City rankings
How long commercial building permits take in U.S. cities
In the 90 days to November 6, 2026, Cleveland was the fastest of the 19 U.S. cities we can compare, issuing commercial building permits a median of 23 days after application. Los Angeles County was the slowest, at 78 days. The middle city took 53 days.
Fastest to slowest
Median days from application to issue for commercial and multifamily building permits. Each city links to its permit guide.
| Rank | City | Building permits, median | All permits, median | Middle half, all permits | Permits counted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleveland, OH | 23 days | 5 days | 1–19 days | 754 of 754 |
| 2 | New Orleans, LA | 28 days | 7 days | 1–35 days | 1,177 of 1,181 |
| 3 | Chicago, IL | 29 days | 8 days | 1–39 days | 3,636 of 4,265 |
| 4 | Baton Rouge, LA | 34 days | 1 day | 0–21 days | 661 of 668 |
| 5 | Norfolk, VA | 36 days | 5 days | 1–18 days | 689 of 689 |
| 6 | Cincinnati, OH | 37 days | 13 days | 2–36 days | 1,068 of 1,068 |
| 6 | Miami-Dade County, FL | 37 days | 15 days | 3–53 days | 6,026 of 6,026 |
| 8 | New York City, NY | 49 days | 42 days | 11–149 days | 14,785 of 15,181 |
| 9 | Orlando, FL | 50 days | 7 days | 0–28 days | 2,600 of 2,600 |
| 10 | Austin, TX | 53 days | 47 days | 7–156 days | 3,937 of 3,937 |
| 11 | Fort Worth, TX | 54 days | 56 days | 27–175 days | 703 of 1,613 |
| 11 | Seattle, WA | 54 days | 7 days | 0–48 days | 1,834 of 3,772 |
| 13 | Arlington, TX | 57 days | 62 days | 25–188 days | 213 of 272 |
| 14 | Raleigh, NC | 57 days | 57 days | 35–106 days | 351 of 2,130 |
| 15 | Tacoma, WA | 63 days | 31 days | 14–68 days | 423 of 454 |
| 16 | Mesa, AZ | 64 days | 56 days | 21–113 days | 404 of 462 |
| 17 | Miami, FL | 68 days | 56 days | 17–151 days | 4,155 of 4,155 |
| 18 | Nashville, TN | 70 days | 58 days | 24–157 days | 1,169 of 1,169 |
| 19 | Los Angeles County, CA | 78 days | 67 days | 6–223 days | 408 of 499 |
Cities that don't separate trade permits
Nearly every commercial permit in these cities is recorded as a building permit, so their medians also cover quick electrical and plumbing jobs. They aren’t comparable with the table above, so we list them apart.
| City | All permits, median | Middle half, all permits | Permits counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | 6 days | 0–30 days | 1,841 of 1,870 |
| Cambridge, MA | 23 days | 16–47 days | 130 of 130 |
| Denver, CO | 39 days | 14–97 days | 481 of 483 |
| Montgomery County, MD | 98 days | 60–160 days | 298 of 298 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 104 days | 40–261 days | 1,769 of 3,160 |
Cities with no usable application dates
These cities don’t publish enough application dates to measure: Albuquerque, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Columbus, Louisville, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Jose.
How we measured this
- Permits issued August 8, 2026 to November 6, 2026 on commercial and multifamily property, recalculated daily from each city’s official open data.
- The clock runs from the application date to the issue date in the city’s own record (some cities call it the file, received or entry date). Time before filing isn’t counted, and any wait after approval before a contractor pulls the permit is.
- Express and over-the-counter permits count. The ranking uses building permits, because trade permits such as electrical usually issue within days and their share differs by city. A trade permit with no category of its own counts on our other pages by its job’s category, but isn’t timed here.
- A city is ranked only if it has at least 50 permits with an application date and fewer than 90% of its commercial permits are recorded as building permits.
- Cities record application dates differently, so treat small gaps between cities as a tie.
Questions and answers
Which U.S. city issues commercial building permits fastest?
In the 90 days to November 6, 2026, Cleveland was the fastest of the 19 U.S. cities we can compare, issuing commercial building permits a median of 23 days after application. Los Angeles County was the slowest, at 78 days. The middle city took 53 days.
How long does a commercial building permit take in the U.S.?
Across the 19 cities we can compare, medians ran from 23 days to 78 days, and the middle city took 53 days. Individual jobs vary widely: express and over-the-counter permits often issue within days, while new construction usually takes much longer.
Why do these numbers differ from other published permit times?
We measure permits that were actually issued, from the application date to the issue date in each city's own records, including express and over-the-counter permits. Figures published elsewhere may cover plan review only, residential projects, a city's own targets or a survey, so they can run much longer or shorter.
Does a faster median mean a city is easier to build in?
Not on its own. The clock starts when a city records an application, so it misses design, zoning and any time before filing, and a city that issues many small jobs quickly has a lower median than one that issues mostly large ones.
Commercial permit times: key facts
- Fastest comparable city: Cleveland, OH, at a median of 23 days for building permits.
- Slowest comparable city: Los Angeles County, CA, at 78 days.
- The middle of the 19 comparable cities took 53 days.
- Period: permits issued August 8, 2026 to November 6, 2026.
Source: official city open-data portals, checked daily. Data through . How we count
Using these numbers? Please cite US Permit Search and link to this page.
Selling to job sites in these cities?
Pro shows each new commercial project the morning its permit is issued, with email alerts and CSV export.