US City Building Permit Rankings

Closure rates, open permit backlogs, and year-over-year trends across 35 US cities.

11,036,099

Permits Tracked

2,265,283

Open Permits

77.4%

Avg Closure Rate

Most Improved

Boston

+2 pp vs. prior year

Most Backlogged

Boston

300,415 open permits

#	City	State	Closure Rate↓	Open	Permits	Trend	Grade
1	Anaheim	CA	98.1%	2,773	147,993	-15.9 pp	C
2	Orlando	FL	97.7%	18,101	799,210	-4.4 pp	B
3	Wilmington	NC	96.3%	10,011	273,309	-4.6 pp	B
4	Raleigh	NC	95.8%	6,981	167,875	-8.6 pp	C
5	Greensboro	NC	94.9%	2,982	58,613	-21.8 pp	C
6	Minneapolis	MN	93.7%	7,510	120,145	-14.4 pp	C
7	Elk Grove	CA	92.5%	8,974	120,132	-10.9 pp	C
8	Honolulu	HI	92.3%	26,117	339,997	-32.3 pp	C
9	Miami	FL	90.8%	18,973	206,252	-7.5 pp	C
10	Chicago	IL	90.5%	42,497	445,590	-18.7 pp	C
11	Tacoma	WA	90.2%	3,600	36,625	-13.1 pp	C
12	Austin	TX	88.3%	115,289	986,226	-3.1 pp	C
13	Cary	NC	85.9%	9,333	66,197	-3.8 pp	C
14	Philadelphia	PA	85.7%	109,290	765,786	-5.8 pp	C
15	Cincinnati	OH	84.9%	20,474	135,935	-7.3 pp	C
16	Seattle	WA	84.9%	20,739	136,962	-10.2 pp	D
17	Fort Worth	TX	84.6%	226,653	1,476,464	-12.2 pp	D
18	Scottsdale	AZ	82.4%	24,143	136,994	-10.9 pp	D
19	Cape Coral	FL	82.1%	7,968	44,499	—	C
20	Norfolk	VA	81.5%	17,122	92,605	-4 pp	C
21	Cleveland	OH	81%	33,063	173,950	-7.4 pp	C
22	Columbus	OH	75.1%	164,790	661,946	-1 pp	C
23	San Diego	CA	74.1%	100,482	388,299	—	C
24	Henderson	NV	73.4%	48,657	183,082	-4.3 pp	C
25	San Francisco	CA	72.8%	142,060	521,952	-3.7 pp	C
26	Little Rock	AR	72.5%	16,975	61,772	-8 pp	D
27	Los Angeles	CA	72.4%	96,156	348,875	-7.3 pp	D
28	Worcester	MA	68.7%	14,250	45,576	-1.8 pp	C
29	New York City	NY	68.6%	280,349	892,225	-9.2 pp	D
30	Pittsburgh	PA	68.1%	19,525	61,238	-5.4 pp	D
31	New Orleans	LA	59.2%	105,716	259,307	-46.5 pp	D
32	Boston	MA	44.8%	300,415	544,315	+2 pp	D
33	Atlanta	GA	38.7%	5,155	8,412	-17.9 pp	F
34	Washington, D.C.	DC	29.2%	193,566	273,251	-1.5 pp	F
35	Mesa	AZ	18.2%	44,594	54,490	-3.7 pp	F

Closure rate measures the percentage of rate-eligible permits (those older than one year) that have been closed. Trend shows year-over-year change in percentage points.