The Most Common Home Renovation in Every Major US City
8,666,073 building records reveal what homeowners are actually constructing
Key finding: Alterations and repairs dominate everywhere, accounting for nearly 1 in 4 filings nationwide. But what cities call these projects varies wildly: LA says "Bldg-Alter/Repair," Chicago says "Express Permit Program," and SF calls them "OTC Alterations."
Top Categories Nationwide
Across all 8,666,073 records analyzed:
Chicago, IL
Top 5 categories by volume:
| Rank | Category | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Permit – Express Permit Program | 83,327 |
| 2 | Permit - Renovation/alteration | 33,560 |
| 3 | Permit - Easy Permit Process | 30,632 |
| 4 | Permit - Signs | 12,456 |
| 5 | Permit - New Construction | 7,235 |
Los Angeles, CA
Top 5 categories by volume:
| Rank | Category | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bldg-alter/repair | 217,347 |
| 2 | Bldg-addition | 27,872 |
| 3 | Bldg-new | 21,190 |
| 4 | Grading | 16,162 |
| 5 | Swimming-pool/spa | 13,292 |
San Francisco, CA
Top 5 categories by volume:
| Rank | Category | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Otc Alterations Permit | 113,602 |
| 2 | Additions Alterations Or Repairs | 7,182 |
| 3 | Sign - Erect | 2,119 |
| 4 | New Construction Wood Frame | 313 |
| 5 | Demolitions | 301 |
Seattle, WA
Top 5 categories by volume:
| Rank | Category | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Single Family/duplex | 21,140 |
| 2 | Commercial | 5,742 |
| 3 | Multifamily | 3,342 |
| 4 | Institutional | 1,097 |
| 5 | Industrial | 396 |
Austin, TX
Top 5 categories by volume:
| Rank | Category | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electrical Permit | 95,843 |
| 2 | Plumbing Permit | 86,560 |
| 3 | Building Permit | 66,395 |
| 4 | Mechanical Permit | 59,524 |
| 5 | Driveway / Sidewalks | 9,040 |
Denver, CO
Top 5 categories by volume:
| Rank | Category | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alteration/tenant Finish | 16,276 |
| 2 | New Building | 9,357 |
| 3 | Addition | 2,304 |
| 4 | Repair/replace | 2,006 |
| 5 | Phased Construction | 1,723 |
What the Data Tells Us
- Renovations outnumber new construction 10-to-1. In every city, alterations and repairs dominate the construction landscape. New construction is a fraction of total building activity.
- Electrical and plumbing categories are #2 and #3 in Austin, likely driven by Texas's growing population and the volume of home upgrades in a hot housing market.
- Chicago's "Express Permit Program" is the #1 category, nearly 80,000 filings, showing how streamlined approval processes drive more homeowners to file.
- Pool projects are in LA's top 5 with nearly 13,000 pool/spa filings, no surprise given the climate. No other city in our dataset comes close.
- Denver's market is renovation-heavy. "Alteration/Tenant Finish" leads with 10,800+ filings, reflecting both residential renovations and Denver's commercial boom.
Methodology
This report analyzes 8,666,073 building records from 6 major US cities, collected from official open data portals via API between April 9–12, 2026. Categories are labeled as published by each city; naming conventions vary between jurisdictions.
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