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Unincorporated Wake County and the towns of Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon and Rolesville, NC building permit statistics

Data through September 2026 · updated 20 Oct 2026

11,002 building permits issued in unincorporated Wake County and the towns of Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon and Rolesville, October 2024 through September 2026: about 5,501 a year. The biggest kind of work is new homes, with 5,757. 5,762 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 10% more than the 5,240 in the 12 months before. 90% were permits for homes. The busiest month for permits is May.

11,002permits issued
5,762last 12 months
+10%vs the 12 months before
90%for homes
Maybusiest 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
New homes5,75752%3,0852,672+15%100%May
Remodels & repairs1,52414%746778−4%100%July
Garages, sheds & shade structures9298%509420+21%100%April
Additions5885%306282+9%100%July
Pools & spas4614%235226+4%100%April
Solar4204%202218−7%100%September
Demolition1732%9479+19%87%April
Other1,06910%546523+4%0%July

Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: ADUs & casitas (44), fences & walls (21), roofing (16).

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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)31,1424,568
2025125,2795,279
2026 (through September)94,5816,108

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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: 453Oct2024Nov 2024: 344Dec 2024: 345Jan 2025: 480Jan2025Feb 2025: 410Mar 2025: 470Apr 2025: 457May 2025: 498Jun 2025: 414Jul 2025: 452JulAug 2025: 470Sep 2025: 447Oct 2025: 406Nov 2025: 320Dec 2025: 455Jan 2026: 432Jan2026Feb 2026: 416Mar 2026: 479Apr 2026: 573May 2026: 590Jun 2026: 583Jul 2026: 608JulAug 2026: 456Sep 2026: 444
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Oct 2024453
Nov 2024344
Dec 2024345
Jan 2025480
Feb 2025410
Mar 2025470
Apr 2025457
May 2025498
Jun 2025414
Jul 2025452
Aug 2025470
Sep 2025447
Oct 2025406
Nov 2025320
Dec 2025455
Jan 2026432
Feb 2026416
Mar 2026479
Apr 2026573
May 2026590
Jun 2026583
Jul 2026608
Aug 2026456
Sep 2026444

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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.

New homes

5,757 permits · busiest May, quietest November

January: 101 (100 = an average month)February: 92 (100 = an average month)March: 105 (100 = an average month)April: 111 (100 = an average month)May: 129 (100 = an average month)129June: 106 (100 = an average month)July: 109 (100 = an average month)August: 103 (100 = an average month)September: 82 (100 = an average month)October: 97 (100 = an average month)November: 65 (100 = an average month)December: 101 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Remodels & repairs

1,524 permits · busiest July, quietest December

January: 109 (100 = an average month)February: 90 (100 = an average month)March: 125 (100 = an average month)April: 102 (100 = an average month)May: 98 (100 = an average month)June: 111 (100 = an average month)July: 130 (100 = an average month)130August: 96 (100 = an average month)September: 113 (100 = an average month)October: 83 (100 = an average month)November: 74 (100 = an average month)December: 69 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Garages, sheds & shade structures

929 permits · busiest April, quietest December

January: 85 (100 = an average month)February: 84 (100 = an average month)March: 97 (100 = an average month)April: 132 (100 = an average month)132May: 121 (100 = an average month)June: 103 (100 = an average month)July: 118 (100 = an average month)August: 107 (100 = an average month)September: 103 (100 = an average month)October: 90 (100 = an average month)November: 84 (100 = an average month)December: 75 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Additions

588 permits · busiest July, quietest November

January: 100 (100 = an average month)February: 90 (100 = an average month)March: 102 (100 = an average month)April: 110 (100 = an average month)May: 114 (100 = an average month)June: 124 (100 = an average month)July: 127 (100 = an average month)127August: 118 (100 = an average month)September: 98 (100 = an average month)October: 86 (100 = an average month)November: 59 (100 = an average month)December: 71 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Pools & spas

461 permits · busiest April, quietest August

January: 99 (100 = an average month)February: 115 (100 = an average month)March: 96 (100 = an average month)April: 164 (100 = an average month)164May: 94 (100 = an average month)June: 107 (100 = an average month)July: 109 (100 = an average month)August: 62 (100 = an average month)September: 122 (100 = an average month)October: 81 (100 = an average month)November: 65 (100 = an average month)December: 86 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Solar

