Permit Processing Times by City

How long does it take to get a building permit approved? Compare average processing times across 12 cities.

Fastest City

San Francisco, CA

-0.2 days avg

National Average

14.5 days

Across 12 cities

Slowest City

Los Angeles, CA

69.6 days avg

#	City	Speed	Avg Days to Approval	Median	Avg to Issuance	Permits
1	San Francisco, CA	Fast	-0.2	0.0	8.7	29,204
2	New York, NY	Fast	0.0	0.0	41.3	11,074
3	Edmonton, AB	Fast	0.4	0.0	—	4,899
4	Manhattan, NY	Fast	0.5	0.0	35.0	5,287
5	Brooklyn, NY	Fast	6.8	0.0	40.2	3,080
6	Corona, CA	Fast	10.5	0.0	21.1	1,865
7	Bronx, NY	Fast	11.8	0.0	42.3	1,178
8	Queens, NY	Fast	12.4	0.0	44.1	2,405
9	Seattle, WA	Moderate	15.0	5.0	15.0	1,615
10	Staten Island, NY	Moderate	22.5	0.0	41.3	785
11	Chicago, IL	Moderate	24.2	6.0	24.2	17,127
12	Los Angeles, CA	Very Slow	69.6	49.0	69.6	17,420

Based on permits from the last 12 months with recorded submission and approval dates. Cities with fewer than 50 qualifying permits are excluded.

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