Construction Leads in Chicago
Chicago publishes something almost no other city does: the contact name on a permit comes with the role that contact holds. That single field separates a general contractor from an electrical contractor on the same permit, which decides who a trade should actually approach.
The same four steps, whether the buyer is a builder, a designer, an owner or a company you want to acquire.
Where Chicago sits
Chicago among the ten metros Builtie covers. See all of them on one map.
How much is being permitted
Permits by year in Chicago. 2026 is a partial year counted to September 3, 2026, so its bar is shorter for that reason rather than a slowdown.
Chicago has produced 86,591 permits since January 2024: 33,440 in 2024, 32,031 in 2025 and 21,120 so far in 2026. Counted on September 3, 2026.
What is being permitted
| Most common permit categories in Chicago | Since Jan 2024 | Share of these six |
|---|---|---|
| PERMIT – EXPRESS PERMIT PROGRAM | 55,423 | 65% |
| PERMIT - RENOVATION/ALTERATION | 15,339 | 18% |
| PERMIT - SIGNS | 6,222 | 7% |
| PERMIT - NEW CONSTRUCTION | 3,765 | 4% |
| PERMIT - ELEVATOR EQUIPMENT | 2,988 | 3% |
| PERMIT - WRECKING/DEMOLITION | 1,733 | 2% |
What the Chicago record actually carries
The record is the city's issued-permits dataset. It names a contact on effectively every permit and carries the contact type alongside it, distinguishing a general contractor from the trade contractors on the same job. Flattening that to a bare name throws away the most valuable thing in the record.
What a trade contractor should know about this market
- The role field is the differentiator. Knowing whether the named contact is the general contractor or the electrician changes whether they are your buyer or your competitor.
- Express permits are a large share. A substantial part of the record moves through the express permit program, which is smaller and faster work, useful for trades with short cycles and less useful for those chasing large packages.
- Renovation and alteration is the core. After express permits, alteration work is the largest category, which is where most trade scope in a built-out city sits.
- Signs and specialty categories are separable. Because the permit type is explicit, a trade can exclude whole categories it will never bid rather than reading past them.
What Builtie carries in Chicago
Chicago carries full depth: the permit history rather than a single snapshot, projects scored against your trade and territory, an inferred build stage so you can tell an open package from one awarded months ago, and the people who award the work traced past applicants and numbered companies to a named person with email, phone and LinkedIn where each can be verified.
When your package is bought
The buying window does not move with the city. Concrete and excavation are committed before the site is visibly dug, framing is booked while the foundation cures, roofing and cabinetry are decided during framing, and painting is awarded while drywall goes up. Our guide to when each trade is decided maps all of them against the five build stages.
Builtie plans start at $550 per month per seat for 50 matched projects a month, and $880 for 200. Every plan includes done-for-you LinkedIn and email outreach, and there is a 7-day free trial with 10 projects.
Frequently asked questions
How many construction permits does Chicago issue?
Chicago has issued 86,591 permits since January 2024: 33,440 in 2024, 32,031 in 2025 and 21,120 so far in 2026, counted on September 3, 2026. The 2026 figure is a partial year.
Where does the Chicago permit data come from?
The city's own official open-data service. Builtie reads the record the city publishes rather than a resold copy of it, then adds the history, the scoring, the build stage and the decision makers on top.
What does the contact type field tell me?
It says what role the named contact holds on that permit, such as general contractor or electrical contractor. That decides whether the person named is the buyer for your package or another trade working alongside you, and it is why the role is preserved rather than flattened to a name.
How does Chicago compare with the other cities Builtie covers?
Same depth, different volume. Every covered city carries permit history, scored projects, build stage and identified decision makers; Chicago produced 86,591 permits since January 2024, which you can compare against the other nine on the coverage map.
What does Builtie cost?
Starter is $550 per month per seat for 50 matched projects a month and Growth is $880 for 200. Both include done-for-you LinkedIn and email outreach, and there is a 7-day free trial with 10 projects.