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 | 2,089 | $16,457 |
| 2 | Frackiel Builders, Incorporated | 1,018 | $29,798 |
| 3 | Burnham Nationwide, Inc. | 986 | $855,698 |
| 4 | Construction Service Associates | 699 | $208,888 |
| 5 | Current Electric, Llc | 629 | $29,515 |
| 6 | John Lyle & Associates | 461 | $742,753 |
| 7 | Doyle Signs Inc | 461 | $7,079 |
| 8 | Papa Cto Consulting | 435 | $357,149 |
| 9 | Mr. Porch, Incorporated | 427 | $27,573 |
| 10 | Agata J. Bielut | 411 | $210,676 |
| 11 | Building Permits | 374 | $668,106 |
| 12 | Phase 1 Consulting | 342 | $102,446 |
| 13 | Jaime Gascon | 331 | $91,096 |
| 14 | Map Strategies, Llc | 330 | $1,169,623 |
| 15 | Peerless Enterprises Llc | 325 | $6,821 |
Top 15 Contractors: Denver, CO
| Rank | Contractor | Permits | Avg Project Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Home Owner | 1,370 | $52,922 |
| 2 | Hensel Phelps Construction Co | 465 | $248,027 |
| 3 | Oakwood Homes Llc | 429 | $155,259 |
| 4 | Affordable Garages & Concrete Llc | 422 | $25,289 |
| 5 | William Lyon Homes Inc | 415 | $154,814 |
| 6 | Groundworks Colorado Llc | 399 | $17,036 |
| 7 | Brookfield (colorado) Management Llc | 354 | $280,846 |
| 8 | Sennett Windows | 316 | $4,592 |
| 9 | Den Home Builders Llc | 278 | $295,451 |
| 10 | Sigma Homes Llc | 273 | $33,582 |
| 11 | Sf Construction Management | 273 | $32,896 |
| 12 | Denver Builders Inc | 256 | $114,459 |
| 13 | Custom Garage Company Llc | 254 | $27,631 |
| 14 | Lokal Communities, Llc | 248 | $268,416 |
| 15 | Dhi Communities Construction Of Colorado Llc | 236 | $386,176 |
Top 15 Contractors: Seattle, WA
| Rank | Contractor | Permits | Avg Project Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valentine Roofing | 484 | $20,828 |
| 2 | State Roofing Inc | 118 | $25,578 |
| 3 | Four Seasons Roof | 64 | $30,269 |
| 4 | Terry N. Buchanan | 25 | $100,776 |
| 5 | Chinook Building Evnelope Services | 25 | $14,244 |
| 6 | 3-d Roof Systems Llc. | 19 | $138,828 |
| 7 | Alternative Roofing Systems Inc. | 18 | $113,601 |
| 8 | Diamond Roofers Llp | 17 | $63,066 |
| 9 | Solgen Power, Llc | 15 | $13,847 |
| 10 | Arletta L Vanhoof | 15 | $22,500 |
| 11 | Purelight Power | 12 | $13,815 |
| 12 | James King Roofing | 12 | $96,572 |
| 13 | James King Roofing, Llc | 11 | $97,718 |
| 14 | Flat Roof Pros Inc | 11 | $103,286 |
| 15 | Erie Construction Mid-west Llc | 10 | $41,069 |
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 19,557 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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