BuildingPermitCost A $75,000 addition, compared
The same 400 sq ft residential addition valued at $75,000, priced from each place's official schedule. Totals include plan review and required surcharges; fees that only sometimes apply are listed on each page. Compare places side by side.
Browse by state
- Alabama 7
- Alaska 1
- Arizona 7
- Arkansas 2
- California 47
- Colorado 15
- Connecticut 3
- Florida 19
- Georgia 10
- Hawaii 1
- Idaho 3
- Illinois 10
- Indiana 6
- Iowa 6
- Kansas 5
- Kentucky 3
- Louisiana 3
- Maine 1
- Maryland 4
- Massachusetts 5
- Michigan 4
- Minnesota 4
- Missouri 4
- Montana 2
- Nebraska 1
- Nevada 2
- New Hampshire 2
- New Mexico 2
- New York 1
- North Carolina 7
- North Dakota 2
- Ohio 4
- Oklahoma 2
- Oregon 5
- Pennsylvania 5
- Rhode Island 3
- South Carolina 2
- South Dakota 1
- Tennessee 4
- Texas 25
- Utah 6
- Virginia 7
- Washington 10
- Wisconsin 4
Permit fee questions
Why do building permit fees vary so much between cities?
Each city or county sets its own fee schedule. Most charge from a table based on project value, some by floor area, and many add plan review and state surcharges on top. For the same $75,000 addition, the total ranges from $50.00 to $6,962.33 across the 243 places we cover, with a median of $820.58.
Is plan review included in the estimate?
Yes, when the schedule charges plan review with the building permit. It appears as its own line in the calculator so you can see how it was worked out.
What project value should I enter?
It depends on the place. Some permit offices use your contract or bid price, others a published valuation table (often the ICC Building Valuation Data) or the higher of the two. Each city page says which one its schedule uses.
Are state fees and surcharges included?
Yes, when the schedule applies them to the permit, such as state building-code surcharges. Fees that apply only in some situations are listed separately as "may also apply" and are not added to the total.
Why is my city missing?
We publish a place only after its official fee schedule has been read, every fee quoted from it, and the result checked. Places with unclear or unavailable schedules stay unpublished until they are resolved. You can ask us to add a place from the contact page.
How current are these fees?
Every page shows the effective date stated in the schedule and the date we last checked it against the official source. Confirm with the permit office before applying.
How permit fees are calculated
Most US building departments charge from a fee table based on project value: a base amount plus a rate for each $1,000 of value. Many then add plan review as a share of the permit fee, plus state surcharges. Some cities price by floor area instead. Each page here stores the city's own formula, so the calculator follows the same steps as the permit office.
How permit fees are calculated · Permit cost by project type · Construction valuation · How we verify fees