How many building permits does Tacoma issue a year?

About 3,013 a year in Tacoma: 6,026 permits over 24 months, October 2024 through September 2026. 3,204 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025-Sep 2026), 14% more than the 2,822 in the 12 months before.

Are building permits up or down in Tacoma?

3,204 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025-Sep 2026), 14% more than the 2,822 in the 12 months before. HVAC permits grew most (1,332 to 1,452); solar permits fell most (93 to 34).

What is the busiest month for permits in Tacoma?

October, counting every kind of work (111 against an average month of 100). November is the quietest (85). Each kind of work has its own season; the charts above show them.

What share of Tacoma permits are for homes?

100%: 6,026 of the 6,026 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026 were residential permits.

Tacoma, WA Permit Statistics (2026): 6,026 Permits

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 work	Permits	Share	Last 12 mo	12 mo before	Change	Homes	Busiest month
HVAC	2,784	46%	1,452	1,332	+9%	100%	March
Remodels & repairs	1,223	20%	666	557	+20%	100%	July
Plumbing	931	15%	500	431	+16%	100%	April
New homes	269	4%	151	118	+28%	100%	September
ADUs & casitas	178	3%	110	68	+62%	100%	March
Additions	155	3%	89	66	+35%	100%	July
Demolition	150	2%	82	68	+21%	100%	August
Solar	127	2%	34	93	−63%	100%	December

Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: roofing (76), garages, sheds & shade structures (34), fences & walls (12), pools & spas (6), other (81).

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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
2024 (from October)	3	750	3,000
2025	12	2,834	2,834
2026 (through September)	9	2,442	3,256

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By month

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

The same numbers as a table

Month	Permits
Oct 2024	254
Nov 2024	224
Dec 2024	272
Jan 2025	256
Feb 2025	226
Mar 2025	248
Apr 2025	210
May 2025	227
Jun 2025	209
Jul 2025	270
Aug 2025	220
Sep 2025	206
Oct 2025	303
Nov 2025	204
Dec 2025	255
Jan 2026	219
Feb 2026	242
Mar 2026	282
Apr 2026	271
May 2026	247
Jun 2026	303
Jul 2026	280
Aug 2026	295
Sep 2026	303

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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.

HVAC

2,784 permits · busiest March, quietest April

Remodels & repairs

1,223 permits · busiest July, quietest November

Plumbing

931 permits · busiest April, quietest November

New homes

269 permits · busiest September, quietest December

ADUs & casitas

178 permits · busiest March, quietest November

Additions

155 permits · busiest July, quietest November

Demolition

150 permits · busiest August, quietest May

Solar

127 permits · busiest December, quietest August

The same numbers as a table

Kind of work	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
HVAC	106	103	120	81	89	97	92	96	89	117	101	109
Remodels & repairs	68	76	95	95	83	126	130	106	124	113	61	125
Plumbing	82	103	106	134	116	104	112	93	90	95	72	92
New homes	129	80	58	147	107	103	103	134	183	36	89	31
ADUs & casitas	81	67	155	115	121	74	74	142	128	94	47	101
Additions	132	124	54	124	108	116	155	124	62	116	39	46
Demolition	80	72	128	48	32	80	112	216	144	128	80	80
Solar	189	76	66	57	47	38	76	19	47	180	189	217

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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)	6,026	100%	3,204
Other	0	0%	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.

Status	Permits	Share
Finished	2,039	72.3%
Still open	781	27.7%
Expired	2	0.1%

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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 code	Permits	Share	Top kind of work
98407	949	16%	HVAC (431)
98406	941	16%	HVAC (459)
98404	854	14%	HVAC (362)
98405	686	11%	HVAC (311)
98422	574	10%	HVAC (301)
98408	569	9%	HVAC (258)
98409	461	8%	HVAC (197)
98418	288	5%	HVAC (128)
98403	249	4%	HVAC (120)
98465	208	3%	HVAC (100)

All 8 ZIP codes with 250+ permits →

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How Tacoma compares with other cities

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

74% finished of HVAC permits a year or more old here, against 79% across 39 cities (16th lowest of 40). Permit completion rates by city →
26% still open of HVAC permits a year after issue here, against 21% across 39 cities (16th most left open of 40). 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 Oct, quietest Nov 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 Seattle and Puget Sound. Each permit office keeps its own file, so the numbers are not added together.

Seattle, WA Bellevue, WA King County, WA Everett, WA Pierce County, WA Kitsap County, WA Auburn, WA

How these numbers are made

Source: City of Tacoma, Accela Permit Data (ArcGIS layer accela_permit_data), read 19 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.

Residential building permits the City of Tacoma Planning and Development Services issues inside the city: heating and cooling, plumbing, alterations, new houses, ADUs and demolition, for houses, duplexes and small apartment buildings. Commercial permits, site development, utility connections, right-of-way and sign permits in the same file are not counted. Unincorporated Pierce County and the neighbouring cities (Lakewood, University Place, Fife, Puyallup and the rest) run their own permit offices and are not in this file.

The city's file names no contractor (only an applicant, often the owner or a permit service), so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Tacoma.
Electrical work in Tacoma is permitted and inspected by Tacoma Power, not in this file, so there is no electrical count.
The file has a status but no final inspection date, so we show which permits finished but not how long they took. The city rarely marks a permit expired: one that lapsed usually still shows as issued, so it counts as open.
The value is the valuation on the permit; trade permits often carry none.
Residential means the city's residential permit class, which includes duplexes and small apartment buildings as well as houses.

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, "Tacoma, WA building permit statistics", https://contractorrecords.com/tacoma/permit-statistics, data through September 2026, from the City of Tacoma Planning and Development 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 Tacoma issue a year?About 3,013 a year in Tacoma: 6,026 permits over 24 months, October 2024 through September 2026. 3,204 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 14% more than the 2,822 in the 12 months before.
Are building permits up or down in Tacoma?3,204 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 14% more than the 2,822 in the 12 months before. HVAC permits grew most (1,332 to 1,452); solar permits fell most (93 to 34).
What is the busiest month for permits in Tacoma?October, counting every kind of work (111 against an average month of 100). November is the quietest (85). Each kind of work has its own season; the charts above show them.
What share of Tacoma permits are for homes?100%: 6,026 of the 6,026 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026 were residential permits.

Tacoma permit data →Tacoma HVAC permits →Tacoma remodel and repair permits →Tacoma plumbing permits →Browse Tacoma permits →