Texas Construction Intelligence — April 2026

Across all 221 Texas counties, builders pulled 16,689 residential permits in April 2026. Volume stays concentrated at the top: the five busiest counties accounted for 7,313 permits, roughly 44% of statewide activity.

Momentum is the signal contractors should watch. 56 of 148 counties with reported month-over-month data grew versus the prior month, led by Eastland County at +600%. A rising permit count today is work that reaches the field over the following weeks, so counties accelerating now are where lead volume is most likely to expand next.

Over the trailing six months, statewide permitting moved from 12,711 authorized units in Nov 2025 to 16,689 in Apr 2026 — a +31% change. Harris County followed its own path over the same window, running 2,321 in Nov 2025 to 2,260 in April 2026.

By structure type, single-family homes accounted for roughly 83% of authorized units this period — 13,199 single-family against 2,666 in multifamily buildings of five or more units. That mix matters for trade demand: single-family-heavy counties drive roofing, pool, and remodeling work, while multifamily-leaning markets concentrate electrical, plumbing, and HVAC at scale.

Year over year, the picture is more mixed than the monthly numbers alone suggest: of the 221 Texas counties with FRED annual data, 61 authorized more permits than the same month a year ago and 160 authorized fewer. Harris County sits up 3.3% against a year prior — a reminder that a strong month can still fall inside a softer twelve-month trend, which is why the field reads both windows together.

PermitMap also publishes a modeled Construction Demand Index (0–100) per county that blends volume, momentum, and year-over-year direction into a single comparison score. It is a derived indicator, not a Census figure, and is labeled as modeled wherever it appears.