Building permits and new construction in Johnston County, NC
7,217 permits were filed in Johnston County in the last 12 months, and 238 in the last 30 days. The most common work: mechanical / HVAC (26%), new build (21%) and electrical (4%). 1,539 were for new construction.
The biggest jobs, with their contractors: upcoming construction projects in Johnston County.
Permits filed with Johnston County's inspections office; the records name Clayton, Smithfield, Selma and Benson most. Part of our guide to the Triangle.
- Last 30 days
- 238
- Last 90 days
- 1,298
- Last 12 months
- 7,217
- New single-family home
- $217K
- median construction cost on permits
How to look up a building permit in Johnston County
Johnston County Inspections' permits-by-date page is the official record, free to search.
- Open the page and pick a date: it lists every permit the county issued that day.
- Each permit shows its address, subdivision, type of construction, square feet, cost and contractor.
- It's one day at a time, so step through the dates to cover a week or a month.
Who's on a permit: Most permits name the contractor, without a phone number.
Open Johnston County Inspections' permits-by-date page →Or search every office at once in TarSignal →
How Johnston County compares
- Johnston County is the 8th busiest of the 23 permit offices TarSignal reads.
- Its median new single-family home cost on permits, $217K, is the 10th highest of the 14 offices that publish one. That's the declared cost of the building, without the land.
- 1,362 different contractors pulled permits here in the last 12 months, and the ten busiest pulled 15% of the permits that name one: the work is spread across many firms.
Permits by month
The busiest full month was April 2026, with 796 permits; the quietest was October 2026, with 255.
What's being permitted
Every permit filed in Johnston County in the last 12 months, by type of work.
- Mechanical / HVAC1,843 (26%)
- New Build1,539 (21%)
- Electrical284 (4%)
- Pool / Spa261 (4%)
- Accessory Structure / ADU247 (3%)
- Deck / Porch226 (3%)
- Alteration / Remodel214 (3%)
- Addition160 (2%)
Permit types in Johnston County's records
40 permit types appear in Johnston County's records in the last 12 months. These are the busiest, written as the office writes them: the names to look for in its portal.
| Permit type | Last 12 months |
|---|---|
| Mechanical Changeout | 1,776 |
| Residential New Home | 1,353 |
| Standard Trade Inspection | 1,103 |
| Commercial Trades | 312 |
| Swimming Pools | 261 |
| Storage | 246 |
| New Townhome | 186 |
| Remodel Of Home | 156 |
Busiest ZIP codes in Johnston County
27577 alone had 13% of Johnston County's permits in the last 12 months.
- 27577943 permits
- 27527821 permits
- 27529679 permits
- 27576633 permits
- 27520623 permits
- 27504572 permits
- 27591274 permits
- 27597262 permits
- 27524231 permits
- 27542223 permits
- 27569222 permits
- 27501213 permits
Clayton 1,392 · Smithfield 1,085 · Garner 704 · Selma 696 · Benson 673 · Wilsons Mills 401 · Zebulon 319 · Wendell 298 · Kenly 283 · Four Oaks 256
Where new homes are going up in Johnston County
ZIP codes ranked by permits for new homes filed with Johnston County in the last 12 months. Across Johnston County, a new single-family home's median declared construction cost is $217K.
- 27577 Smithfield211 new homes
- 27504 Benson152 new homes
- 27576 Selma116 new homes
- 27527 Clayton87 new homes
- 27520 Clayton85 new homes
- 27529 Garner74 new homes
- 27542 Kenly58 new homes
- 27569 Princeton56 new homes
- 27524 Four Oaks32 new homes
- 27557 Middlesex24 new homes
Most active contractors in Johnston County
Ranked by permits pulled in the last 12 months.
| Contractor | Last 12 months | Last 90 days |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Comfort Air Inc. | 190 | 20 |
| Romanoff Elec/Timothy How | 146 | 33 |
| American Residential Services L.L.C. | 122 | 36 |
| Air Experts Heating & Cooling | 93 | 25 |
| A.maynor Heating & Air | 84 | 3 |
| Stephenson Heating And Ai | 77 | 11 |
| Modern Mechanical HVAC | 70 | 11 |
| Ra Jackson Electrical/Rob | 70 | 4 |
| American Plumbing, Inc. | 60 | 1 |
| Call Pernell Inc | 55 | 16 |
| Carolina Air Conditioning | 55 | 19 |
| Thornton's Plumbing, Inc. | 54 | 2 |
Recent permits in Johnston County
The newest of the 238 permits filed with Johnston County in the last 30 days.
| Address | Type | Value | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 108 LAKESIDE DRSelma 27576 | OtherStandard Trade Inspection | $12K | Issued | |
| 321 MOLLIE MEADOW DRZebulon 27576 | OtherIrrigation System | $9,800 | Issued | |
| 678 GARDNER RDFour Oaks 27524 | ElectricalGenerator | $8,000 | Issued | |
| 396 MOLLIE MEADOW DRZebulon 27576 | OtherIrrigation System | $7,000 | Issued | |
| 6887 BROGDEN RDSmithfield 27577 | OtherService Pole Inspection | $1,500 | Issued |
233 more permits filed in Johnston County in the last 30 days
Pro names the contractor on most, with a phone number on a few.
Pro is $199/mo founding rate (ends Dec 31, 2026), then $299/mo.
Johnston County building permits: common questions
- Who issues building permits in Johnston County?
- Permits filed with Johnston County's inspections office; the records name Clayton, Smithfield, Selma and Benson most.
- What does a new home cost to build in Johnston County, going by permits?
- The median construction cost builders declared on new single-family home permits over the last 12 months was $217K, the 10th highest of the 14 offices that publish one. For townhomes it was $148K. It's the declared cost of the building alone, without the land or the builder's margin, so it runs well below a sale price.
- Do Johnston County's permit records show whether the work was finished?
- 67% of Johnston County's permits filed 6 to 12 months ago are already marked complete, so an older permit still marked Issued here is worth a second look.
Johnston County permits by trade
Trades with 50 or more permits here in the last year have their own page.
More of the Triangle
Johnston County is part of our guide to the Triangle: who issues permits there, new homes by county and the region's busiest builders. Or start from the North Carolina permit guide.
Get the permits, not just the totals
Permit Search has each of Johnston County's permits by address, with the contractor named on 86% of them, and every property's permit history. A free weekly email sends the new ones.
TarSignal Pro: new permits the day they're filed
Daily alerts across every metro, with the contractor's phone and email where the permit lists them, plus CSV export. $199/mo founding rate (ends Dec 31, 2026), then $299/mo.
Source: TarSignal, from North Carolina public building permit records, data through October 30, 2026. Refreshed nightly. 67% of Johnston County's permits filed 6 to 12 months ago are already marked complete, so an older permit still marked Issued here is worth a second look. Nearly every permit carries the declared value of the work.