State coverage

Texas Building Permit Data

Texas building permit data is the public record of construction authorized by Texas cities and counties. Builty holds 19.0M+ structured Texas permit records from 125 issuing jurisdictions across 41 counties, covering 1982 to the present, matched to addresses and normalized to a single schema.

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19.0M+
Structured permit records
125
Issuing jurisdictions
41
Counties covered
1982 to today
Sustained coverage
Coverage

Where the records are

Texas volume sits in the five big metros. Austin, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio together account for roughly half of all state records.

JurisdictionShare of state recordsNotable for
Austin12.4%Largest single stream in the state, dense infill and tech build
Houston11.7%No zoning, so permits carry unusually high signal on use change
Dallas10.5%Commercial and multifamily depth back to 2000
Fort Worth8.5%Sustained greenfield residential
San Antonio5.9%Fast-growing metro with strong new-construction volume
Harris County4.2%Unincorporated county, distinct from the Houston authority

Coverage continues across the remaining 119 jurisdictions. Ask for the full jurisdiction list →

What's in the data

What's in the Texas data

FieldCoverageNotes
street_address + geoCompleteCounty, locality, ZIP, CBSA and FIPS codes on every record
descriptionNearly completeThe free text the jurisdiction published
projectsMost recordsBuilty taxonomy labels across ten categories
record_type / work_typeNearly completeStandardized across every issuing authority
attributesMost recordsParsed detail such as utility type, dwelling type, structure type
DatesMost recordsSubmitted, issued, finaled, on one timeline

Records outside the usable window are flagged, so a date is either real or explicitly unknown.

Roughly 3.3M of these records come from 20 retired permitting platforms that Texas jurisdictions have since replaced. That history stays in the data when a locality changes systems.

Use cases

What Texas data answers

Use change without zoning
Houston has no zoning, so the permit record is the primary signal of what a property is actually becoming.
Hail & roof activity
North Texas carries one of the heaviest hail-driven re-roof streams in the country.
Housing supply
New residential construction across the fastest-growing metros in the US.
Freeze & systems
Plumbing, mechanical, and electrical work following freeze events.
Commercial & industrial
Warehouse, data center, and industrial build across the metro corridors.
Property condition
Roof, systems, and structural history at address level.
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Are Texas building permits public record?
Yes. Building permits issued by Texas jurisdictions are public records. Each one publishes them in its own format and its own system, which is why a statewide view requires collecting and standardizing them jurisdiction by jurisdiction.
How do I look up a building permit in Texas?
For a single property, the issuing jurisdiction's permit portal is the place to start, since permits are issued locally rather than by the state. For many properties at once, or for analysis across jurisdictions, a standardized dataset is the practical route: Builty holds 19.0M+ Texas permit records in one consistent structure.
How far back does Texas permit data go?
Texas carries sustained coverage from 1982 to the present. Individual jurisdictions reach back further, and some records carry placeholder dates from legacy systems; those are identified as placeholders, so the stated window is the one the data actually supports.
Which Texas city has the most building permits?
Austin, narrowly, at roughly 12% of state records, with Houston very close behind. Dallas and Fort Worth follow.
Does Builty cover unincorporated Texas counties?
Yes where the county issues permits. Harris County is collected separately from the City of Houston, so unincorporated activity is visible on its own.
Can I get data for a single county or city?
Yes. Delivery can be scoped to any set of Texas jurisdictions, project types, or date ranges, by API, bulk file, or ongoing feed.
Related

Keep reading

Infrastructure
Data Centers & Power →
Structure & Materials
Multifamily →
Overview
US Building Permit Data →

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