Across 17 jurisdictions the middle one files a median of $37,750, and 5 of them land within a quarter of that. The gap in the headline is between San Francisco and Kansas City — a difference between cities, not a range to expect inside one.

Within a single city the spread is wider still. New Orleans runs from $5,000 at the tenth percentile to $164,892 at the ninetieth, 33.0× end to end, while Anaheim is the tightest at 6.4×. That is the number worth carrying into a conversation with a contractor: a quote outside your own city's range is worth asking about, and a quote outside another city's tells you nothing.

14 of these 17 jurisdictions cleared 60 permits, which is the bar this site sets before a city may hold either end of a comparison. The rest are shown because their own page is worth reading, not because they are precise enough to headline.

Full numbers

City	10%	Median	90%	Permits
San Francisco, CA	$20,000	$65,700	$219,300	5,445
Marin County, CA	$14,900	$65,000	$234,619	259
Montgomery County, MD	$10,000	$62,950	$250,000	956
Austin, TX	$15,000	$53,000	$250,000	41
Seattle, WA	$10,000	$50,000	$150,000	151
Baton Rouge, LA	$5,630	$45,000	$162,612	120
Sacramento, CA	$10,000	$45,000	$147,511	443
New York, NY	$10,000	$43,674	$177,800	8,241
New Orleans, LA	$5,000	$37,750	$164,892	849
Raleigh, NC	$11,830	$34,692	$127,143	602
Chicago, IL	$5,000	$25,000	$162,680	1,046
Detroit, MI	$6,600	$25,000	$169,600	39
Los Angeles, CA	$6,000	$20,630	$78,000	6,168
Corona, CA	$7,000	$19,000	$48,500	42
Anaheim, CA	$4,586	$15,000	$29,464	189
Everett, WA	$3,491	$8,100	$78,641	160
Kansas City, MO	$3,500	$8,000	$115,000	131

Declared permit values, last 24 months. Updated 2026-09-24. Methodology.