The Busiest Contractors in Chicago, Denver & Seattle
22,000+ contractors ranked by building permit volume (2021–2026)
Key finding: Solar installer Sunrun dominates Chicago with nearly 2,000 permits — twice as many as the next contractor. In Denver, "Home Owner" (owner-builder permits) is #1, reflecting Colorado's strong DIY culture.
How We Measured
Every building permit lists the contractor or applicant who pulled it. We counted permits per contractor name across all permit types (new construction, renovations, electrical, plumbing, etc.) from 2021 to 2026.
Note: Contractor names as filed with the city — some companies may appear under slight name variations. We did not merge these.
Unique contractors identified in permit records
Top 15 Contractors: Chicago, IL
| Rank | Contractor | Permits | Avg Project Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunrun Installation Services | 1,962 | $16,211 |
| 2 | Frackiel Builders, Incorporated | 995 | $29,671 |
| 3 | Burnham Nationwide, Inc. | 955 | $856,497 |
| 4 | Construction Service Associates | 692 | $208,603 |
| 5 | Current Electric, Llc | 568 | $29,350 |
| 6 | Doyle Signs Inc | 458 | $7,001 |
| 7 | John Lyle & Associates | 446 | $744,700 |
| 8 | Papa Cto Consulting | 421 | $346,412 |
| 9 | Mr. Porch, Incorporated | 413 | $27,554 |
| 10 | Agata J. Bielut | 399 | $209,811 |
| 11 | Building Permits | 358 | $677,107 |
| 12 | Phase 1 Consulting | 336 | $100,656 |
| 13 | Jaime Gascon | 323 | $90,584 |
| 14 | Map Strategies, Llc | 315 | $1,157,672 |
| 15 | Stern Group Corporation | 308 | $287,646 |
Top 15 Contractors: Denver, CO
| Rank | Contractor | Permits | Avg Project Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Home Owner | 925 | $56,410 |
| 2 | William Lyon Homes Inc | 409 | $153,773 |
| 3 | Brookfield (colorado) Management Llc | 324 | $279,593 |
| 4 | Hensel Phelps Construction Co | 294 | $237,626 |
| 5 | Affordable Garages & Concrete Llc | 293 | $23,433 |
| 6 | Oakwood Homes Llc | 267 | $180,421 |
| 7 | Sennett Windows | 263 | $4,367 |
| 8 | Dhi Communities Construction Of Colorado Llc | 209 | $389,839 |
| 9 | Lokal Communities, Llc | 200 | $223,869 |
| 10 | Den Home Builders Llc | 196 | $286,672 |
| 11 | Sf Construction Management | 194 | $33,814 |
| 12 | Denver Builders Inc | 189 | $122,729 |
| 13 | Complete Basement Systems | 171 | $13,052 |
| 14 | Sigma Homes Llc | 169 | $36,257 |
| 15 | Custom Garage Company Llc | 160 | $27,125 |
Top 15 Contractors: Seattle, WA
| Rank | Contractor | Permits | Avg Project Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valentine Roofing | 463 | $20,834 |
| 2 | State Roofing Inc | 116 | $25,774 |
| 3 | Four Seasons Roof | 64 | $30,269 |
| 4 | Terry N. Buchanan | 25 | $100,776 |
| 5 | Diamond Roofers Llp | 17 | $63,066 |
| 6 | Alternative Roofing Systems Inc. | 17 | $115,314 |
| 7 | 3-d Roof Systems Llc. | 16 | $161,108 |
| 8 | Solgen Power, Llc | 15 | $13,847 |
| 9 | Arletta L Vanhoof | 15 | $22,500 |
| 10 | Purelight Power | 12 | $13,815 |
| 11 | James King Roofing | 12 | $96,572 |
| 12 | Flat Roof Pros Inc | 11 | $103,286 |
| 13 | Erie Construction Mid-west Llc | 9 | $43,269 |
| 14 | Axiom Division 7 | 9 | $374,681 |
| 15 | Tjh Re Properties Lv Llc | 8 | $270,622 |
What the Data Tells Us
- Solar companies dominate permit volume. Sunrun's 1,962 Chicago permits reflect the solar installation boom. Each rooftop solar installation requires a separate building permit.
- Denver has a strong owner-builder culture. "Home Owner" leads Denver with 925 permits — Colorado allows homeowners to pull their own permits for work on their primary residence.
- Homebuilders pull hundreds of permits per year. William Lyon Homes (409 permits) and Brookfield (324 permits) in Denver show the scale of residential development.
- Specialty contractors rank high. Sennett Windows (263 permits) and Complete Basement Systems (171 permits) in Denver show that niche contractors can outpace general contractors in permit volume.
- The long tail is massive. Chicago has 19,095 unique contractors on file, but the top 15 account for less than 5% of all permits. Most contractors pull fewer than 10 permits per year.
Methodology
Data from official city open data portals, collected April 2026. Contractor names as filed on permit applications. Entries with fewer than 4 characters excluded (data quality). Average project cost calculated from declared construction valuation, excluding outliers above $5M. Cities without public contractor data in their permit records (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin) are not included.
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