Demolition Permit Cost Calculator

Choose what you are tearing down, enter the demolition contract price and the building's floor area, and the calculator returns a planning range for the demolition permit, review, and inspections.

This calculator is for informational purposes only. It produces estimates, not a fee quote, and the schedule your city publishes is what you will pay.

What this demolition estimate includes

The result breaks into the same lines as the other permit calculators:

• Base permit estimate: a flat per-structure fee range, plus a small share of the demolition price (up to 0.5%) for the cities that run demolitions through a valuation table, plus, for commercial buildings only, a charge per 1,000 square feet
• Inspection allowance (on by default): $50 to $175 times the location factor, for cities that bill pre-demolition or final inspections separately
• Plan review allowance (off by default for demolition): 15% to 35% of the base, for cities that review demolition plans
• Reinspection and expedited review (off by default)

Plan review starts switched off because none of the large-city schedules we checked charges a separate review fee for an ordinary teardown. Turn it on for a structural or partial demolition that needs drawings.

It deliberately leaves out the costs that usually dominate a teardown: utility disconnects, asbestos work, disposal, and street-use permits. Those are covered at the end of this page.

Picking the demolition type

The ranges are set from the 2026 schedules in the table further down. The residential base runs from just under Phoenix's $98 flat fee to Seattle's $459.90, and the commercial per-1,000-square-foot rate starts at Phoenix's $6. House size does not change the residential estimate, because none of those cities prices a single-family teardown by area.

Inputs, explained

Location cost level. Small town (0.8), typical city (1.0), higher-cost metro (1.35). Many large cities still charge flat demolition fees, so do not choose the high tier just because the city is big. Pick it when your city adds plan review, historic review, or per-inspection charges.

Estimated project value. The demolition contract: labor, equipment, and hauling.

Project size. The floor area being removed. For a two-story house, use total floor area, not the footprint.

Complexity. Simple for a detached, one-story structure on an open lot. Complex for buildings sharing a wall with a neighbor, structures over a basement that must be filled, sites next to the public way, or anything requiring an engineered demolition sequence.

How the math works

Base low = base minimum + (value × low rate) + (square feet × low rate); base high uses the maximums. Both are multiplied by the location factor and the complexity factor. If you switch plan review on, it adds 15% to 35% of the base, and the inspection and reinspection allowances are fixed ranges multiplied by the location factor.

For commercial buildings, size matters only a little, as in real schedules. Phoenix charges $390 plus $6 per 1,000 square feet for non-residential demolition, so going from 5,000 to 20,000 square feet adds $90 there. The calculator's commercial rate of $6 to $30 per 1,000 square feet adds $90 to $450 for the same step.

Worked examples

A 1,200 sq ft house in a typical city

$12,000 demolition contract, residential building demolition, standard complexity, inspections on, plan review off (the defaults).

• Base low: $75 + ($12,000 × 0 = $0) = $75
• Base high: $450 + ($12,000 × 0.005 = $60) = $510
• Inspections: $50 to $175
• Total: about $125 to $685

Real 2026 fees for the same teardown:

Sources: Phoenix (eff. Jan. 20, 2026), Austin (eff. Oct. 1, 2026), Miami-Dade (eff. Oct. 1, 2026), Seattle (eff. Jan. 1, 2026), Chicago (amended tables eff. Jan. 6, 2026).

Austin, Miami-Dade, Seattle, and Chicago all land inside the range; Phoenix sits just below it because its $98 fee includes the inspection. Chicago is near the top once its separate inspection fees are added.

The same house in a small town, simple

• Base: $75 × 0.8 × 0.85 = $51 to $510 × 0.68 = $347
• Inspections: $40 to $140
• Total: about $91 to $487

Small-town reality check: Claverack, NY charges $125 plus a $50 certificate of compliance, and Clarkson, NY charges $100 (both 2026). Both sit in the lower part of the range.

A row house in a strict metro, complex

Same $12,000 contract, higher-cost metro, complex (shared party wall), defaults on: about $204 to $1,166. This is the setting for a teardown that a city treats as a complex demolition, though Chicago's $2,450 complex-demolition minimum shows that a few cities go higher still.

A small shed

$1,500 removal, 150 sq ft, small structure, typical city, defaults: about $100 to $398. Many towns charge less or nothing for sheds; Clarkson's demolition fee applies only to structures over 144 sq ft, and Chicago's 2027 table lists $130 to wreck a detached garage.

