Finding · updated August 5, 2026
1% of LA's building permits carry half its construction value
Across 14,103 valued LA building permits, the richest 1% carry 64% of all the construction money. The median permit: $8,500.
Between May 7 and August 1, 2026, the LA Department of Building and Safety issued 15,000 building permits. 14,103 of them carry a declared dollar value, and together they add up to $1864M of construction. But that money is spread astonishingly unevenly.
The richest 1% of permits — just 141 of them — account for 64% of every declared construction dollar in the city. The top 10% account for 87%. The median permit, meanwhile, is worth just $8,500 — 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 | 1,077 (8%) | $695M (37%) |
| Bldg-Alter/Repair | 9,197 (65%) | $563M (30%) |
| Bldg-Addition | 1,170 (8%) | $537M (29%) |
| Nonbldg-New | 442 (3%) | $41.4M (2%) |
| Swimming-Pool/Spa | 598 (4%) | $17.4M (1%) |
| Sign | 315 (2%) | $3.8M (0%) |
The split by type tells the same story from another angle. Brand-new buildings (Bldg-New) are just 8% of the permits but 37% of the dollars. Alterations and repairs are 65% of the permits — the everyday churn of a built-out city fixing itself — yet only 30% of the declared value.