Construction Market Outlook: Where Permit Trends Are Heading
A forward read on demand: counties ranked by their six-month permit trajectory and year-over-year trend. Outlook framing is based on real trend data — not predictions.
Which counties rank highest in this list?
As of April 2026, the strongest construction trajectories over the trailing six months of U.S. Census permit data are led by Leon, Collier, Broward. This outlook reflects real permit-trend data, not predictions, and is updated monthly.
Rankings — April 2026
| # | County | 6-mo trend | Permits | MoM | YoY | Demand Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leon County · FL | +410% | 153 | +34.2% | +16% | 57 |
| 2 | Collier County · FL | +390% | 441 | +156.4% | -22.4% | 47 |
| 3 | Broward County · FL | +366% | 396 | +224.6% | +62.5% | 71 |
| 4 | Duval County · FL | +289% | 956 | +104.3% | -7.4% | 69 |
| 5 | Palm Beach County · FL | +283% | 942 | +169.9% | +3.4% | 74 |
| 6 | Wise County · TX | +279% | 53 | +55.9% | -13.2% | 39 |
| 7 | Comal County · TX | +272% | 301 | +106.2% | -49.7% | 35 |
| 8 | Gulf County · FL | +256% | 64 | +77.8% | +0% | 47 |
| 9 | Marion County · FL | +238% | 588 | -4.9% | -11.1% | 39 |
| 10 | Martin County · FL | +223% | 97 | +106.4% | +30.8% | 63 |
| 11 | Lubbock County · TX | +220% | 461 | +172.8% | +29.4% | 68 |
| 12 | Walton County · FL | +181% | 191 | -61.1% | -16.8% | 12 |
| 13 | Denton County · TX | +179% | 1,043 | +46.9% | -2.8% | 62 |
| 14 | Potter County · TX | +178% | 189 | +67.3% | -28.7% | 34 |
| 15 | Alachua County · FL | +166% | 242 | +130.5% | +90.6% | 67 |
| 16 | Taylor County · TX | +156% | 138 | +60.5% | +104.8% | 62 |
| 17 | Lee County · FL | +138% | 1,382 | +120.4% | -12.1% | 79 |
| 18 | Osceola County · FL | +137% | 612 | +44% | -16.4% | 55 |
| 19 | Rockwall County · TX | +125% | 155 | +22% | -12.1% | 38 |
| 20 | Kendall County · TX | +123% | 67 | +39.6% | -37.3% | 31 |
| 21 | Kaufman County · TX | +108% | 100 | -13% | -38.7% | 10 |
| 22 | Pasco County · FL | +100% | 823 | +12.6% | +16.5% | 68 |
| 23 | San Patricio County · TX | +90% | 55 | +27.9% | -8.3% | 41 |
| 24 | Bell County · TX | +86% | 238 | +3.5% | -12.5% | 30 |
| 25 | Flagler County · FL | +82% | 213 | +23.1% | -0.1% | 48 |
Showing the top 25 of 78 ranked counties. Permits and month-over-month: U.S. Census Building Permits Survey (April 2026). Year-over-year: FRED. Demand Index is a modeled 0–100 composite. Dashes indicate a source did not report for that county this period.
Six-month trajectory
Total permits authorized across all tracked counties, Nov 2025 → April 2026.
| Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
| 22,363 | 28,785 | 24,516 | 30,614 | 29,404 | 31,285 |
Market concentration
How concentrated demand is at the top of the ranking.
of permits in this ranking come from the top 5 counties.
Single-family share: 77% of authorized units (vs multifamily 5+).
Frequently asked questions
Which counties rank highest in this list?
As of April 2026, the strongest construction trajectories over the trailing six months of U.S. Census permit data are led by Leon, Collier, Broward. This outlook reflects real permit-trend data, not predictions, and is updated monthly.
What is the top market right now?
Leon County (April 2026) leads this ranking with 153 permits authorized and a Construction Demand Index of 57/100 (modeled).
How often is this updated?
Every month, when new U.S. Census Building Permits Survey data is released. Rankings, charts, and figures regenerate automatically from the same dataset that powers PermitMap's county pages and monthly intelligence editions.
Methodology & sources
Permit counts and month-over-month change come from the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (period 2026-04); year-over-year from FRED. The Construction Demand Index is a modeled 0–100 composite of volume, momentum, and year-over-year trend, labeled as modeled wherever it appears. This collection regenerates each month from the same dataset that powers PermitMap's county pages and monthly editions.
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