420 permits · busiest September, quietest January

January: 66 (100 = an average month)February: 77 (100 = an average month)March: 74 (100 = an average month)April: 89 (100 = an average month)May: 94 (100 = an average month)June: 106 (100 = an average month)July: 94 (100 = an average month)August: 117 (100 = an average month)September: 160 (100 = an average month)160October: 120 (100 = an average month)November: 134 (100 = an average month)December: 69 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND

Demolition

173 permits · busiest April, quietest December

January: 118 (100 = an average month)February: 83 (100 = an average month)March: 55 (100 = an average month)April: 173 (100 = an average month)173May: 125 (100 = an average month)June: 111 (100 = an average month)July: 118 (100 = an average month)August: 104 (100 = an average month)September: 76 (100 = an average month)October: 104 (100 = an average month)November: 83 (100 = an average month)December: 49 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
Kind of workJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
New homes10192105111129106109103829765101
Remodels & repairs109901251029811113096113837469
Garages, sheds & shade structures858497132121103118107103908475
Additions1009010211011412412711898865971
Pools & spas99115961649410710962122816586
Solar66777489941069411716012013469
Demolition1188355173125111118104761048349

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Homes and everything else

How the county classed each permit. Other covers commercial buildings, signs, towers and similar work.

Permit classPermitsShareLast 12 mo
Homes (residential)9,91090%5,204
Other1,09210%558

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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 county recorded a final inspection or marked it complete; expired means it lapsed without one.

StatusPermitsShare
Finished4,56387.1%
Still open53710.2%
Expired1402.7%

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 county's permits are counted.

ZIP codePermitsShareTop kind of work
275912,22020%New homes (1,574)
275451,61815%New homes (1,082)
275871,23711%New homes (469)
275971,0069%New homes (656)
275719819%New homes (758)
276145385%Remodels & repairs (201)
276035225%New homes (132)
276133253%Remodels & repairs (135)
276062843%Remodels & repairs (108)
275922492%New homes (64)

All 9 ZIP codes with 250+ permits →

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How Wake County compares with other cities

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

Nearby permit data

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

Raleigh, NCCary, NCDurham, NCHolly Springs, NC

How these numbers are made

Source: Wake County Inspections, Development & Permits, Building Permits (ArcGIS MapServer, Wake County Open Data), read 20 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.

Building permits Wake County Permits and Inspections issues: unincorporated Wake County, plus the towns of Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon and Rolesville, which use the county's inspections office. Raleigh and Cary run their own permit offices and have their own pages on this site; the few county-inspected parcels inside them are left out. Apex, Wake Forest, Garner, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina and Morrisville also issue their own permits and appear here only for a handful of county-inspected parcels.

  • The county's file has a contractor column but it is empty on every permit, so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Wake County.
  • The county publishes building permits only: new homes, additions, alterations, accessory buildings, pools, decks and commercial work. Separate electrical, plumbing, HVAC and roofing permits are not in the file, so those kinds of work do not appear here.
  • The value is the construction valuation declared on the permit, which sets the fee. It is not a final cost.
  • Garages, sheds and decks are counted together. Home alterations are counted as remodels and repairs unless the description says solar or a reroof.
  • A final date is the date the permit was finaled.

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, "Unincorporated Wake County and the towns of Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon and Rolesville, NC building permit statistics", https://contractorrecords.com/wake-county/permit-statistics, data through September 2026, from Wake County Permits 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 Wake County issue a year?About 5,501 a year in unincorporated Wake County and the towns of Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon and Rolesville: 11,002 permits over 24 months, October 2024 through September 2026. 5,762 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 10% more than the 5,240 in the 12 months before.
  • Are building permits up or down in Wake County?5,762 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 10% more than the 5,240 in the 12 months before. New home permits grew most (2,672 to 3,085); remodel and repair permits fell most (778 to 746).
  • What is the busiest month for permits in Wake County?May, counting every kind of work (119 against an average month of 100). November is the quietest (72). Each kind of work has its own season; the charts above show them.
  • What share of Wake County permits are for homes?90%: 9,910 of the 11,002 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026 were residential permits.
Wake County permit data →How long permits take in Wake County →Wake County new home permits →Wake County remodel and repair permits →Wake County garage, shed and shade structure permits →Browse Wake County permits →