United States Building Permits

Last Release

Aug 31, 2025

Actual

1,330

Units In

Thousand

1,362

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

N/A

Time to Release

N/A

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
2,419 Dec 1972	513 Mar 2009	1,371.93 Thousand	1960-2025	U.S. Census Bureau

Building Permits refer to the approvals given by a local jurisdictions before the construction of a new or existing building can legally occur. Not all areas of the United States require a permit for construction.

Latest Updates

Building permits in the United States fell by 2.3% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.330 million in August 2025, revised up from a preliminary estimate of 1.312 million. Despite the revision, this remains the lowest level since May 2020. Single-family permits decreased by 1.9% to an annualized rate of 858 thousand, while permits for buildings with five or more units dropped by 2.8% to 420 thousand. Regionally, permits declined in the Northeast (-3.2% to 121 thousand), the Midwest (-8.6% to 202 thousand), and in the South (-5.8% to 699 thousand), but increased in the West (12.4% to 308 thousand).