| Orange County, CA | Santa Clara County, CA | |
|---|---|---|
| Roofing permits, August 2026 | 289 | 354 |
| vs same month last year | -38% | +240.4% |
| Roofing permits, last 12 months | 5,093 | 2,461 |
| Change vs prior 12 months | -4.9% | — |
| Busiest month (last 12) | March 2026 | June 2026 |
| Median listed job value | $16,000 | $17,138 |
| Solar permits, last 12 months | 2,429 | 2,829 |
Monthly residential roofing permits recorded.
Both counties are large California markets, but the recorded permits point in different directions. This comparison uses roofing and solar permits in our dataset, collected from public permit portals, through August 2026. It is not every permit in either county, and coverage depends on which jurisdictions publish.
Volume: Orange County is bigger
Orange County has 5,093 recorded roofing permits over the trailing 12 months, a monthly average of 424. Santa Clara County has 2,461 over the same span, a monthly average of 205. If you want sheer count of filings to work from, Orange County leads.
Trend: one is cooling, one is climbing
Orange County's trailing 12 months (5,093) sit slightly below the prior 12 (5,354), a change of -4.9%. That is a mild slide, not a collapse.
August is the headline problem. Orange County shows 289 roofing permits, against 568 in July and 466 in August 2025. That is a drop of 49.1% month over month. The latest month can be incomplete because some portals publish filings late, so do not read August as a trend. The earlier months give a steadier picture: 2026 ran from 356 in February to 597 in March, with 474 in April, 418 in May and 464 in June.
Santa Clara County moves the other way. August shows 354 roofing permits, up 4.7% from 338 in July, and well above the 104 recorded in August 2025. Monthly counts climbed from 84 in January to 194 in March, 293 in April and 316 in May, then 355 in June. A rise this steep deserves some caution. Our coverage depends on which jurisdictions publish permits, so check that the growth reflects real activity in the cities you plan to work. We have no trailing-year comparison for this county's roofing, so we won't claim a year-over-year trend.
Seasonality
Orange County's busiest month in the window was March 2026 at 597 permits, and its lowest was August 2026 at 289. That low is the possibly incomplete month, so treat it carefully. Before 2026, monthly counts ranged from 357 in February 2025 to 606 in October 2024. Santa Clara's peak was June 2026 at 355 and its low was December 2025 at 71. Winter lows in both counties are consistent with seasonality, but our window holds too little history to confirm a pattern for Santa Clara.
Concentration: spread out versus San Jose
Orange County has 15 cities in the data. The largest is Huntington Beach with 1,172 permits (23%), followed by Anaheim with 886 (17.4%), Fullerton with 444 (8.7%), Seal Beach with 441 (8.7%) and Laguna Niguel with 423 (8.3%). Work is spread across many jurisdictions.
Santa Clara has only three cities in the data. San Jose accounts for 1,894 permits (77%), Sunnyvale for 361 (14.7%) and Gilroy for 206 (8.4%). Here one city drives nearly everything you will see.
Job type and values
Replacement dominates both markets, though more so in Santa Clara: 90.4% of its roofing permits against 61.3% in Orange County. Repairs are a sliver in each (0.6% in Orange, 0.2% in Santa Clara). Median job value is $17,138 in Santa Clara, based on 2,447 permits with a value, and $16,000 in Orange County, based on 2,609. The gap is small, so job size alone should not decide this.
Solar activity
Santa Clara has 2,829 solar permits over the trailing 12 months, up from 1,403 in the prior 12 (+101.6%), with 270 in August. Its listed installers include Sunrun with 57 permits, Tesla with 53 and Solar Optimum with 20. Orange County has 2,429 solar permits over the trailing 12 months, up from 2,253 (+7.8%), but only 75 in August against 202 a year earlier. Again, August may be incomplete.
Roof age in Orange County
Our data tracks 63,123 Orange County homes by roof age. Of these, 14,812 have roofs over 20 years old, and 33% are over 15 years. That is a pool of aging roofs for replacement outreach. We have no equivalent roof-age data for Santa Clara.
Side by side
| Metric | Orange County, CA | Santa Clara County, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Roofing permits, August 2026 | 289 | 354 |
| Roofing, trailing 12 months | 5,093 | 2,461 |
| Monthly average (12 months) | 424 | 205 |
| Peak month | March 2026 (597) | June 2026 (355) |
| Replacement share | 61.3% | 90.4% |
| Median job value | $16,000 | $17,138 |
| Cities in data | 15 | 3 |
| Largest city share | Huntington Beach, 23% | San Jose, 77% |
| Solar, trailing 12 months | 2,429 | 2,829 |
| Solar, change vs prior 12 | +7.8% | +101.6% |
Who each market suits
Orange County suits contractors who want volume and geographic spread. Five cities each hold a meaningful share, so you can build routes in Huntington Beach, Anaheim or the south county without depending on one jurisdiction. The roof-age data helps if you target older roofs. Wait for late filings before judging August.
Santa Clara County suits contractors focused on replacement work in San Jose, with Sunnyvale and Gilroy as secondary areas. It also suits teams adding solar, given the trailing 12-month volume. Its recent roofing growth is steep, so confirm it holds in coming months before committing heavily.
Frequently asked questions
Which county has more roofing permits, Orange County or Santa Clara County?
Orange County has more in our dataset, with 5,093 roofing permits over the trailing 12 months against 2,461 for Santa Clara County. Orange County's monthly average is 424 and Santa Clara's is 205.
Is Orange County roofing activity falling in 2026?
Trailing 12-month permits are 5,093 against 5,354 in the prior 12, a change of -4.9%. August shows 289 permits, but the latest month can be incomplete, so it is not a confirmed trend.
Which county has more solar permits?
Santa Clara County has 2,829 solar permits over the trailing 12 months, against 2,429 in Orange County. Santa Clara's count is up from 1,403 in the prior 12, while Orange County's is up from 2,253.
How concentrated are roofing permits by city?
In Santa Clara County, San Jose holds 1,894 permits, a 77% share, across just three cities in the data. In Orange County, Huntington Beach leads with 1,172 permits (23%) among 15 cities.
What is the median roofing job value in each county?
The median is $17,138 in Santa Clara County, based on 2,447 permits with a recorded value. In Orange County it is $16,000, based on 2,609 permits.
Methodology
Counts are residential roofing and solar building permits in Poach.rr's dataset for Orange County, CA and Santa Clara County, CA, collected from public permit portals (api.permit-stack.com). 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 7, 2026.