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Plumbing permits in Worcester, MA

Data through September 2026 · updated 19 Oct 2026

6,405 plumbing permits were issued in Worcester, October 2024 through September 2026: about 3,202 a year and 30% of all permits. 3,017 plumbing permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 11% fewer than the 3,388 in the 12 months before. The busiest month is December. 01604 has the most, 1,425.

6,405permits issued
3,017last 12 months
Decbusiest month
60%finished
Sep 2026records through

Plumbing permits by month

Permits issued each month, October 2024 through September 2026.

Oct 2024: 323Oct2024Nov 2024: 315Dec 2024: 325Jan 2025: 358Jan2025Feb 2025: 377Mar 2025: 288Apr 2025: 262May 2025: 272Jun 2025: 213Jul 2025: 234JulAug 2025: 176Sep 2025: 245Oct 2025: 294Nov 2025: 321Dec 2025: 336Jan 2026: 299Jan2026Feb 2026: 248Mar 2026: 234Apr 2026: 233May 2026: 194Jun 2026: 222Jul 2026: 241JulAug 2026: 223Sep 2026: 172
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Oct 2024323
Nov 2024315
Dec 2024325
Jan 2025358
Feb 2025377
Mar 2025288
Apr 2025262
May 2025272
Jun 2025213
Jul 2025234
Aug 2025176
Sep 2025245
Oct 2025294
Nov 2025321
Dec 2025336
Jan 2026299
Feb 2026248
Mar 2026234
Apr 2026233
May 2026194
Jun 2026222
Jul 2026241
Aug 2026223
Sep 2026172

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When plumbing permits are filed

By calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line). December is the busiest (124), August the quietest (75). A busy month at the permit counter usually means a longer wait for a contractor.

January: 123 (100 = an average month)February: 117 (100 = an average month)March: 98 (100 = an average month)April: 93 (100 = an average month)May: 87 (100 = an average month)June: 81 (100 = an average month)July: 89 (100 = an average month)August: 75 (100 = an average month)September: 78 (100 = an average month)October: 116 (100 = an average month)November: 119 (100 = an average month)December: 124 (100 = an average month)124JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
MonthIndex
January123
February117
March98
April93
May87
June81
July89
August75
September78
October116
November119
December124

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How many plumbing permits get finished

Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025, at least 12 months before the file ends.

MeasureValue
Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 20253,388
Finished60.3%

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ZIP codes with the most plumbing permits

Counted at the property's ZIP code. Share is the part of the city's 6,405 plumbing permits.

ZIP codePermitsShare
016041,42522%
016021,05016%
016061,02316%
0160578612%
0160967711%
0160367411%
016104727%
016072564%
0160812under 1%

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The city's own permit types

How the city filed these permits. We group its types into kinds of work; this is the split.

Permit typePermitsShare
Plumbing: Plumbing: All Others3,22150%
Gas: Gas: All Others2,27536%
Gas: Miscellaneous Repairs or Piping4477%
Plumbing: Miscellaneous Repairs or Piping4467%
Plumbing: Restore After Fire10under 1%
Gas: Restore After Fire6under 1%

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How Worcester 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

Plumbing permits for other places in Boston. Each permit office keeps its own file, so the numbers are not added together.

How these numbers are made

Source: City of Worcester, Informing Worcester open data: Building, Electrical, Gas, Plumbing and Mechanical Permits (ArcGIS layers), read 19 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.

Residential permits the City of Worcester's Department of Inspectional Services issues inside the city: building, electrical, gas, plumbing and mechanical permits for houses, two-families and triple-deckers and other apartment buildings. Commercial, mixed-use, school and municipal permits in the same files are not counted. Shrewsbury, Auburn and the other towns around Worcester run their own permit offices and are not in these files.

  • We don't use the contractor names in the city's files. They are a mix of license holders' personal names and company names with no license number, so we can't match them to firms reliably. There are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Worcester.
  • The files have no declared job value, so we show no costs.
  • The files have no final inspection date, so there is no time-to-final here. A permit counts as finished when the city marks it Complete; every other permit is open. The city has no separate expired status.
  • Permits on buildings with three or more units count in the totals but not as homes.
  • Insulation and siding permits count as remodels and repairs. Decks, and building permits the city files with no stated purpose, count under Other.
  • A new house gets separate building, electrical, gas and plumbing permits, so one project can count several times, once under each kind of work.

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, "Plumbing permits in Worcester, MA", https://contractorrecords.com/worcester/plumbing-permits, data through September 2026, from the City of Worcester Department of Inspectional Services building-permit records.

Link to a table: By month · Season · How many get finished · By ZIP code · Permit types.

Download the tables (CSV): Plumbing permits by month · Plumbing permits by calendar month (index) · Plumbing permits: finished share · Plumbing permits by ZIP code · Plumbing permits by permit type.

Common questions

  • How many plumbing permits does Worcester issue a year?About 3,202 a year in Worcester: 6,405 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, 3,017 of them in the last 12 months.
  • When do people in Worcester file the most plumbing permits?December (124 against an average month of 100); August is the quietest (75). If you can choose, a quiet month at the permit counter can mean contractors have more room in their schedules.
  • Which ZIP code has the most plumbing permits in Worcester?01604, with 1,425 of the 6,405 (22%); then 01602 (1,050).