month)December: 69 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

New homes

490 permits · busiest March, quietest April

January: 93 (100 = an average month)February: 76 (100 = an average month)March: 144 (100 = an average month)144April: 73 (100 = an average month)May: 127 (100 = an average month)June: 83 (100 = an average month)July: 137 (100 = an average month)August: 98 (100 = an average month)September: 81 (100 = an average month)October: 113 (100 = an average month)November: 88 (100 = an average month)December: 86 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Additions

282 permits · busiest June, quietest August

January: 85 (100 = an average month)February: 111 (100 = an average month)March: 106 (100 = an average month)April: 136 (100 = an average month)May: 111 (100 = an average month)June: 140 (100 = an average month)140July: 81 (100 = an average month)August: 68 (100 = an average month)September: 81 (100 = an average month)October: 123 (100 = an average month)November: 68 (100 = an average month)December: 89 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Demolition

140 permits · busiest August, quietest December

January: 120 (100 = an average month)February: 103 (100 = an average month)March: 146 (100 = an average month)April: 103 (100 = an average month)May: 60 (100 = an average month)June: 86 (100 = an average month)July: 129 (100 = an average month)August: 154 (100 = an average month)154September: 94 (100 = an average month)October: 77 (100 = an average month)November: 77 (100 = an average month)December: 51 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
Kind of workJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Electrical93981211009410394989411610682
HVAC991071139587831061151049787107
Plumbing10097145109901109311282927495
Remodels & repairs89861211181239111177911098697
Solar92601447396125133131961295269
New homes9376144731278313798811138886
Additions851111061361111408168811236889
Demolition120103146103608612915494777751

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Homes and everything else

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

Permit classPermitsShareLast 12 mo
Homes (residential)13,323100%7,063
Other00%0

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How many permits get finished

Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025, so each has had at least 12 months to reach a final. Finished means the city recorded a final inspection or marked it complete; expired means it lapsed without one.

StatusPermitsShare
Finished5,01880.2%
Still open1011.6%
Expired1,14118.2%

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 city's permits are counted.

ZIP codePermitsShareTop kind of work
235182,17616%HVAC (651)
235031,86314%HVAC (536)
235131,79914%Electrical (565)
235051,65212%HVAC (460)
235081,2179%HVAC (380)
235021,1469%HVAC (327)
235091,0648%Electrical (320)
235041,0418%Electrical (310)
235235674%Electrical (307)
235073903%HVAC (119)

All 10 ZIP codes with 250+ permits →

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How Norfolk compares with other cities

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

How these numbers are made

Source: City of Norfolk Open Data, Permits (data.norfolk.gov, dataset fahm-yuh4), read 19 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.

Residential permits the City of Norfolk issues inside the city: building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and demolition permits for single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses and their garages and sheds. Commercial permits, zoning permits and short-term rental inspections in the same file are not counted. Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and the other Hampton Roads cities run their own permit offices and are not in this file.

  • The city's file names no contractor, so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Norfolk.
  • The city files roof replacements and rooftop solar under one work type. We count a permit of that type as solar when the city issued an electrical permit under it, and as roofing when it did not.
  • A new house or a big renovation gets separate building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, so one project can count several times, once under each kind of work.
  • The value is the project cost declared on the permit. The ZIP code comes from the city assessor's record for the parcel.

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, "Norfolk, VA building permit statistics", https://contractorrecords.com/norfolk/permit-statistics, data through September 2026, from the City of Norfolk Development Services Center 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 Norfolk issue a year?About 6,662 a year in Norfolk: 13,323 permits over 24 months, October 2024 through September 2026. 7,063 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 13% more than the 6,260 in the 12 months before.
  • Are building permits up or down in Norfolk?7,063 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 13% more than the 6,260 in the 12 months before. HVAC permits grew most (1,696 to 2,012); home addition permits fell most (153 to 129).
  • What is the busiest month for permits in Norfolk?March, counting every kind of work (124 against an average month of 100). November is the quietest (87). Each kind of work has its own season; the charts above show them.
  • What share of Norfolk permits are for homes?100%: 13,323 of the 13,323 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026 were residential permits.
Norfolk permit data →How long permits take in Norfolk →Norfolk electrical permits →Norfolk HVAC permits →Norfolk plumbing permits →Browse Norfolk permits →