Original data study · updated July 2026
The US Cities With the Most Code-Enforcement Activity
We track public code-violation and permit records across US municipal open-data portals. Here are the cities generating the most enforcement activity right now, ranked by volume over the last 120 days.
| # | City | Records | Top trade needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York, NY | 3,861+ | handyman |
| 2 | Chicago, IL | 1,807+ | handyman |
| 3 | Nashville, TN | 1,633+ | handyman |
| 4 | Cincinnati, OH | 1,239+ | handyman |
| 5 | Los Angeles, CA | 956+ | handyman |
| 6 | Austin, TX | 878+ | handyman |
| 7 | BATON ROUGE, LA | 853+ | handyman |
| 8 | Seattle, WA | 847+ | handyman |
| 9 | Cleveland, OH | 839+ | handyman |
| 10 | New York Permits, NY | 746+ | handyman |
| 11 | Louisville, KY | 738+ | handyman |
| 12 | Kansas City, MO | 729+ | handyman |
| 13 | Philadelphia, PA | 694+ | handyman |
| 14 | Detroit, MI | 556+ | handyman |
| 15 | San Diego, CA | 538+ | handyman |
| 16 | Norfolk, VA | 419+ | handyman |
| 17 | New Orleans, LA | 355+ | handyman |
| 18 | Bronx, NY | 227+ | handyman |
| 19 | Brooklyn, NY | 154+ | handyman |
| 20 | Las Vegas, NV | 136+ | handyman |
| 21 | Manhattan, NY | 110+ | handyman |
| 22 | San Francisco, CA | 98+ | handyman |
| 23 | Queens, NY | 70+ | handyman |
| 24 | Los Angeles Permits, CA | 69+ | handyman |
| 25 | ZACHARY, LA | 39+ | handyman |
| 26 | Cambridge, MA | 31+ | handyman |
| 27 | CASTLE ROCK, WA | 25+ | handyman |
| 28 | BAKER, LA | 23+ | handyman |
What are US homeowners cited for most?
Across every city we track, these are the most common types of work homeowners are being ordered to do — it's more overgrown yards, junk, and pests than collapsing roofs.
Methodology
Counts reflect public code-enforcement violations, administrative hearing and fine dockets, failed inspections, and building permits published by each city's open-data portal, aggregated over a rolling 120-day window and refreshed daily. “Top trade needed” is derived from the violation text (e.g. roof, electrical, plumbing citations). Coverage expands as more municipal feeds are added, so rankings shift month to month.
Cite this study
Free to cite and share with a link to this page. Download the full dataset (CSV) ↓
Suggested citation:
BellAveGo, "The US Cities With the Most Code-Enforcement Activity (2026)." https://www.bellavego.com/code-violations-by-city
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