Boston Building Permit Report Card
MA
D
Score: 49/100
Score Breakdown
Closure Rate44.6% (70% weight)
Year-over-Year Trend+1.8 pp (30% weight)
539,620
Total Permits
299,182
Open Permits
44.6%
Closure Rate
221,113
Stalled 5+ Years
Boston's closure rate is 32.6 percentage points below the 77.2% average across all tracked cities.
How This Grade Is Calculated
The score combines closure rate (70% weight) and year-over-year trend (30% weight). Closure rate measures the percentage of rate-eligible permits (those older than one year) that have been closed. Trend measures the change in closure rate compared to the prior year, clamped to +/- 10 percentage points.
Grade scale: A (90+), B (75-89), C (60-74), D (40-59), F (below 40).