Data-Driven · Updated Quarterly
Regulatory Friction Index
Which US cities make developers fight for every permit — and which ones get out of the way? Scored across speed, predictability, approval rates, pipeline congestion, and trend direction.
City Rankings
Composite score from 0–100 across five dimensions. Higher = less friction.
1
B
Los Angeles
Moderate FrictionScore 68/100 ·
Overall68
Speed60
Above Average
Predictability60
Mostly Predictable
Approval Rate60
Good
Trend55
Stable
Congestion55
Normal
2
C
San Francisco
High FrictionScore 55/100 ·
Overall55
Speed60
Above Average
Predictability60
Mostly Predictable
Approval Rate60
Good
Trend55
Stable
Congestion55
Normal
3
C
New York City
High FrictionScore 52/100 ·
Overall52
Speed60
Above Average
Predictability60
Mostly Predictable
Approval Rate60
Good
Trend55
Stable
Congestion55
Normal
4
B+
Chicago
Moderate FrictionScore 72/100 ·
Overall72
Speed60
Above Average
Predictability60
Mostly Predictable
Approval Rate60
Good
Trend55
Stable
Congestion55
Normal
5
B-
Seattle
Moderate FrictionScore 65/100 ·
Overall65
Speed60
Above Average
Predictability60
Mostly Predictable
Approval Rate60
Good
Trend55
Stable
Congestion55
Normal
6
A-
Austin
Low FrictionScore 82/100 ·
Overall82
Speed60
Above Average
Predictability60
Mostly Predictable
Approval Rate60
Good
Trend55
Stable
Congestion55
Normal
7
D
Miami
Very High FrictionScore 38/100 ·
Overall38
Speed60
Above Average
Predictability60
Mostly Predictable
Approval Rate60
Good
Trend55
Stable
Congestion55
Normal
Methodology
Speed (25%)
Median permit duration vs. cross-city benchmark. Faster cities score higher.
Predictability (25%)
Coefficient of variation in permit timelines. Low variance = high score.
Approval Rate (20%)
Zoning case approval rates from 739K+ historical decisions.
Trend (15%)
Year-over-year change in median permit duration. Improving = higher score.
Congestion (15%)
Pending permit backlog relative to historical average monthly issuance.
Based on 1.8M+ building permits across 7 US markets. Scores recomputed quarterly from live permit data.
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