How many building permits does Richmond issue a year?

About 3,392 a year in Richmond: 6,783 permits over 24 months, May 2023 through April 2025. 3,298 permits in the last 12 months on file (May 2024-Apr 2025), 5% fewer than the 3,485 in the 12 months before.

Are building permits up or down in Richmond?

3,298 permits in the last 12 months on file (May 2024-Apr 2025), 5% fewer than the 3,485 in the 12 months before. New home permits grew most (72 to 76); remodel and repair permits fell most (628 to 531).

What is the busiest month for permits in Richmond?

August, counting every kind of work (123 against an average month of 100). December is the quietest (70). Each kind of work has its own season; the charts above show them.

What share of Richmond permits are for homes?

79%: 5,374 of the 6,783 permits issued May 2023 through April 2025 were residential permits.

Richmond, CA Permit Statistics (2025): 6,783 Permits

By kind of work

Permits issued May 2023 through April 2025. Last 12 months on file is May 2024–Apr 2025; the 12 months before is May 2023–Apr 2024. 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	1,176	17%	585	591	−1%	72%	May
Remodels & repairs	1,159	17%	531	628	−15%	100%	August
Roofing	1,054	16%	525	529	−1%	92%	August
Solar	1,001	15%	497	504	−1%	97%	May
Plumbing	726	11%	322	404	−20%	79%	June
HVAC	549	8%	271	278	−3%	90%	October
New homes	148	2%	76	72	+6%	100%	September
ADUs & casitas	135	2%	59	76	−22%	100%	October
Other	756	11%	400	356	+12%	1%	July

Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: additions (47), demolition (17), fences & walls (9), garages, sheds & shade structures (4), pools & spas (2).

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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
2023 (from May)	8	2,356	3,534
2024	12	3,385	3,385
2025 (through April)	4	1,042	3,126

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By month

Permits issued each month, May 2023 through April 2025. The tallest bar is the busiest month on file.

The same numbers as a table

Month	Permits
May 2023	391
Jun 2023	337
Jul 2023	228
Aug 2023	356
Sep 2023	289
Oct 2023	287
Nov 2023	269
Dec 2023	199
Jan 2024	267
Feb 2024	277
Mar 2024	286
Apr 2024	299
May 2024	271
Jun 2024	213
Jul 2024	338
Aug 2024	341
Sep 2024	315
Oct 2024	355
Nov 2024	227
Dec 2024	196
Jan 2025	267
Feb 2025	273
Mar 2025	254
Apr 2025	248

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When each kind of work is filed

Permits by calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line), May 2023 through April 2025. 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

1,176 permits · busiest May, quietest June

Remodels & repairs

1,159 permits · busiest August, quietest December

Roofing

1,054 permits · busiest August, quietest December

Solar

1,001 permits · busiest May, quietest December

Plumbing

726 permits · busiest June, quietest December

HVAC

549 permits · busiest October, quietest June

New homes

148 permits · busiest September, quietest January

ADUs & casitas

135 permits · busiest October, quietest January

The same numbers as a table

Kind of work	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Electrical	117	101	108	103	118	68	90	116	97	114	85	82
Remodels & repairs	100	91	106	86	104	116	86	129	95	121	85	81
Roofing	104	89	93	110	100	87	94	150	125	121	71	56
Solar	52	115	86	119	158	90	94	108	149	108	72	50
Plumbing	81	101	98	86	109	147	104	142	84	91	106	51
HVAC	136	105	83	90	83	70	96	96	103	140	103	96
New homes	49	122	97	105	146	114	89	122	162	73	73	49
ADUs & casitas	62	89	80	107	133	133	71	124	71	142	107	80

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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)	5,374	79%	2,652
Other	1,409	21%	646

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How many permits get finished

Permits issued May 2023–Apr 2024, 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	2,650	76.0%
Still open	448	12.9%
Expired	387	11.1%

How long each kind of permit takes →

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By ZIP code

The 7 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
94804	2,392	35%	Remodels & repairs (474)
94801	1,635	24%	Electrical (419)
94806	1,065	16%	Plumbing (260)
94803	917	14%	Solar (206)
94805	750	11%	Roofing (177)
94530	17	under 1%	HVAC (6)
94802	6	under 1%	Other

All 5 ZIP codes with 250+ permits →

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How Richmond compares with other cities

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

76% finished of electrical permits a year or more old here, against 80% across 37 cities (14th lowest of 38). Permit completion rates by city →
13% still open of electrical permits a year after issue here, against 20% across 37 cities (12th fewest left open of 38). 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 Aug, quietest Dec for permits here; see when each trade peaks in 50 cities. Busiest months for home projects, by city →

Nearby permit data

Permit statistics for other places in the Bay Area. Each permit office keeps its own file, so the numbers are not added together.

San Francisco, CA Palo Alto, CA Marin County, CA Sonoma County, CA

How these numbers are made

Source: Transparent Richmond, PermitTrak (Socrata dataset qg2r-652v), read 21 Oct 2026. We count permits issued May 2023 through April 2025; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.

Building and trade permits the City of Richmond issued inside the city limits, including SolarAPP+ solar permits; a few city parcels carry an El Sobrante or San Pablo mailing address. Encroachment, fire, wastewater, rent-control and business permits, plan-check records and revisions of earlier permits are left out. Unincorporated North Richmond and El Sobrante are permitted by Contra Costa County and are not in this file.

The city's file names no contractor, so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Richmond.
The city's published file holds no building permit issued after April 2025, although it is still updated for other permit kinds, so these pages end with April 2025.
Finished means the city's status is Finaled or Closed; a final date comes from the city's finaled date. Expired permits lapsed without a final inspection; cancelled permits are not counted.
The value is the job value declared on the permit.
Homes are the permits the city files as residential (building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical) plus SolarAPP+ rooftop solar permits.
Solar battery (Powerwall) permits without panels count as electrical; seismic retrofits and alteration or repair permits count as remodels.

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, "Richmond, CA building permit statistics", https://contractorrecords.com/richmond-ca/permit-statistics, data through April 2025, from City of Richmond Building Services 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 Richmond issue a year?About 3,392 a year in Richmond: 6,783 permits over 24 months, May 2023 through April 2025. 3,298 permits in the last 12 months on file (May 2024–Apr 2025), 5% fewer than the 3,485 in the 12 months before.
Are building permits up or down in Richmond?3,298 permits in the last 12 months on file (May 2024–Apr 2025), 5% fewer than the 3,485 in the 12 months before. New home permits grew most (72 to 76); remodel and repair permits fell most (628 to 531).
What is the busiest month for permits in Richmond?August, counting every kind of work (123 against an average month of 100). December is the quietest (70). Each kind of work has its own season; the charts above show them.
What share of Richmond permits are for homes?79%: 5,374 of the 6,783 permits issued May 2023 through April 2025 were residential permits.

Richmond permit data →How long permits take in Richmond →Richmond electrical permits →Richmond remodel and repair permits →Richmond roofing permits →Browse Richmond permits →