Interior demolition with its own permit

$5,000, 400 sq ft, interior demolition, typical city, standard, defaults: about $150 to $640. Use this only when your city issues stand-alone interior demolition permits, such as when a tenant clears a commercial space before the next tenant's plans are approved. Chicago's minimums are $350 for non-structural interior demolition and $1,200 when structural work is involved; choose complex for the latter.

A 5,000 sq ft commercial building

$40,000, commercial demolition, typical city, standard, defaults: about $380 to $2,245.

• Base low: $300 + (5 × $6 = $30) = $330; base high: $1,800 + (5 × $30 = $150) + ($40,000 × 0.003 = $120) = $2,070
• Inspections: $50 to $175

Compare with Phoenix's formula, $390 + (5 × $6) = $420, Austin's $139.55 permit + $169.88 pre-demolition inspection + $251.72 processing = $561.15 (Austin commercial fees), and Chicago's $600 ordinary or $2,450 complex minimum. Switch complexity to complex for a Chicago-style complex demolition and the range becomes about $496 to $2,970.

A 20,000 sq ft retail building

$150,000, commercial demolition, typical city, standard, defaults: about $470 to $3,025. Phoenix charges $390 + (20 × $6) = $510.

How to read the result

• Use the low end in a city with a low flat fee that includes the inspection, as Phoenix and many small towns do.
• Use the midpoint when your city charges a flat fee plus separate pre-demolition or processing charges, as Austin and Miami-Dade do.
• Use the high end for cities with higher flat fees and separate inspection billing, such as Chicago, or for commercial and complex demolitions that need plan review or a reinspection.

If you find your city's flat fee, replace the base and plan review lines with that number and keep the inspection allowance only if inspections are billed separately.

What the application usually asks for

Missing paperwork is the main reason demolition permits stall. Typical requirements:

1. Utility release letters or disconnect confirmations from gas, electric, and water providers
2. Sewer cap details, and sometimes an inspection of the cap before backfill
3. Asbestos survey report, where your state or city requires one, plus the 10-working-day notice for regulated demolitions
4. Site plan and photos of the structure, including any shared walls or nearby buildings
5. Historic or landmark clearance for older buildings or properties in a district
6. Erosion and dust control measures for the cleared lot
7. Right-of-way permit if a dumpster, crane, or lane closure will sit in the street

Each of these can carry its own fee from another agency, which is another reason the permit fee alone understates the cost of getting started.

Penalties to factor in if work has already started

If any part of the structure has already come down, budget for an after-the-fact penalty. Miami-Dade adds 100% of the usual permit fee when work begins before a permit is issued. Phoenix's doubled-fee rule for unpermitted work excludes residential demolition permits, but its separate investigation fee of $250 or the permit fee, whichever is greater, can still apply. Environmental agencies can also act separately if a required asbestos notice was skipped.

Costs to budget beyond the permit

The permit is usually a small slice of a demolition budget. Add:

1. Utility disconnects. Gas meter pull, electric service drop removal, water meter, and sewer cap. Each utility sets its own fees and lead times, and many cities will not issue the demolition permit until they are done.
2. Asbestos survey and abatement. The federal asbestos NESHAP requires notice at least 10 working days before demolition of a regulated facility, even when no asbestos is found (40 CFR 61.145). Single-family homes with four or fewer units are generally exempt from the federal rule, but many states and cities require a survey anyway.
3. Disposal. Landfill and hauling charges by the ton or by container.
4. Right-of-way permits for dumpsters or equipment on the street.
5. Site restoration: backfill, grading, and erosion control.

Timing: do not pay twice

Demolition permits often have short lives. Denver may void a demolition permit that has not started within 30 days, and Chicago demolition applications expire after 120 days without activity. Chicago allows one 90-day extension; elsewhere, a lapsed permit can mean a new application and a new fee. Apply only after the utility disconnects and asbestos clearance are scheduled, and turn on the expedited review allowance only if your city sells faster review and you are on a tight closing or construction timeline.

Related tools and guides

The demolition permit cost guide explains interior vs. full demolition, asbestos rules, and penalties in detail. If you are rebuilding after the teardown, price the new project with the building permit cost calculator and read the construction permit cost guide. For a basement gut followed by a finish, use the basement permit cost calculator.