Douglas County Building Permits Drop in 2024
April 15, 2025Building permit data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that new housing construction in Douglas County as measured by permits for living units dropped to 190 units in 2024 from 246 in 2023. It was the lowest level since 2015 when there were 172 building permits for living units.
Building permits in Douglas County peaked in 2005 before the Great Recession and dropped dramatically from 2006 to hit a low of 100 in 2011. Since then, the level of permits as measured by living units generally increased to a recent high of 437 units in 2021. The 2021 figure is characterized by a large number of units (104) in buildings of five or more units.
The construction industry in Douglas County may have benefitted from the strong housing market and the number of building permits. Construction employment in Douglas County grew to a post-Great Recession high of 1,830 in 2021 and then dropped to 1,800 in 2022. It has since dropped to 1,730 in 2024.