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The City of Santa Barbara, CA building permit statistics

Data through August 2025 · updated 19 Oct 2026

5,231 building permits issued in the City of Santa Barbara, September 2023 through August 2025: about 2,616 a year. The biggest kind of work is roofing, with 1,397. 2,583 permits in the last 12 months on file (Sep 2024–Aug 2025), 2% fewer than the 2,648 in the 12 months before. 66% were permits for homes. The busiest month for permits is April.

5,231permits issued
2,583last 12 months on file
−2%vs the 12 months before
66%for homes
Aprbusiest month
Aug 2025records through

By kind of work

Permits issued September 2023 through August 2025. Last 12 months on file is Sep 2024–Aug 2025; the 12 months before is Sep 2023–Aug 2024. 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
Roofing1,39727%679718−5%33%April
Electrical69313%302391−23%81%May
Solar65613%307349−12%96%January
Remodels & repairs65112%353298+18%100%October
Plumbing4088%208200+4%78%April
HVAC2565%127129−2%81%January
ADUs & casitas2365%125111+13%100%August
Demolition1142%6747+43%49%December
Other55111%273278−2%11%August

Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: additions (81), fences & walls (67), pools & spas (58), garages, sheds & shade structures (37), new homes (26).

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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
2023 (from September)47942,382
2024122,6762,676
2025 (through August)81,7612,642

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By month

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

Sep 2023: 196Sep2023Oct 2023: 241Nov 2023: 208Dec 2023: 149Jan 2024: 243Jan2024Feb 2024: 183Mar 2024: 228Apr 2024: 264May 2024: 263Jun 2024: 231Jul 2024: 213JulAug 2024: 229Sep 2024: 191Oct 2024: 272Nov 2024: 172Dec 2024: 187Jan 2025: 218Jan2025Feb 2025: 177Mar 2025: 214Apr 2025: 271May 2025: 191Jun 2025: 221Jul 2025: 199JulAug 2025: 270
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Sep 2023196
Oct 2023241
Nov 2023208
Dec 2023149
Jan 2024243
Feb 2024183
Mar 2024228
Apr 2024264
May 2024263
Jun 2024231
Jul 2024213
Aug 2024229
Sep 2024191
Oct 2024272
Nov 2024172
Dec 2024187
Jan 2025218
Feb 2025177
Mar 2025214
Apr 2025271
May 2025191
Jun 2025221
Jul 2025199
Aug 2025270

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When each kind of work is filed

Permits by calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line), September 2023 through August 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.

Roofing

1,397 permits · busiest April, quietest December

January: 99 (100 = an average month)February: 82 (100 = an average month)March: 112 (100 = an average month)April: 126 (100 = an average month)126May: 105 (100 = an average month)June: 103 (100 = an average month)July: 103 (100 = an average month)August: 105 (100 = an average month)September: 95 (100 = an average month)October: 119 (100 = an average month)November: 87 (100 = an average month)December: 64 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Electrical

693 permits · busiest May, quietest December

January: 107 (100 = an average month)February: 97 (100 = an average month)March: 102 (100 = an average month)April: 142 (100 = an average month)May: 149 (100 = an average month)149June: 95 (100 = an average month)July: 83 (100 = an average month)August: 83 (100 = an average month)September: 80 (100 = an average month)October: 133 (100 = an average month)November: 78 (100 = an average month)December: 50 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Solar

656 permits · busiest January, quietest December

January: 159 (100 = an average month)159February: 80 (100 = an average month)March: 90 (100 = an average month)April: 126 (100 = an average month)May: 70 (100 = an average month)June: 95 (100 = an average month)July: 68 (100 = an average month)August: 117 (100 = an average month)September: 97 (100 = an average month)October: 124 (100 = an average month)November: 112 (100 = an average month)December: 62 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Remodels & repairs

651 permits · busiest October, quietest February

January: 101 (100 = an average month)February: 81 (100 = an average month)March: 103 (100 = an average month)April: 112 (100 = an average month)May: 111 (100 = an average month)June: 101 (100 = an average month)July: 98 (100 = an average month)August: 105 (100 = an average month)September: 87 (100 = an average month)October: 118 (100 = an average month)118November: 90 (100 = an average month)December: 92 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Plumbing

408 permits · busiest April, quietest November

January: 97 (100 = an average month)February: 97 (100 = an average month)March: 138 (100 = an average month)April: 141 (100 = an average month)141May: 118 (100 = an average month)June: 100 (100 = an average month)July: 94 (100 = an average month)August: 106 (100 = an average month)September: 85 (100 = an average month)October: 97 (100 = an average month)November: 59 (100 = an average month)December: 68 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

