What home projects actually cost, according to permit records
Cost guides estimate; permits record. We pulled 276,914 building permits filed in the last 12 months from the official open-data portals of Austin, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York City, and distilled the 48,074 homeowner-scale filings with a stated job value into the tables below — the median filed cost and the middle 50% for each project, plus the contractors pulling the most permits where the city records them.
Read these numbers correctly: a permit valuation is what the applicant declares when filing — it often understates the final contract price, and cities verify it loosely. Treat the medians as a floor-leaning reality check next to our researched ranges, not as quotes. Trade permits filed with $0/$1 placeholder values are counted for activity but excluded from all dollar figures.
Austin, TX
39,749 permits tracked in the last 12 months (City of Austin Issued Construction Permits). Also see all Austin costs.
| Project | Permits | Median filed value | Middle 50% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home addition / ADU | 1,882 | $90,000 | $37,000 – $150,000 |
| Foundation repair | 977 | $12,500 | $6,900 – $16,700 |
| Bathroom remodel | 6,809 | — | values not filed |
| Water heater replacement | 2,654 | — | values not filed |
| In-ground pool | 2,227 | — | values not filed |
| HVAC replacement | 1,463 | — | values not filed |
| Kitchen remodel | 1,350 | — | values not filed |
| Solar panel installation | 824 | — | values not filed |
| Electrical panel / service upgrade | 775 | — | values not filed |
| EV charger installation | 491 | — | values not filed |
| Standby generator | 433 | — | values not filed |
| Siding replacement | 268 | — | values not filed |
| Roof replacement | 147 | — | values not filed |
| Detached garage | 127 | — | values not filed |
| Window replacement | 112 | — | values not filed |
| Deck | 86 | — | values not filed |
Most active contractors in Austin (by permits pulled)
| Contractor | Permits (12 mo) | Phone on file |
|---|---|---|
| IES RESIDENTIAL, INC | 1,065 | (512) 252-0040 |
| VICTORY PLUMBING COMPANY | 761 | (512) 990-7200 |
| IN CHARGE ELECTRICAL SERVICES, LLC | 694 | (512) 778-6240 |
| RADIANT PLUMBING & AC | 635 | (512) 263-9988 |
| STAN'S HEATING, AIR, PLUMBING, & ELECTRICAL | 579 | (512) 929-9393 |
| LANDMARK ELECTRIC | 526 | (512) 491-7718 |
| RADIANT PLUMBING AND AIR CONDITIONING | 521 | (512) 690-4935 |
| IES RESIDENTIAL INC | 475 | (512) 561-5002 |
| AEI ELECTRIC LLC | 463 | (512) 839-2478 |
| MCCULLOUGH HEATING & AIR | 403 | (512) 280-0011 |
Names and counts come straight from City of Austin Issued Construction Permits filings — activity, not an endorsement. Texas has no statewide general-contractor license; electricians, plumbers, and HVAC techs are state-licensed. Verify any contractor before hiring: official license lookup.
Chicago, IL
27,351 permits tracked in the last 12 months (City of Chicago Building Permits). Also see all Chicago costs.
| Project | Permits | Median filed value | Middle 50% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical panel / service upgrade | 2,667 | $4,000 | $2,500 – $6,400 |
| Solar panel installation | 1,870 | $20,300 | $13,900 – $27,200 |
| Roof replacement | 1,117 | $21,100 | $12,900 – $30,500 |
| Deck | 914 | $25,000 | $15,000 – $45,000 |
| Detached garage | 770 | $28,600 | $22,700 – $34,500 |
| Home addition / ADU | 626 | $150,000 | $100,000 – $260,000 |
| HVAC replacement | 595 | $12,000 | $5,700 – $20,000 |
| Kitchen remodel | 561 | $25,000 | $20,000 – $65,000 |
| Window replacement | 354 | $10,000 | $5,000 – $20,000 |
| Bathroom remodel | 306 | $23,100 | $15,000 – $40,000 |
| Water heater replacement | 196 | $5,000 | $3,000 – $10,000 |
| EV charger installation | 145 | $3,600 | $2,300 – $4,600 |
| Standby generator | 60 | $12,900 | $10,000 – $15,200 |
Most active contractors in Chicago (by permits pulled)
| Contractor | Permits (12 mo) |
|---|---|
| SUNRUN INSTALLATION SERVICES INC | 660 |
| CURRENT COMMUNICATIONS CORP | 194 |
| ROBERT LESNICKI | 177 |
| KAPITAL ELECTRIC COMPANY | 165 |
| CHAVEZ ELECTRIC | 153 |
| BLUE LINE ELECTRICAL CONTRACTO | 152 |
| MARON ELECTRIC COMPANY | 150 |
| GARAGE 2017 LLC DBA DANLEY'S GARAGE WORLD | 148 |
| ALVAREZ ELECTRICAL TECH | 138 |
| HARTMANN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INC | 136 |
Names and counts come straight from City of Chicago Building Permits filings — activity, not an endorsement. Chicago licenses general contractors at the city level. Verify any contractor before hiring: official license lookup.
