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Philadelphia, PA building permit statistics

Data through September 2026 · updated 19 Oct 2026

57,892 building permits issued in Philadelphia, October 2024 through September 2026: about 28,946 a year. The biggest kind of work is plumbing, with 20,008. 28,655 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), about the same as the 29,237 in the 12 months before. 100% were permits for homes. The busiest month for permits is March.

57,892permits issued
28,655last 12 months
−2%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
Plumbing20,00835%10,2449,764+5%100%March
Remodels & repairs10,51918%5,3745,145+4%100%October
Electrical9,82217%5,0394,783+5%100%October
HVAC6,88412%3,5103,374+4%100%January
Roofing3,8537%1,4662,387−39%100%August
Solar2,1884%6781,510−55%100%October
New homes1,3342%684650+5%100%September
Additions8471%438409+7%100%July
Demolition6211%313308+2%100%May
Garages, sheds & shade structures184under 1%92920%100%May
Fences & walls109under 1%5950+18%100%July
Other1,4673%7327350%100%October

Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: pools & spas (56).

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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)37,03428,136
20251229,52529,525
2026 (through September)921,33328,444

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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: 2,533Oct2024Nov 2024: 2,156Dec 2024: 2,345Jan 2025: 2,521Jan2025Feb 2025: 2,190Mar 2025: 2,812Apr 2025: 2,712May 2025: 2,485Jun 2025: 2,459Jul 2025: 2,426JulAug 2025: 2,323Sep 2025: 2,275Oct 2025: 2,907Nov 2025: 2,116Dec 2025: 2,299Jan 2026: 2,095Jan2026Feb 2026: 2,179Mar 2026: 2,710Apr 2026: 2,434May 2026: 2,544Jun 2026: 2,458Jul 2026: 2,374JulAug 2026: 2,390Sep 2026: 2,149
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Oct 20242,533
Nov 20242,156
Dec 20242,345
Jan 20252,521
Feb 20252,190
Mar 20252,812
Apr 20252,712
May 20252,485
Jun 20252,459
Jul 20252,426
Aug 20252,323
Sep 20252,275
Oct 20252,907
Nov 20252,116
Dec 20252,299
Jan 20262,095
Feb 20262,179
Mar 20262,710
Apr 20262,434
May 20262,544
Jun 20262,458
Jul 20262,374
Aug 20262,390
Sep 20262,149

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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.

Plumbing

20,008 permits · busiest March, quietest November

January: 93 (100 = an average month)February: 88 (100 = an average month)March: 124 (100 = an average month)124April: 112 (100 = an average month)May: 103 (100 = an average month)June: 107 (100 = an average month)July: 100 (100 = an average month)August: 94 (100 = an average month)September: 87 (100 = an average month)October: 113 (100 = an average month)November: 83 (100 = an average month)December: 96 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Remodels & repairs

10,519 permits · busiest October, quietest January

January: 87 (100 = an average month)February: 90 (100 = an average month)March: 105 (100 = an average month)April: 100 (100 = an average month)May: 100 (100 = an average month)June: 106 (100 = an average month)July: 105 (100 = an average month)August: 99 (100 = an average month)September: 110 (100 = an average month)October: 115 (100 = an average month)115November: 97 (100 = an average month)December: 87 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Electrical

9,822 permits · busiest October, quietest November

January: 93 (100 = an average month)February: 90 (100 = an average month)March: 109 (100 = an average month)April: 99 (100 = an average month)May: 104 (100 = an average month)June: 106 (100 = an average month)July: 96 (100 = an average month)August: 107 (100 = an average month)September: 96 (100 = an average month)October: 117 (100 = an average month)117November: 83 (100 = an average month)December: 101 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

HVAC

6,884 permits · busiest January, quietest September

January: 127 (100 = an average month)127February: 109 (100 = an average month)March: 119 (100 = an average month)April: 113 (100 = an average month)May: 108 (100 = an average month)June: 83 (100 = an average month)July: 83 (100 = an average month)August: 80 (100 = an average month)September: 74 (100 = an average month)October: 93 (100 = an average month)November: 99 (100 = an average month)December: 113 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Roofing