HVAC

256 permits · busiest January, quietest September

January: 164 (100 = an average month)164February: 122 (100 = an average month)March: 56 (100 = an average month)April: 98 (100 = an average month)May: 84 (100 = an average month)June: 98 (100 = an average month)July: 89 (100 = an average month)August: 122 (100 = an average month)September: 52 (100 = an average month)October: 94 (100 = an average month)November: 145 (100 = an average month)December: 75 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

ADUs & casitas

236 permits · busiest August, quietest January

January: 66 (100 = an average month)February: 66 (100 = an average month)March: 97 (100 = an average month)April: 107 (100 = an average month)May: 92 (100 = an average month)June: 137 (100 = an average month)July: 112 (100 = an average month)August: 163 (100 = an average month)163September: 71 (100 = an average month)October: 112 (100 = an average month)November: 107 (100 = an average month)December: 71 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Demolition

114 permits · busiest December, quietest March

January: 63 (100 = an average month)February: 53 (100 = an average month)March: 21 (100 = an average month)April: 126 (100 = an average month)May: 95 (100 = an average month)June: 95 (100 = an average month)July: 84 (100 = an average month)August: 137 (100 = an average month)September: 116 (100 = an average month)October: 126 (100 = an average month)November: 105 (100 = an average month)December: 179 (100 = an average month)179JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
Kind of workJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Roofing9982112126105103103105951198764
Electrical10797102142149958383801337850
Solar15980901267095681179712411262
Remodels & repairs1018110311211110198105871189092
Plumbing97971381411181009410685975968
HVAC1641225698849889122529414575
ADUs & casitas666697107921371121637111210771
Demolition635321126959584137116126105179

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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)3,44766%1,707
Other1,78434%876

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How many permits get finished

Permits issued Sep 2023–Aug 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. The file doesn't mark permits expired, so a lapsed permit still reads open.

StatusPermitsShare
Finished1,58960.0%
Still open1,05940.0%

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 codePermitsShareTop kind of work
931051,41527%Roofing (396)
931011,40927%Roofing (424)
931091,04520%Electrical (232)
9310397419%Roofing (254)
931082054%Roofing (52)
931101563%Roofing (46)
931177under 1%HVAC (2)

All 4 ZIP codes with 250+ permits →

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How Santa Barbara 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 Santa Barbara GIS, Building Permits layer (Building_Permits FeatureServer, Accela BLD records), read 19 Oct 2026. We count permits issued September 2023 through August 2025; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.

Building and trade permits the City of Santa Barbara issues inside city limits: new homes and ADUs, additions, alterations, re-roofs, solar, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, pool, demolition and sign permits. Revisions to an earlier permit, flood-elevation determinations and other administrative records, and grading and paving sitework are not counted. Goleta, Montecito and the rest of unincorporated Santa Barbara County are permitted by other offices and are not in this file.

  • The city's layer names no contractor, so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Santa Barbara.
  • The layer has no declared job value, so we show no costs.
  • The city has not added permits to this layer since early September 2025, so these pages end with August 2025.
  • A permit counts as finished when the city marks it complete; the final date is the layer's completed date.
  • Homes are permits the city codes as one- or two-family dwellings (its R and R-3 codes) and its 1 & 2 family express permits; apartment buildings count as other.
  • Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are separate from the building permit for the same job, so one project can count more than once.

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 Santa Barbara, CA building permit statistics", https://contractorrecords.com/santa-barbara/permit-statistics, data through August 2025, from City of Santa Barbara Community Development, Building & Safety 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 Santa Barbara issue a year?About 2,616 a year in the City of Santa Barbara: 5,231 permits over 24 months, September 2023 through August 2025. 2,583 permits in the last 12 months on file (Sep 2024–Aug 2025), 2% fewer than the 2,648 in the 12 months before.
  • Are building permits up or down in Santa Barbara?2,583 permits in the last 12 months on file (Sep 2024–Aug 2025), 2% fewer than the 2,648 in the 12 months before. Remodel and repair permits grew most (298 to 353); electrical permits fell most (391 to 302).
  • What is the busiest month for permits in Santa Barbara?April, counting every kind of work (123 against an average month of 100). December is the quietest (77). Each kind of work has its own season; the charts above show them.
  • What share of Santa Barbara permits are for homes?66%: 3,447 of the 5,231 permits issued September 2023 through August 2025 were residential permits.
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