Seattle, WA
4,935 permits tracked in the last 12 months (City of Seattle Building Permits). Also see all Seattle costs.
| Project | Permits | Median filed value | Middle 50% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home addition / ADU | 3,068 | $100,000 | $50,000 – $211,200 |
| Roof replacement | 142 | $19,700 | $14,000 – $27,000 |
| Kitchen remodel | 73 | $50,000 | $30,000 – $100,000 |
| Bathroom remodel | 71 | $25,000 | $15,000 – $45,000 |
| Detached garage | 50 | — | values not filed |
Most active contractors in Seattle (by permits pulled)
| Contractor | Permits (12 mo) |
|---|---|
| VALENTINE ROOFING | 181 |
| STATE ROOFING INC | 23 |
| CHINOOK BUILDING EVNELOPE SERVICES | 23 |
Names and counts come straight from City of Seattle Building Permits filings — activity, not an endorsement. Washington requires contractors to register with L&I and carry a bond. Verify any contractor before hiring: official license lookup.
Los Angeles, CA
47,818 permits tracked in the last 12 months (LADBS Building Permits Issued (2020–present)). Also see all Los Angeles costs.
| Project | Permits | Median filed value | Middle 50% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home addition / ADU | 11,160 | $80,000 | $50,000 – $150,000 |
| Roof replacement | 10,477 | $5,700 | $4,400 – $8,000 |
| In-ground pool | 3,798 | $35,000 | $25,000 – $50,000 |
| Kitchen remodel | 2,249 | $21,100 | $10,000 – $41,800 |
| Bathroom remodel | 2,043 | $10,000 | $7,000 – $21,000 |
| Detached garage | 766 | $20,000 | $10,000 – $40,000 |
| Deck | 416 | $10,000 | $5,000 – $20,000 |
| Siding replacement | 212 | $10,000 | $5,800 – $19,600 |
| HVAC replacement | 206 | $10,900 | $6,300 – $18,000 |
| Solar panel installation | 151 | $24,500 | $12,600 – $50,000 |
| Foundation repair | 146 | $11,000 | $5,000 – $21,000 |
| Water heater replacement | 41 | $1,500 | $500 – $2,500 |
| Window replacement | 31 | $20,000 | $8,000 – $40,000 |
New York City, NY
157,061 permits tracked in the last 12 months (NYC DOB NOW Job Application Filings). Also see all New York City costs.
| Project | Permits | Median filed value | Middle 50% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solar panel installation | 8,030 | $38,300 | $26,700 – $53,000 |
| HVAC replacement | 5,086 | $22,000 | $12,500 – $32,000 |
| Kitchen remodel | 3,466 | $39,000 | $20,000 – $75,000 |
| Water heater replacement | 1,730 | $10,000 | $7,000 – $15,000 |
| Bathroom remodel | 1,392 | $22,500 | $11,100 – $44,000 |
| Home addition / ADU | 1,296 | $124,100 | $60,000 – $300,000 |
| Deck | 817 | $23,800 | $12,000 – $40,500 |
| Foundation repair | 488 | $30,000 | $15,000 – $50,000 |
| Roof replacement | 460 | $33,000 | $18,200 – $50,000 |
| Standby generator | 428 | $12,000 | $8,000 – $31,600 |
| Window replacement | 290 | $25,000 | $19,500 – $45,000 |
| Detached garage | 167 | $20,000 | $15,000 – $50,000 |
| In-ground pool | 114 | $50,000 | $25,000 – $150,000 |
| Siding replacement | 86 | $26,300 | $12,000 – $62,500 |
| EV charger installation | 51 | — | values not filed |
Method & sources
Each city publishes every issued building permit on its official open-data portal. We pull the trailing 12 months (2025-09-01 onward), keep residential-class filings, match each permit's work description against project-type rules (a solar permit that mentions the roof counts as solar, not a reroof), and bound valuations to homeowner scale so a 12,000-sq-ft commercial reroof doesn't skew a homeowner median. Dollar figures are published only where at least 25 priced permits exist. Contractor counts include placeholder-value permits and are gated to the trade that owns the work. Sources: City of Austin Issued Construction Permits , City of Chicago Building Permits , City of Seattle Building Permits , LADBS Building Permits Issued (2020–present) , NYC DOB NOW Job Application Filings . See the full methodology.
Free to use: republish these figures with a link back to this page. Pair them with our material price tracker and labor cost by state for the full picture, or read the 2026 Construction Cost Report.