The short version
Recorded solar permits in Los Angeles County reached 1,175 in August 2026. That is well under the 1,622 recorded in August 2025. The longer view is flatter: the trailing 12 months hold 18,463 solar permits in our dataset, against 18,378 in the prior 12. The year as a whole looks level, but the recent months are running softer than the same months a year earlier.
All counts here are permits in Poach.rr's dataset for this market, collected from public permit portals (the source host is data.lacity.org). They are not every permit in the county, and coverage depends on which jurisdictions publish their records.
Trailing 12 months versus the prior 12
The trailing 12 months, running through August 2026, total 18,463 solar permits. The 12 months before that total 18,378. The change between them is 0.5%, which is effectively flat. A contractor looking only at annual totals would conclude that solar permitting in the county has held steady.
The monthly series says something more specific. Solar permits peaked at 2,170 in October 2025, and November and December 2025 stayed high at 1,842 and 1,831. Since January 2026 the monthly count has stayed between 1,145 and 1,540. So the flat annual total comes from a strong autumn and early winter followed by a quieter spring and summer.
2026 against 2025, month by month
The late-spring and summer gap is the main thing to watch.
| Month | 2026 solar permits | 2025 solar permits |
|---|---|---|
| May | 1,350 | 1,888 |
| June | 1,362 | 1,621 |
| July | 1,145 | 1,573 |
| August | 1,175 | 1,622 |
Each of those four months came in below the same month a year earlier. August 2026 is 27.6% below August 2025. Earlier in 2026 the picture was closer: March 2026 logged 1,540 against 1,339 a year before, and April was 1,462 against 1,478.
A caution on the latest month. Some portals publish filings late, so August 2026 may still gain permits as records arrive. One month does not make a trend. What supports the softer reading is that four months in a row sit below the prior year, not the August figure alone. Even so, we cannot see from the permit data why the count is lower, and we will not guess.
Roofing context for the same month
Roofing permits in our dataset ran the other way. August 2026 shows 1,720 roofing permits, up from 1,500 in July and above the 1,485 recorded in August 2025. The trailing 12 months hold 19,756 roofing permits against 19,364 in the prior 12, a 2% change. The monthly average over the trailing 12 is 1,646.
Roofing and solar are close in annual volume here, but they are not moving together right now. In August 2026 recorded roofing permits outnumber recorded solar permits by a clear margin. In August 2025 the two were much closer, at 1,485 and 1,622.
Of the roofing permits in the trailing window, 85.2% are classed as replacement and 0.7% as repair. The city of Los Angeles accounts for 14,979 of the roofing permits (75.8%), with unincorporated Los Angeles County at 2,140 (10.8%), then Pomona at 420, Altadena at 369 and Whittier at 336. Permits span 84 cities in all.
Roof age: where roof-then-solar work may sit
Our dataset tracks 336,094 homes in this market with roof-age information. The split by age of the last roof permit:
- Under 5 years: 93,996 homes
- 5 to 10 years: 81,012 homes
- 10 to 15 years: 47,910 homes
- 15 to 20 years: 31,747 homes
- Over 20 years: 81,429 homes
Homes with a roof permit more than 15 years old make up 33.7% of those tracked. Over-20-year roofs alone are a larger group than the 15-to-20 bucket.
What this means for roofers
Solar permit volume is a rough proxy for how many homeowners are looking at their roof before or after a panel job. When solar activity is lower, as it has been since May, there may be fewer panel projects to attach roof work to. The roofing numbers have held up anyway, with August 2026 above August 2025. That suggests replacement demand in the dataset is not riding on solar volume alone.
- Pitch to older roofs. The 81,429 homes with roofs past 20 years are the obvious pool. A roof at that age that is headed for panels often needs attention first.
- Look at the 15-to-20 group. At 31,747 homes, it is smaller but sits one step before the oldest bucket.
- Watch solar permits on the same address. A recent solar permit on a home with an old roof permit can point to a future tear-off, or to a re-roof that comes after the array is already up.
- Work outside the city core. Los Angeles accounts for most roofing permits, but Pomona, Altadena and Whittier are named in the top five and may be less crowded.
What this means for solar installers
A flat annual total with a softer recent stretch calls for realistic pipeline planning. The trailing 12 months are level with the prior 12, so the market is not shrinking over a full year. But monthly permit counts since May sit lower than last year's, and July 2026 at 1,145 is the lowest month in the 24-month series.
- Plan around the range seen in 2026 so far, 1,145 to 1,540 recorded permits a month, rather than the 2,170 seen in October 2025.
- Check the roof before quoting. With 33.7% of tracked homes on roofs older than 15 years, roof condition may decide whether a job moves forward.
- Treat August 2026 as provisional until late filings come in, and revisit the comparison next month.
How to use this
Poach.rr builds its roofing, solar and HVAC prospects from public building-permit records. Contractors choose a state and county, filter by permit age, and buy a prospect exclusively or shared. For roofers in Los Angeles County, the permit-age filter is the practical way to reach the oldest-roof homes described above.
Frequently asked questions
How many solar permits were recorded in Los Angeles County in August 2026?
Our dataset records 1,175 solar permits for August 2026. That is below the 1,622 recorded in August 2025, though the latest month can be incomplete while portals publish late filings.
Are Los Angeles County solar permits up or down over the past year?
Over the trailing 12 months, our dataset shows 18,463 solar permits against 18,378 in the prior 12, a change of 0.5%. The annual total is flat, even though May through August 2026 each came in below the same month in 2025.
What was the busiest month for solar permits in the last two years?
October 2025, with 2,170 recorded solar permits in our dataset. The lowest month in the 24-month series is July 2026, at 1,145.
How many Los Angeles County roofs are over 20 years old?
Our dataset tracks 81,429 homes with roofs more than 20 years old, out of 336,094 homes with roof-age data. Homes with roofs over 15 years old make up 33.7% of the total.
How are roofing permits trending in Los Angeles County?
August 2026 shows 1,720 recorded roofing permits, up from 1,485 in August 2025. The trailing 12 months hold 19,756 roofing permits against 19,364 in the prior 12.
Methodology
Counts are residential roofing and solar building permits in Poach.rr's dataset for Los Angeles County, CA, collected from public permit portals (data.lacity.org). Coverage depends on which jurisdictions publish permits, so read the numbers as a consistent sample, not a census of every permit filed. Months where a source feed was incomplete are excluded from comparisons, and the latest month can rise as portals publish late filings. Data runs through August 2026; page generated October 9, 2026.