Industry & Market Data

Home-Service Demand by State (2026)

Where is home-service demand growing? States authorized about 1.4M new housing units in the last 12 months, and home values keep climbing. We ranked all 50 states plus D.C. on building permits, per-capita construction, and home-price growth. Texas builds the most; Hawaii has the fastest-rising home prices.

Ihor Lavrenenko

By · Founder, Smarfle

Published June 24, 2026 · Data current as of 2025-2026

Smarfle

1.4M

Housing permits (12 mo)

Texas

Most permits

Idaho

Top per capita

Hawaii

Fastest home prices

Key findings

  • States authorized about 1.4M new private housing units in the last 12 months, all of it future work for the building trades.
  • Texas issues the most permits (194,150), ahead of Florida and California.
  • Per capita, Idaho builds the most (92.3 permits per 10,000 residents), followed by South Carolina and North Carolina.
  • Home values are rising fastest in Hawaii (+8.7% YoY), West Virginia, and Illinois, a signal of remodel and repair demand.
  • Permits (new construction) and home-price growth (remodel + upkeep) together show where home-service work is expanding, the demand-side companion to how many businesses already compete there.

Building permits, mapped

New housing units authorized by building permits in the last 12 months, by state. Darker means more.

Alaska: 814Alabama: 21,308Arkansas: 14,741Arizona: 47,257California: 111,538Colorado: 33,093Connecticut: 5,775District of Columbia: 1,976Delaware: 6,477Florida: 158,370Georgia: 60,994Hawaii: 3,333Iowa: 12,933Idaho: 18,471Illinois: 19,157Indiana: 27,672Kansas: 12,159Kentucky: 13,410Louisiana: 14,034Massachusetts: 13,778Maryland: 13,400Maine: 6,830Michigan: 22,528Minnesota: 22,158Missouri: 18,495Mississippi: 8,718Montana: 5,457North Carolina: 87,853North Dakota: 2,139Nebraska: 10,519New Hampshire: 4,987New Jersey: 31,546New Mexico: 7,746Nevada: 15,357New York: 48,587Ohio: 32,282Oklahoma: 14,702Oregon: 15,315Pennsylvania: 25,848Rhode Island: 2,113South Carolina: 46,439South Dakota: 5,973Tennessee: 41,556Texas: 194,150Utah: 25,666Virginia: 37,520Vermont: 2,231Washington: 38,911Wisconsin: 25,771West Virginia: 3,981Wyoming: 2,018
Scale:814 to 5,7755,775 to 13,41013,410 to 21,30821,308 to 37,52037,520 to 194,150

Home-service demand by state

All 50 states plus D.C., with building permits, density, and home-price growth. Search or sort any column.

1Texas194,15062+1.6%
2Florida158,37067.8+1.4%
3California111,53828.3+0.9%
4North Carolina87,85379.5+2.4%
5Georgia60,99454.6+1.9%
6New York48,58724.5+5.3%
7Arizona47,25762.3+0.9%
8South Carolina46,43984.8+3.8%
9Tennessee41,55657.5+2.6%
10Washington38,91148.9+1%
11Virginia37,52042.6+3.8%
12Colorado33,09355.5+0.2%
13Ohio32,28227.2+4.3%
14New Jersey31,54633.2+5.4%
15Indiana27,67240+4.6%
16Pennsylvania25,84819.8+4.7%
17Wisconsin25,77143.2+5.6%
18Utah25,66673.3+2.6%
19Michigan22,52822.2+4.6%
20Minnesota22,15838.2+3%
21Alabama21,30841.3+3.7%
22Illinois19,15715.1+6%
23Missouri18,49529.6+3.6%
24Idaho18,47192.3+3%
25Nevada15,35747+2.5%
26Oregon15,31535.8+1.7%
27Arkansas14,74147.7+3.2%
28Oklahoma14,70235.9+2.8%
29Louisiana14,03430.5+2.9%
30Massachusetts13,77819.3+3.2%
31Kentucky13,41029.2+4.7%
32Maryland13,40021.4+2.2%
33Iowa12,93339.9+3.2%
34Kansas12,15940.9+3.8%
35Nebraska10,51952.5+3.2%
36Mississippi8,71829.6+3.7%
37New Mexico7,74636.4+2.1%
38Maine6,83048.6+3.2%
39Delaware6,47761.6+4%
40South Dakota5,97364.6+2.2%
41Connecticut5,77515.7+5.7%
42Montana5,45748+2.7%
43New Hampshire4,98735.4+3.9%
44West Virginia3,98122.5+8%
45Hawaii3,33323+8.7%
46Vermont2,23134.4+4.3%
47North Dakota2,13926.9+4.7%
48Rhode Island2,11319+5%
49Wyoming2,01834.3+3.7%
50District of Columbia1,97628.1-0.6%
51Alaska81411+3.9%

