Cook County, IL Roofing Permits: August 2026 Report

August 2026 at a glance

Poach.rr's dataset recorded 668 roofing permits in Cook County, IL for August 2026. July had 1,232, so the month shows a drop of 45.8%. Treat that drop with caution. The latest month can be incomplete because some portals publish filings late, so one short month does not make a trend. The count may rise as late filings arrive.

All figures here are permits in our dataset, collected from public permit portals (the source host is api.permit-stack.com). They are not a count of every permit issued in the county.

The trailing 12 months

Across the trailing 12 months, our dataset holds 18,093 roofing permits in Cook County. That works out to a monthly average of 1,508. August's 668 sits well under that average, and so does July's 1,232.

The monthly series for 2026 shows a clear rise and fall:

Peak month: April 2026, with 2,586 permits. May came close at 2,504. Slow month: January 2026, with 427 permits, the lowest count in the trailing 12 months.

From April, the count fell each month through August. The latest step is the one most likely to be affected by late-publishing portals. The earlier declines, May to June and June to July, are on firmer ground.

Where permits concentrate

Our dataset covers 171 cities and municipalities in Cook County. The top five by roofing permits over the trailing 12 months:

1. Chicago: 4,113 permits, 22.7% of the county's recorded roofing permits
2. Des Plaines: 1,069 permits, 5.9%
3. City Of Chicago: 1,043 permits, 5.8%
4. Palatine: 826 permits, 4.6%
5. Village Of Orland Park: 495 permits, 2.7%

"Chicago" and "City Of Chicago" appear as separate labels in the permit records, and we have not merged them. If both refer to the same jurisdiction, Chicago is a larger share of the county than either line shows alone. Outside the city, Des Plaines and Palatine lead the suburbs in our dataset. Orland Park is the fifth city in the list.

The remaining cities each hold smaller slices, so activity is spread across a long tail of municipalities. A roofer who covers only the top five is working a minority of the recorded permits.

Replacement, repair and job values

Replacement work makes up 64.2% of roofing permits in the trailing 12 months. Repairs make up 1.5%. The rest fall outside those two labels, so a repair-only pitch addresses a very thin slice of what gets permitted here. Permits in this county are mostly full replacements.

The median job value on permits that list one is $17,698. That figure rests on 16,754 permits with a recorded job value, which is most of the trailing 12-month total. Job values are what applicants declare on permit filings, so read them as a guide to the size of recorded jobs rather than a final contract amount.

Roof age in tracked homes

Our dataset tracks roof age for 51,639 homes in the county. The split by age:

• Under 5 years: 34,832
• 5 to 10 years: 10,332
• 10 to 15 years: 1,115
• 15 to 20 years: 3,353
• Over 20 years: 2,007

Roofs older than 15 years account for 10.4% of tracked homes. Most tracked homes have a recent permit on file, which is how this dataset is built. The older roofs are a smaller group, but they are the ones a roofer would look at first when asking who is likely to need work.

A quick look at solar

Solar is much smaller in this county's records. August 2026 shows 19 solar permits, against 34 in August 2025, a drop of 44.1%. Over the trailing 12 months, our dataset holds 393 solar permits, up 10.1% from 357 in the prior 12 months. The monthly count swings a lot at this size. July 2026 had 51, so one month says little. Sunrun leads the installer list with 1,010 permits in our dataset, followed by Sunrise Solar with 119 and Freedom Forever with 107.

What this means for next month

These points apply if you are planning canvassing or ad spend for September.

• Do not read August as a collapse. The count is likely understated, and the slide from April was already underway. Plan around lower volume than spring, but do not assume the floor is as low as 668.
• Start with Chicago and the large suburbs. Chicago, Des Plaines, Palatine and Orland Park hold the most recorded permits. Des Plaines and Palatine give suburban density without covering the whole county.
• Pitch replacement. With 64.2% of permits tied to replacement and 1.5% to repair, a replacement message fits the local mix better than a repair offer.
• Use permit age. Recent permits point to homes already in a roofing decision or just finished. Older permits and the 10.4% of tracked homes with roofs over 15 years old suit a different pitch, such as an inspection offer.
• Budget around the median. A median recorded job value of $17,698 means each lead carries real weight. A smaller pool of fresh permits can still justify focused spend.

On Poach.rr, you pick the state and county, filter by permit age, and buy a prospect exclusively or shared with other contractors. Homeowner contact details are looked up after purchase, and numbers flagged on do-not-call lists are marked. Coverage depends on which jurisdictions publish permits, so a city that is quiet in our dataset may simply publish less. New accounts get free prospects to try the marketplace, with no card required.

We will update these counts as late filings arrive and publish the September report once the month closes.