Where Nevada is building
Two datasets, side by side. Growth ranks come from the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey — new privately-owned residential construction only, not total permit volume. The fee column is each city’s own published residential building-permit fee, shown verbatim for reference: it is never ranked, averaged, or presented as comparable across cities (why not →).
Census activity data covers 31 of the 31 Nevada jurisdictions PermitBase tracks.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey (BPS) · data through 2026-05
Nevada cities by building-permit growth
Ranked by trailing-12-month Census units. The fee column is reference only — see how to read this table.
| # | Jurisdiction | Trailing-12 units | YoY growth | Residential permit fee * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unincorporated Clark Countycounty-wide totals | 10,569 | — county estimate | Varies — valuation-based (see Table 3-A)†Verifieddetails → |
| 2 | Unincorporated Washoe Countycounty-wide totals | 2,693 | — county estimate | $45.00Verifieddetails → |
| 3 | Las Vegas | 2,473 | −14.4% | $1,488Verifieddetails → |
| 4 | Henderson | 2,191 | −48.9% | $2,945Verifieddetails → |
| 5 | North Las Vegas | 1,821 | −22.8% | Varies — valuation-based per Table 3-A†Verifieddetails → |
| 6 | Reno | 1,105(10 mo) | — insufficient history | $45.00Verifieddetails → |
| 7 | Sparks | 694 | −24.9% | $23.50Verifieddetails → |
| 8 | Mesquite | 382 | −1.8% | $36.72Verifieddetails → |
| 9 | Carson City | 339(11 mo) | — insufficient history | $65.00†Verifieddetails → |
| 10 | Lyon Countycounty-wide totals | 317 | — county estimate | $42.00Verifieddetails → |
| 11 | Douglas Countycounty-wide totals | 243 | — county estimate | $1,000.00Verifieddetails → |
| 12 | Fernley | 199(11 mo) | — insufficient history | Based on the current ICC Building Valuation Data (BVD) tables and/or written contract value (whichever is higher), applied to the City of Fernley Building Permit Fee Schedule (BPFS)†Verifieddetails → |
| 13 | Unincorporated Elko Countycounty-wide totals | 118 | — county estimate | $44.00†Verifieddetails → |
| 14 | Elko | 84 | +31.3% | $87.00Verifieddetails → |
| 15 | Unincorporated Humboldt Countycounty-wide totals | 43 | — county estimate | $51.75Verifieddetails → |
| 16 | Unincorporated Churchill Countycounty-wide totals | 42 | — county estimate | Not published — the cost of permits is based on the valuation of construction; no dollar-figure or valuation-based fee table was found published on the County's website†Verifieddetails → |
| 17 | Unincorporated Lincoln Countycounty-wide totals | 35 | — county estimate | $20.00Verifieddetails → |
| 18 | Fallon | 19(11 mo) | — insufficient history | Not published — set by City Council resolution rather than fixed in the Code of Ordinances; no valuation-based fee table was found on the City of Fallon website, in the Municode-hosted Code of Ordinances, or in reviewed City Council agenda packets†Verifieddetails → |
| 19 | Storey County (includes Virginia City)county-wide totals | 12 | — county estimate | $23.50Verifieddetails → |
| 20 | Boulder City | 10(7 mo) | — insufficient history | $27.00Verifieddetails → |
| 21 | Lander County (including Battle Mountain)county-wide totals | 6 | — county estimate | Based on project valuation per 1997 UBC Table 1-A; no dollar-figure fee table is published on the county website†Verifieddetails → |
| 22 | Unincorporated White Pine Countycounty-wide totals | 5 | — county estimate | Valuation-based; no dollar-figure fee table is published on the county website†Verifieddetails → |
| 23 | Pershing County (includes Lovelock)county-wide totals | 3 | — county estimate | $67.00Verifieddetails → |
| 24 | Unincorporated Mineral Countycounty-wide totals | 0 | — county estimate | — |
| — | Carlin | no data reported | — insufficient history | — |
| — | Ely | no data reported | — insufficient history | — |
| — | Nye County (Unincorporated, incl. Pahrump)county-wide totals | no data reported | — county estimate | Calculated from project valuation determined via the 2018 ICC Building Valuation Data Tables (updated each July 1), per Nye County Resolution No. 2004-29†Verifieddetails → |
| — | Wells | no data reported | — insufficient history | — |
| — | West Wendover | no data reported | — insufficient history | $200,000†Verifieddetails → |
| — | Winnemucca | no data reported | — insufficient history | Not published as a standalone current fee schedule; fee is calculated from project valuation on the Application for Building Permit form†Verifieddetails → |
| — | Yerington | no data reported | — insufficient history | Valuation-based; determined from the City of Yerington Building Valuation Data Sheets (most recent revision, maintained at the Building and Planning Department) using the 1997 Uniform Building Code Section 223 definition of 'Valuation'†Verifieddetails → |
How to read this table
Rows are ranked only by Census building-activity units — the one figure that’s measured the same way in every city. The fee column is never ranked, averaged, or sorted, because permit fees aren’t measured the same way from city to city: some jurisdictions charge a flat fee, others price on a sliding scale tied to construction valuation, others per square foot, others as a percentage of the building permit fee. Averaging or sorting those numbers together would compare figures that don’t measure the same thing — a “cheapest city” ranking built on that mix would be a misleading metric, so we don’t build one.
A dagger (†) next to a fee means it’s the starting tier from a valuation-based or sliding-scale schedule per the jurisdiction’s own published fee table — not a final total for every project. Open the linked permit page for the complete schedule.
The growth percentage only appears when a jurisdiction’s trailing-12-month and prior-12-month windows were both fully reported to the Census Bureau, and the prior-year total was at least 50 units. Below that floor a percentage swings too wildly on a small base to be meaningful, so we withhold it rather than publish a misleading rate. County-level rows never get a growth rank, since county totals can include Census imputation for non-reporting offices.
Two provenance regimes are stacked on this page: Census activity figures are self-reported by jurisdictions to the Bureau on a monthly cadence, while permit fees are independently verified by PermitBase against each department’s own published schedule (see the confidence badge and source link on each fee). A jurisdiction shown as “no data reported” did not report to the Census Bureau for that period — that is never the same as zero activity.
Frequently asked questions
- Why don't you rank cities by permit cost?
- Permit fees aren't measured the same way from city to city — one jurisdiction charges a flat fee, another prices on a sliding scale tied to construction valuation, another per square foot, another as a percentage of the building permit fee. Sorting those numbers together and calling the smallest one "cheapest" would compare figures that don't measure the same thing, which is a misleading metric dressed up as a ranking. So this page ranks only what's genuinely comparable across cities — Census building-activity units — and shows each city's own published fee next to it, verbatim, for reference only.
- What does the growth percentage measure?
- Year-over-year change in trailing-12-month housing units authorized for new privately-owned residential construction, per the Census Bureau Building Permits Survey. It only appears when both the current and prior 12-month windows were fully reported and the prior-year total meets a minimum reporting floor — otherwise a percentage would be either impossible to compute or too volatile to be meaningful.
- What does the dagger (†) next to a fee mean?
- It marks a fee that's a starting tier from a valuation-based or sliding-scale schedule, not a flat final total. Open the city's permit page for the complete fee table.
- Why do some cities show “no data reported” instead of a number?
- That jurisdiction didn't report to the Census Bureau for that period. We show it as unreported, never as zero — assuming zero activity for a non-reporting jurisdiction would be inventing a data point that doesn't exist.
See full Nevada building-activity detail →·Look up a specific Nevada permit fee →
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