| Palm Beach County, FL | Pinellas County, FL | |
|---|---|---|
| Roofing permits, August 2026 | 570 | 765 |
| vs same month last year | -13.9% | -29.7% |
| Roofing permits, last 12 months | 9,854 | 9,821 |
| Change vs prior 12 months | +8.7% | -41.6% |
| Busiest month (last 12) | June 2026 | September 2025 |
| Median listed job value | $27,021 | $12,253 |
| Solar permits, last 12 months | 601 | 2,499 |
Monthly residential roofing permits recorded.
Palm Beach County and Pinellas County recorded almost the same roofing volume over the past year, but the two markets are moving in different directions. This comparison uses permits in our dataset, collected from public permit portals (api.permit-stack.com for both counties) through August 2026. These are recorded permits, not every permit filed in either county.
Side-by-side numbers
| Metric | Palm Beach County | Pinellas County |
|---|---|---|
| Roofing permits, August 2026 (latest month) | 570 | 765 |
| July 2026 | 929 | 1,017 |
| August 2025 | 662 | 1,088 |
| Trailing 12 months | 9,854 | 9,821 |
| Prior 12 months | 9,068 | 16,816 |
| Trailing 12 month change | +8.7% | -41.6% |
| Monthly average, trailing 12 | 821 | 818 |
| Peak month | June 2026 (1,020) | September 2025 (1,042) |
| Lowest month | August 2026 (570) | December 2025 (629) |
| Largest city share | Boca Raton, 21.2% | St Petersburg, 40.6% |
| Cities with permits | 18 | 27 |
| Median job value on permits | $27,021 | $12,253 |
| Solar permits, trailing 12 | 601 | 2,499 |
| Solar permits, August 2026 | 32 | 105 |
Volume: effectively tied
Over the trailing 12 months, Palm Beach has 9,854 roofing permits in our dataset and Pinellas has 9,821. Monthly averages are 821 and 818. On raw volume alone, neither market has an edge.
Trend: one growing, one sharply lower
Palm Beach is up 8.7% on the prior 12 months, from 9,068 to 9,854. Its monthly series climbed through spring 2026: 903 in March, 974 in May and 1,020 in June, the peak of the window.
Pinellas shows the opposite. Its trailing 12 months total 9,821 against 16,816 the year before, a drop of 41.6%. The monthly series shows it plainly: January 2025 recorded 1,753 permits, while January 2026 recorded 738. Our data does not show why, so treat the size of the drop with caution. Since the low of 629 in December 2025, the direction has turned upward: July 2026 reached 1,017, the highest month of 2026 so far.
The latest month needs care
August 2026 is lower than July in both markets. Palm Beach recorded 570 permits, down 38.6% from July's 929 and down 13.9% from 662 a year earlier. Pinellas recorded 765, down 24.8% from July and down 29.7% from 1,088 in August 2025. The latest month can be incomplete because some portals publish filings late. Read these as a possible dip, not a trend, until September fills in.
Seasonality: not enough to call
Our window covers 24 months, which gives only a short history for any calendar month. Palm Beach was lower in the summer of 2025 (695 in June, 662 in August) and higher in June 2026 (1,020), so a clean seasonal pattern does not show up. Pinellas fell from 1,042 in September 2025 to 629 in December 2025 and then recovered, but that sits inside a larger year-over-year decline, which makes seasonality hard to separate out. Plan on the recent months, not on a seasonal calendar.
Concentration: Pinellas leans on one city
In Palm Beach, the top five cities are spread out: Boca Raton (2,087 permits, 21.2%), West Palm Beach (1,646, 16.7%), Palm Beach Gardens (1,417, 14.4%), Wellington (1,115, 11.3%) and Delray Beach (884, 9%). The data covers 18 cities.
In Pinellas, St Petersburg alone accounts for 3,983 permits, or 40.6%. Largo (1,016, 10.3%), Pinellas Park (895, 9.1%), Dunedin (695, 7.1%) and Seminole (647, 6.6%) follow. The data covers 27 cities, but the weight sits in one place. A crew based near St Petersburg has a large local pool. A crew elsewhere in Pinellas has a smaller, more scattered one.
Job values and job type
The median job value on permits that list one is $27,021 in Palm Beach (5,313 permits with a value) and $12,253 in Pinellas (7,738 permits with a value). Those are values declared on permits, not what any contractor charges. Still, the gap is large. In Palm Beach, 70.2% of roofing permits are replacements and 0.1% are repairs.
Solar activity
Pinellas is the stronger solar market in our data. It has 2,499 solar permits over the trailing 12 months, up 48.8% from 1,680. Palm Beach has 601, down 2.4% from 616. Both markets were lower in August 2026 than a year earlier: Pinellas 105 against 193, Palm Beach 32 against 72. Again, August may be incomplete. In Palm Beach, American Solar Installation Company leads the installer list with 21 permits, followed by Electra Solar and Urban Solar with 10 each.
Who each market suits
- Palm Beach suits contractors who want growing roofing volume, a spread of cities (Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens) and larger permit values, with a heavy replacement mix. Solar is a small side line here.
- Pinellas suits contractors based in or near St Petersburg, or those who want solar volume alongside roofing. Its roofing numbers are lower than a year ago, but 2026 has recovered from the December 2025 low. With a lower median job value, volume matters more.
Coverage depends on which jurisdictions publish permits, so check which cities in each county matter to your service area before committing. On Poach.rr you pick a state and county and filter by permit age, and new accounts get free prospects to try it, no card required.
Frequently asked questions
Which county has more roofing permits, Palm Beach or Pinellas?
They are almost level. Over the trailing 12 months, our dataset shows 9,854 roofing permits in Palm Beach County and 9,821 in Pinellas County.
Are roofing permits rising or falling in Palm Beach and Pinellas?
Palm Beach is up 8.7% on the prior 12 months, while Pinellas is down 41.6%. August 2026 was lower in both markets, but the latest month can be incomplete.
What is the median roofing job value in Palm Beach vs Pinellas?
The median job value on permits that list one is $27,021 in Palm Beach County and $12,253 in Pinellas County. These are values declared on permits.
Which county has more solar permit activity?
Pinellas, with 2,499 solar permits over the trailing 12 months, up 48.8%. Palm Beach has 601, down 2.4%.
Which county's roofing permits are more concentrated in one city?
Pinellas. St Petersburg accounts for 3,983 permits, or 40.6%. In Palm Beach, the largest city, Boca Raton, holds 21.2%.
Methodology
Counts are residential roofing and solar building permits in Poach.rr's dataset for Palm Beach County, FL and Pinellas County, FL, 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.