Building permits (12 mo)

194,150

Rank #1 of 51

Permits per 10k residents

62

Rank #8 of 51

Home-price growth (YoY)

2%

Rank #45 of 51

Top 15 states by building permits

TexasTexas194,150FloridaFlorida158,370CaliforniaCalifornia111,538North CarolinaNorth Carolina87,853GeorgiaGeorgia60,994New YorkNew York48,587ArizonaArizona47,257South CarolinaSouth Carolina46,439TennesseeTennessee41,556WashingtonWashington38,911VirginiaVirginia37,520ColoradoColorado33,093OhioOhio32,282New JerseyNew Jersey31,546IndianaIndiana27,672

Most construction per capita

Permits per 10,000 residents, a clearer read on where building is hottest relative to population.

IdahoIdaho92.3South CarolinaSouth Carolina84.8North CarolinaNorth Carolina79.5UtahUtah73.3FloridaFlorida67.8South DakotaSouth Dakota64.6ArizonaArizona62.3TexasTexas62DelawareDelaware61.6TennesseeTennessee57.5ColoradoColorado55.5GeorgiaGeorgia54.6

Where home values are rising fastest

Year-over-year change in the FHFA House Price Index. Rising values drive remodel, repair, and upkeep work.

HawaiiHawaii+8.7%West VirginiaWest Virginia+8%IllinoisIllinois+6%ConnecticutConnecticut+5.7%WisconsinWisconsin+5.6%New JerseyNew Jersey+5.4%New YorkNew York+5.3%Rhode IslandRhode Island+5%PennsylvaniaPennsylvania+4.7%KentuckyKentucky+4.7%North DakotaNorth Dakota+4.7%IndianaIndiana+4.6%

What this means for operators

Permits are a forward look at trade work: every authorized home means electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and landscaping jobs months down the line. The Sun Belt and Mountain West lead per-capita building, so that is where new-construction trades have the most runway.

Rising home values point the other way, toward existing homes: when equity grows, owners remodel, repair, and maintain. States with strong price growth are good markets for service and improvement work even where new building is slower. Read this alongside the supply-side best-states study to see where demand outruns the number of businesses already competing.

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Best states for home services

The supply side: how many home-service businesses already operate in each state.

Read the study

Methodology

Building permits = new privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits, summed over the most recent 12 months, per state (Census Building Permits Survey via FRED). Density is permits per 10,000 residents using 2024 ACS population. House-price growth is the year-over-year percent change in the FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (via FRED). Permits proxy new-construction trade work; rising home values proxy remodel and service demand. Covers the 50 states plus D.C.

Caveats: a building permit is an authorization to build, not a completed home, though the two track closely. The FHFA index measures repeat-sale price changes and is a relative index, not a dollar price. Coverage is the 50 states plus D.C.

Source

FRED (St. Louis Fed): Census Building Permits Survey + FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index.

Programs: Census Building Permits Survey, FHFA House Price Index, FRED (St. Louis Fed).

Frequently asked questions

Which state issues the most building permits?

Texas leads with 194,150 new private housing units authorized in the last 12 months, followed by Florida (158,370) and California (111,538). Building permits are a leading indicator of new-construction work for electricians, plumbers, and HVAC contractors.

Which state has the most construction activity per capita?

Idaho leads at 92.3 permits per 10,000 residents, followed by South Carolina and North Carolina. The Sun Belt and Mountain West dominate per-capita building.

Where are home values rising fastest?

Hawaii leads year-over-year home-price growth at +8.7%, followed by West Virginia and Illinois. Rising home values track remodeling and home-improvement demand.

Why do permits and home prices matter for home-service businesses?

New building permits mean new homes that need electrical, plumbing, HVAC, landscaping, and more. Rising home values mean owners invest in remodels, repairs, and upkeep. Together they are a demand-side read on where home-service work is growing, complementing the supply-side view of how many businesses already operate there.

Where does this data come from?

FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis): the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey for permits and the FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index for home values. Permits are the trailing 12 months; home-price growth is year over year. See the methodology below.

Cite this study

Free to reference with a link back. Please credit Smarfle as the source.

Ihor Lavrenenko (2026). Home-Service Demand by State. Smarfle. https://www.smarfle.com/small-business-statistics/home-service-demand-by-state

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