Methodology: where our numbers come from

What sources do we use?

• City of San Diego development permits (approvals issued 2026), data.sandiego.gov
• CSLB license master file (Oct 16, 2026): license counts, years licensed, workers' comp status
• City of San Diego business tax records (provider counts for non-licensed services)
• Published local price pages cited on each service page

What date range does the data cover?

Permit records: approvals issued from January 1, 2026 to October 15, 2026, downloaded October 16, 2026. Published price lists: the date shown next to each source. Pages are reviewed and stamped with a "Last updated" date.

How are medians computed?

1. Start with the City's permit approvals issued in the date range.
2. Keep permits matching the project type (for example, building permits that add exactly one ADU, or residential electrical permits mentioning a panel or service size in the title or scope).
3. Count each permit approval once (duplicate rows for the same approval are removed).
4. Take the median of the declared valuation. The "middle half" is the 25th to 75th percentile. Dollar figures are rounded to the nearest $100 on summary pages.
5. Timelines are the median days from permit application to issue. "What comes next" gaps are the median days between two permits on the same parcel.

Exact filters behind each permit figure

Every page, answer, chart, CSV and llms.txt uses these same figures. All counts start from City of San Diego approvals of type Building Permit or Combination Building Permit, issued January 1 to October 15, 2026, status not Cancelled, one row per approval. Dollar figures need a declared valuation above $0.

• ADUs permitted: approvals adding at least 1 ADU. 1,134 permits, 1,711 ADUs.
• Single-ADU median: approvals adding exactly 1 ADU. 750 permits, median $120,900 (middle half $76,000–$197,700).
• Conversion ADU: single-ADU approvals whose scope mentions a conversion. 307 permits, median $89,600.
• New detached ADU: single-ADU approvals whose scope says detached and not conversion. 293 permits, median $154,300.
• Permits adding 2+ ADUs: 333 permits, median $247,200.
• Pool / spa: scope mentions a pool or spa, excluding scopes that also mention an ADU or solar. 297 permits, median $54,900 (middle half $35,300–$100,000).

What are the limitations?

• Declared value is not a price. It is what the applicant wrote on the permit. It usually excludes design, engineering, City fees and utility work, and some permits cover a whole remodel.
• City of San Diego only. Permits from the County and other cities (including Carlsbad, Oceanside, Encinitas, San Marcos and Escondido) are not in this dataset.
• Small samples are flagged. Where a figure rests on fewer than about 30 permits we say so on the page.
• Classification matters. Different filters (for example by building code vs. by ADU unit count) give different counts, so a count on one page can differ from another page that uses a different filter. Each page names its filter.
• Third-party price lists are cited, not verified by us. Always compare 2–3 written quotes.
• Unpermitted work does not appear in permit data.

Can I download the data?

Yes. Summary tables are free to reuse with attribution to the City of San Diego and the cited sources:

• adu.csv: Table "ADU type (City of SD, 2026), Permits, Low (25%), Median, High (75%)" from ADU builders — San Diego price & contractor data (4 rows)
• adu-2.csv: Table "Next permit, Median gap, Parcels" from ADU builders — San Diego price & contractor data (4 rows)
• home.csv: Table "Service, Licensed firms, Typical price, Permit time, % insured (WC), Full guide" from San Diego Home Improvement Costs 2026: Real Prices for 16 Services | SD Price Hub (11 rows)
• home-2.csv: Table "Service, Businesses found, Typical price, Full guide" from San Diego Home Improvement Costs 2026: Real Prices for 16 Services | SD Price Hub (5 rows)

Spotted an error? Email kjeldsen@mail.grokbot.com and we will correct it and note the change.