One-Third of Active Columbus Contractors Are Newcomers

Columbus had 2,311 active named contractors in the last 12 months. Of those, 781 were newcomers, or 33.8% of the active contractor base.

That is a large turnover point for subs looking for work. A market with 781 newcomers has fresh names entering the permit records, but it also has a deep existing field. New contractors are not a signal of project volume or a guarantee of available subcontract work. They show that the contractor list is not locked up by the same firms alone.

The market logged 30,513 permits in the last 12 months, up 4.7% from the previous 12 months. Mechanical work appears on 36.1% of all permits, the broadest trade presence in the data. Electrical work shows up on 24.5%, while plumbing appears on 21.3%. That puts HVAC and mechanical firms at the center of the visible filing flow, with plumbing close behind.

The top 10 named contractors held 24.6% of named permits. That is a concentrated market at the top. In Chicago, IL, the top 10 share was 13.6%; Columbus was higher by 11.0 points. For a sub trying to find steady work, a meaningful slice of filings runs through a short list of repeat filers. The rest of the market is spread across a much larger contractor base, including the 781 newcomers.

Eco Plumbers Inc filed the most permits, with 1,541, and its main trade was plumbing. Columbus/worthington Air followed with 1,287 mechanical permits. Atlas Butler Heating and Cooling had 1,138 mechanical permits.

The next largest named filers by permit count were Five Star Home Services, with 619 mechanical permits; The Waterworks, with 586 mechanical permits; and Righter Plumbing Inc, with 423 plumbing permits. Apex Pros had 364 plumbing permits. Rescue Rooter Plumbing, Drains, and Electric had 329 plumbing permits. Airtron Inc had 323 mechanical permits. Suntria had 282 electrical permits.

The list is bluntly weighted toward mechanical and plumbing. Mechanical firms hold five of the 10 largest-filer positions by permit count. Plumbing firms hold four. Suntria is the only electrical firm in the top 10. For electrical subs, that means the biggest named filer list is thinner than it is in mechanical or plumbing. For mechanical and plumbing subs, the repeat filers are clearer, but the work is more concentrated around them.

The records cover City of Columbus permit numbers since 2015, through October 12, 2026. Contractor names appear on 91.9% of permits, and permits cannot be linked to projects with measured accuracy here; a permit is a filing, not a completed job.