3,853 permits · busiest August, quietest February

January: 80 (100 = an average month)February: 76 (100 = an average month)March: 113 (100 = an average month)April: 107 (100 = an average month)May: 108 (100 = an average month)June: 84 (100 = an average month)July: 115 (100 = an average month)August: 128 (100 = an average month)128September: 90 (100 = an average month)October: 105 (100 = an average month)November: 100 (100 = an average month)December: 94 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Solar

2,188 permits · busiest October, quietest September

January: 95 (100 = an average month)February: 87 (100 = an average month)March: 124 (100 = an average month)April: 114 (100 = an average month)May: 97 (100 = an average month)June: 98 (100 = an average month)July: 100 (100 = an average month)August: 91 (100 = an average month)September: 61 (100 = an average month)October: 140 (100 = an average month)140November: 91 (100 = an average month)December: 101 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

New homes

1,334 permits · busiest September, quietest November

January: 113 (100 = an average month)February: 100 (100 = an average month)March: 99 (100 = an average month)April: 106 (100 = an average month)May: 108 (100 = an average month)June: 113 (100 = an average month)July: 84 (100 = an average month)August: 95 (100 = an average month)September: 127 (100 = an average month)127October: 117 (100 = an average month)November: 67 (100 = an average month)December: 71 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Additions

847 permits · busiest July, quietest December

January: 105 (100 = an average month)February: 91 (100 = an average month)March: 105 (100 = an average month)April: 91 (100 = an average month)May: 119 (100 = an average month)June: 101 (100 = an average month)July: 120 (100 = an average month)120August: 95 (100 = an average month)September: 96 (100 = an average month)October: 106 (100 = an average month)November: 89 (100 = an average month)December: 82 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
Kind of workJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Plumbing938812411210310710094871138396
Remodels & repairs8790105100100106105991101159787
Electrical939010999104106961079611783101
HVAC127109119113108838380749399113
Roofing8076113107108841151289010510094
Solar95871241149798100916114091101
New homes1131009910610811384951271176771
Additions105911059111910112095961068982

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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)57,892100%28,655
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
Finished20,85171.3%
Still open3,25811.1%
Expired5,12817.5%

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
191463,4906%Plumbing (1,188)
191433,2726%Plumbing (1,007)
191342,8035%Plumbing (1,083)
191252,6115%Plumbing (889)
191482,4874%Plumbing (938)
191402,4074%Plumbing (820)
191312,2794%Plumbing (790)
191212,2534%Plumbing (750)
191322,0964%Plumbing (709)
191452,0484%Plumbing (681)

All 42 ZIP codes with 250+ permits →

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How Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia, Licenses and Inspections Building and Zoning Permits, 2007 to present (OpenDataPhilly; Carto table permits), 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 Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) issues inside the city, which is also Philadelphia County: building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, EZ minor-work, demolition and solar permits for homes. Commercial permits, zoning and use permits, excavation and site permits, certificates of occupancy and event permits in the same file are not counted. Suburbs in Bucks, Montgomery and Delaware counties run their own permit offices and are not in this file.

  • The city's file lists a contractor on most permits, but these pages show permit counts only: there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Philadelphia.
  • We count residential permits only, as the city's file marks them; a home job filed as a commercial permit is not counted.
  • The city's open permit file has no declared job value, so we show no costs.
  • A new house gets separate building, plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits, so one project can count several times, once under each kind of work.
  • A final date is the day the city marked the permit completed. Permits that expired or were cancelled carry no final date even where the file shows one, because that date is when they lapsed.

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, "Philadelphia, PA building permit statistics", https://contractorrecords.com/philadelphia/permit-statistics, data through September 2026, from the City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections 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 Philadelphia issue a year?About 28,946 a year in Philadelphia: 57,892 permits over 24 months, October 2024 through September 2026. 28,655 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), about the same as the 29,237 in the 12 months before.
  • Are building permits up or down in Philadelphia?28,655 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), about the same as the 29,237 in the 12 months before. Plumbing permits grew most (9,764 to 10,244); roofing permits fell most (2,387 to 1,466).
  • What is the busiest month for permits in Philadelphia?March, counting every kind of work (114 against an average month of 100). November is the quietest (89). Each kind of work has its own season; the charts above show them.
  • What share of Philadelphia permits are for homes?100%: 57,892 of the 57,892 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026 were residential permits.
Philadelphia permit data →How long permits take in Philadelphia →Philadelphia plumbing permits →Philadelphia remodel and repair permits →Philadelphia electrical permits →Browse Philadelphia permits →