PERMIT RECORD · SEATTLE, WA
Seattle Permits Fell 9.4% as Top Filers Centered in Two Trades
Seattle recorded 39,228 permits in the latest 12 months, down 9.4%, while its ten highest filers concentrated in mechanical and electrical work.
How did the latest 12 months compare with the prior year?
Seattle recorded 39,228 permits, down 9.4% from 43,295 in the previous 12 months. That was a decline of 4,067 permits, whereas Nashville, TN, recorded a 2.4% increase over its comparable period. The 2026 annual total should not be used for a full-year comparison because it runs only through October 19, 2026.
How significant were newcomers among active contractors?
There were 239 newcomers among 1,405 active named contractors in the last 12 months, or 17.0%. That is roughly one in six active named contractors, but the figure describes contractors newly appearing in these records rather than a measure of business formation.
Which contractors had the most permits, and where did they concentrate?
Greenwood Heating & Home Services ranked first by permit count with 2,343 permits, followed by Ballard Natural Gas with 823 and Seatown Electric, Plumbing, Heating & Air dba Seatown Services with 776. As You Wish Electric and Cochran, Inc. followed with 693 and 602 permits; the remaining top ten were Evergreen Home Heating & Energy, Washington Energy Services, Gene Johnson, Kemly Electric, Inc., and Prime Electric. All ten were identified primarily in either mechanical or electrical work, consistent with electrical work appearing on 59.8% of all permits and mechanical work appearing on 38.1%.
How concentrated was the named-contractor market?
The top 10 contractors represented 24.5% of named permits, a higher share than Nashville’s 20.7%, a difference of 3.8 points. That concentration is meaningful, but it does not establish company size, quality, or revenue—only rank by permit count. The records are distinct permit numbers from the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections since 2015, and only 82.0% of permits in the last 12 months name a contractor; permits are filings, not completed jobs. Records also do not link permits into projects with measured accuracy, so they do not support trade-timing analysis.
Rachel Lindqvist covers the West Coast and Hawaii for Projects Ahead Research.
Seattle, WA building permits: the record
464,070 permits issued between 2015 and 2026, naming 5,762 companies. In the last twelve months: 37,562 permits from 1,508 companies.
What gets permitted here
| Trade | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical | 291,070 | 62.7% |
| Mechanical / HVAC | 165,869 | 35.7% |
| Fire protection | 7,131 | 1.5% |
Counts are distinct permit numbers as classified by the issuing authority. A permit is a filing, not a completed job.
Activity by year
| Year | Permits |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 33,618 |
| 2016 | 35,799 |
| 2017 | 36,151 |
| 2018 | 37,613 |
| 2019 | 37,984 |
| 2020 | 33,967 |
| 2021 | 39,181 |
| 2022 | 45,844 |
| 2023 | 45,850 |
| 2024 | 43,471 |
| 2025 | 43,615 |
| 2026 | 30,977 |
Most active companies, last 12 months
| Company | Permits |
|---|---|
| Greenwood Heating & Home Services | 2219 |
| Ballard Natural Gas | 794 |
| Seatown Electric, Plumbing, Heating & Air DBA Seatown Services | 725 |
| As You Wish Electric | 657 |
| Evergreen Home Heating & Energy | 566 |
| Gene Johnson | 489 |
| Kemly Electric, Inc. | 487 |
| Washington Energy Services | 486 |
| Prime Electric | 481 |
| Ecospark Heating And Cooling | 364 |
Ranked by permit count, which measures filing volume — not revenue, crew size or quality. Company histories for Seattle are searchable but not yet published as pages. Search them →
What the work looks like
Property type
| Residential | 16,909 |
| Non-Residential | 3,539 |
Work type
| Electrical | 22,510 |
| Trade | 15,052 |
Last twelve months, as published by the issuing authority.
Get told when this changes
We send new permits matching what you are looking at — the same public records shown on this page, as they are issued.
Source
City of Seattle SDCI (Socrata c87v-5hwh + c4tj-daue). Records are refreshed daily and every figure on this page counts distinct permit numbers. Verify any individual record with the issuing authority before acting on it. How we build these records →