Finding · updated July 30, 2026
1% of LA's building permits carry half its construction value
Across 12,994 valued LA building permits, the richest 1% carry 64% of all the construction money. The median permit: $8,344.
Between May 7 and July 25, 2026, the LA Department of Building and Safety issued 13,822 building permits. 12,994 of them carry a declared dollar value, and together they add up to $1723M of construction. But that money is spread astonishingly unevenly.
The richest 1% of permits — just 130 of them — account for 64% of every declared construction dollar in the city. The top 10% account for 88%. The median permit, meanwhile, is worth just $8,344 — a re-roof, a water heater, a backyard wall. The single largest, a community center operated by governmental agency in ZIP 90015, was declared at $375M on its own.
| permit type | permits | declared value |
|---|---|---|
| Bldg-New | 957 (7%) | $586M (34%) |
| Bldg-Alter/Repair | 8,516 (66%) | $545M (32%) |
| Bldg-Addition | 1,076 (8%) | $527M (31%) |
| Nonbldg-New | 389 (3%) | $37.6M (2%) |
| Swimming-Pool/Spa | 559 (4%) | $16.1M (1%) |
| Sign | 294 (2%) | $3.7M (0%) |
The split by type tells the same story from another angle. Brand-new buildings (Bldg-New) are just 7% of the permits but 34% of the dollars. Alterations and repairs are 66% of the permits — the everyday churn of a built-out city fixing itself — yet only 32% of the declared value.