San Marcos building & ADU permits
Recent permit activity, updated continuously.
San Marcos sits on the Austin–San Antonio corridor and has been among the fastest-growing college towns in Texas. Its permit layer carries a true land-use field — single family, duplex, townhouse, multi-family — so residential work is identified from the source rather than inferred, with ZIPs reverse-geocoded from each permit's point.
Igni is tracking 300 residential and building permits in San Marcos, TX. The most active ZIP is 78666. The most recent filing Igni tracked was Sep 29, 2026. All records come from City of San Marcos GIS (ArcGIS), an official government open-data feed, and are refreshed continuously.
300
Permits tracked
0
ADU permits
1
Distinct ZIP codes
Sep 29, 2026
Newest permit
Recent permits
A sample of the freshest permits in this jurisdiction — ZIP and city only (no street addresses).
| ZIP | Permit type | ADU type | Valuation | Applied |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 29, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 28, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 24, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 24, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 24, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 23, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 23, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 22, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 22, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 22, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 22, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 21, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 18, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 18, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 18, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 18, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 17, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 17, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 17, 2026 |
| 78666 | Residential | — | — | Sep 10, 2026 |
Top ZIP codes by recent activity
Permit activity in San Marcos
Igni counted 1,026 permits issued in San Marcos over the last 12 months (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026) — up 4.3% on the 984 in the 12 months before. The forecast expects about 516 over the next 6 months.
The source's volume stepped up around May 2015 (×1.6) — likely a change in what the city publishes, so we don't compare year over year across it.
Forecast: trailing mean, typical error ±26% in backtests one to six months ahead. How we forecast
| Permit type | Last 12 months | Year over year | Forecast, next 6 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| All permits | 1,026 | Up 4.3% | ≈ 516 |
| Residential building | 926 | Up 5.2% | ≈ 462 |
| Commercial building | 99 | Down 2.9% | ≈ 48 |
| Trade (electrical, plumbing, mechanical) | 0 | —* | — |
| ADU | 1 | —* | — |
* No year-over-year figure: the source's volume for this permit type stepped up within the last two years — likely a change in what the city publishes — so the two 12-month windows are not comparable.
Monthly figures
| Month | Permits | 10th–90th percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2023 | 60 | — |
| Oct 2023 | 59 | — |
| Nov 2023 | 83 | — |
| Dec 2023 | 47 | — |
| Jan 2024 | 54 | — |
| Feb 2024 | 55 | — |
| Mar 2024 | 89 | — |
| Apr 2024 | 79 | — |
| May 2024 | 87 | — |
| Jun 2024 | 63 | — |
| Jul 2024 | 52 | — |
| Aug 2024 | 76 | — |
| Sep 2024 | 40 | — |
| Oct 2024 | 55 | — |
| Nov 2024 | 65 | — |
| Dec 2024 | 107 | — |
| Jan 2025 | 122 | — |
| Feb 2025 | 94 | — |
| Mar 2025 | 64 | — |
| Apr 2025 | 48 | — |
| May 2025 | 68 | — |
| Jun 2025 | 106 | — |
| Jul 2025 | 118 | — |
| Aug 2025 | 97 | — |
| Sep 2025 | 76 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 73 | — |
| Nov 2025 | 131 | — |
| Dec 2025 | 143 | — |
| Jan 2026 | 94 | — |
| Feb 2026 | 54 | — |
| Mar 2026 | 67 | — |
| Apr 2026 | 98 | — |
| May 2026 | 61 | — |
| Jun 2026 | 81 | — |
| Jul 2026 | 86 | — |
| Aug 2026 | 62 | — |
| Sep 2026 (forecast) | ≈ 86 | 52–132 |
| Oct 2026 (forecast) | ≈ 86 | 52–135 |
| Nov 2026 (forecast) | ≈ 86 | 54–141 |
| Dec 2026 (forecast) | ≈ 86 | 54–138 |
| Jan 2027 (forecast) | ≈ 86 | 55–97 |
| Feb 2027 (forecast) | ≈ 86 | 55–97 |
Counts are permits issued per calendar month as San Marcos publishes them to its open-data feed — not a complete census; a change in what the city publishes moves them too. The current month is left out, and the most recent months are provisional. A forecast is a statistical estimate with a range, not a prediction for any project. Informational only.
How long do permits take in San Marcos?
Based on 2,674 San Marcos permits applied for between Sep 2023 and Jun 2026, the typical (median) permit was issued 27 days after application, and the middle half of permits took 19–53 days. One in ten took longer than 133 days.
| Permit type | Median | Typical range | Permits |
|---|---|---|---|
| All permits | 27 days | 19–53 days | 2,674 |
| Residential building | 24 days | 18–42 days | 2,363 |
| Commercial building | 80 days | 46–152 days | 307 |
Typical, not guaranteed: individual permits vary with project scope, application completeness and plan-review workload. Days are calendar days from application to issuance; applications still pending are counted as not-yet-issued rather than dropped. Informational only, not legal advice. How we calculate approval times.
Housing law — Texas
Texas has no statewide zoning or ADU mandate, so accessory-dwelling rules are set city-by-city; a 2025 statewide ADU-by-right bill did not become law. Austin's HOME reforms now allow up to three units on most single-family lots.
Reform is local: Austin's HOME initiative cut minimum lot sizes and allowed more units per lot, while 2025 state laws eased lot-size minimums and commercial-to-residential conversions.
Data source
Sourced from City of San Marcos GIS (ArcGIS). Public records (TX PIA).
Nearby cities — Texas
Learn more about ADUs & building permits
Background reading on accessory dwelling units, building permits, and how Igni turns San Marcos permit records into leads.
San Marcos permit data — FAQ
Where does Igni get San Marcos permit data?
How fresh is San Marcos permit data?
How long does it take to get a building permit in San Marcos?
Is construction activity growing in San Marcos?
Does San Marcos allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs)?
Get permit leads — San Marcos
Fresh, filterable residential and ADU permit leads from San Marcos — delivered before your competitors even know.
Informational only, not legal advice. Headline counts reflect all permits Igni has tracked for this jurisdiction; the table shows recent activity. Housing law changes — verify current statutes before relying on this.