Data through September 2026 · updated 18 Oct 2026
76,879 building permits issued in Portland, October 2024 through September 2026: about 38,440 a year. The biggest kind of work is electrical, with 23,696. 39,103 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 4% more than the 37,776 in the 12 months before. 67% were permits for homes. The busiest month for permits is October.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical | 23,696 | 31% | 12,295 | 11,401 | +8% | 61% | March |
| HVAC | 16,519 | 21% | 8,429 | 8,090 | +4% | 86% | October |
| Plumbing | 15,031 | 20% | 8,093 | 6,938 | +17% | 79% | April |
| Remodels & repairs | 3,972 | 5% | 1,852 | 2,120 | −13% | 100% | October |
| Solar | 3,093 | 4% | 1,241 | 1,852 | −33% | 97% | October |
| New homes | 2,203 | 3% | 1,097 | 1,106 | −1% | 100% | October |
| Additions | 792 | 1% | 400 | 392 | +2% | 100% | April |
| Demolition | 685 | under 1% | 305 | 380 | −20% | 67% | March |
| Garages, sheds & shade structures | 348 | under 1% | 172 | 176 | −2% | 100% | January |
| ADUs & casitas | 245 | under 1% | 105 | 140 | −25% | 100% | December |
| Roofing | 150 | under 1% | 77 | 73 | +5% | 100% | December |
| Other | 10,107 | 13% | 5,020 | 5,087 | −1% | 0% | March |
Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: fences & walls (38).
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 | 9,500 | 38,000 |
| 2025 | 12 | 38,217 | 38,217 |
| 2026 (through September) | 9 | 29,162 | 38,883 |
Permits issued each month, October 2024 through September 2026. The tallest bar is the busiest month on file.
| Month | Permits |
|---|---|
| Oct 2024 | 3,688 |
| Nov 2024 | 2,831 |
| Dec 2024 | 2,981 |
| Jan 2025 | 3,077 |
| Feb 2025 | 3,009 |
| Mar 2025 | 3,376 |
| Apr 2025 | 3,291 |
| May 2025 | 3,180 |
| Jun 2025 | 3,143 |
| Jul 2025 | 3,238 |
| Aug 2025 | 3,020 |
| Sep 2025 | 2,942 |
| Oct 2025 | 3,754 |
| Nov 2025 | 2,991 |
| Dec 2025 | 3,196 |
| Jan 2026 | 3,259 |
| Feb 2026 | 2,989 |
| Mar 2026 | 3,462 |
| Apr 2026 | 3,295 |
| May 2026 | 3,116 |
| Jun 2026 | 3,299 |
| Jul 2026 | 3,366 |
| Aug 2026 | 3,118 |
| Sep 2026 | 3,258 |
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.
23,696 permits · busiest March, quietest November
16,519 permits · busiest October, quietest August
15,031 permits · busiest April, quietest December
3,972 permits · busiest October, quietest May
3,093 permits · busiest October, quietest January
2,203 permits · busiest October, quietest November
792 permits · busiest April, quietest January
685 permits · busiest March, quietest June
| Kind of work | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical | 105 | 94 | 111 | 107 | 98 | 104 | 99 | 94 | 95 | 109 | 91 | 92 |
| HVAC | 109 | 96 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 94 | 102 | 86 | 92 | 117 | 104 | 112 |
| Plumbing | 94 | 92 | 104 | 112 | 108 | 110 | 101 | 102 | 101 | 109 | 84 | 82 |
| Remodels & repairs | 99 | 97 | 115 | 96 | 84 | 95 | 112 | 101 | 92 | 128 | 85 | 94 |
| Solar | 54 | 85 | 92 | 92 | 80 | 71 | 106 | 92 | 107 | 207 | 106 | 107 |
| New homes | 84 | 108 | 126 | 105 | 74 | 120 | 94 | 89 | 107 | 139 | 64 | 90 |
| Additions | 74 | 80 | 98 | 123 | 92 | 115 | 118 | 115 | 103 | 117 | 79 | 85 |
| Demolition | 67 | 96 | 135 | 79 | 112 | 63 | 79 | 124 | 114 | 109 | 126 | 96 |
How the city classed each permit. Other covers commercial buildings, signs, towers and similar work.
| Permit class | Permits | Share | Last 12 mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes (residential) | 51,629 | 67% | 26,325 |
| Other | 25,250 | 33% | 12,778 |
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.
| Status | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Finished | 35,247 | 93.3% |
| Still open | 1,980 | 5.2% |
| Expired | 549 | 1.5% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 97219 | 5,377 | 7% | Electrical (1,634) |
| 97206 | 5,228 | 7% | Electrical (1,467) |
| 97202 | 4,844 | 6% | Electrical (1,463) |
| 97217 | 4,467 | 6% | Electrical (1,365) |
| 97211 | 4,237 | 6% | Electrical (1,230) |
| 97213 | 3,995 | 5% | Electrical (1,199) |
| 97214 | 3,587 | 5% | Electrical (1,005) |
| 97212 | 3,410 | 4% | Electrical (902) |
| 97203 | 3,135 | 4% | Electrical (934) |
| 97220 | 2,897 | 4% | Electrical (1,039) |
From our cross-city data studies: the same measure, read the same way, for every city we cover.
Permit statistics for other places in Portland. Each permit office keeps its own file, so the numbers are not added together.
Source: City of Portland, PortlandMaps Public/BDS_Permit FeatureServer layer 22 (All Permits), read 18 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.
Building and trade permits that Portland Permitting & Development (formerly the Bureau of Development Services) issued for property inside the City of Portland. Permits the bureau handles for places outside the city limits, and tree, nuisance, noise, land-use and right-of-way cases in the same file, are not counted. Gresham, Beaverton, Lake Oswego and the rest of the metro area run their own permit offices.
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, "Portland, OR building permit statistics", https://contractorrecords.com/portland/permit-statistics, data through September 2026, from Portland Permitting & 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 · 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.