Residential water heater permits in Boston, MA
165 residential water heater permits issued by Boston, the 8 weeks ending Oct 17, 2026. Oct 17, 2026 is the latest issue date the source has published.
Quick answer. In the 8 weeks ending Oct 17, 2026, 165 residential water heater permits were issued in Boston, MA, according to public records from Boston. The busiest ZIP codes were 02130 (24 permits), 02131 (17 permits), 02127 (15 permits). The median declared value was $1,989 across 164 permits that list one. The latest permit date published is Oct 17, 2026.
What a water heater permit means in Boston
A residential water heater permit is a replacement or new install the homeowner has already arranged. For a water heater installer it marks a street of houses the same age with tanks on the same clock.
In Boston, permits were issued on 41 different days in the window; the most recent were Oct 16, 2026, Oct 15, 2026, Oct 14, 2026. The busiest ZIPs were 02130 (24), 02131 (17), 02127 (15).
By residential water heater permit count, Boston ranks #8 of the 41 water heater pages on this site.
- Mail and door-hang the houses around each replacement.
- Track where tankless and heat-pump units are showing up by ZIP.
- Pass gas-to-heat-pump swaps to electricians: most need a new circuit.
Other work on the same permits
Share of these 165 permits whose type or description also matches another trade. These are the follow-on and partner trades on Boston jobs.
- plumbing: 80 permits (48%)
- HVAC: 31 permits (19%)
- gas line: 18 permits (11%)
- electrical: 13 permits (8%)
Weekly trend
Permits per 7-day period, ending Oct 17, 2026. n/c = not collected yet (before our pipeline started pulling this source). It is not zero. Striped bars are partly collected weeks.
Top permit types
| Permit type / subtype | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| PLUMBING / 1-2FAM | 61 | 37% |
| GAS / 1-2FAM | 55 | 33% |
| GAS / 1-3FAM | 15 | 9% |
| PLUMBING / 1-3FAM | 14 | 8% |
| ELECTRICAL / 1-2FAM | 10 | 6% |
Busiest ZIP codes
| ZIP | Permits | Share | 8-wk avg / week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02130 | 24 | 15% | 3.00 |
| 02131 | 17 | 10% | 2.12 |
| 02127 | 15 | 9% | 1.88 |
| 02124 | 14 | 8% | 1.75 |
| 02132 | 14 | 8% | 1.75 |
8-wk avg / week is the trailing 8-week weekly average we quote in coverage checks for that ZIP and trade. It counts every source in the ZIP and includes permits with unknown use, so it can be higher than this page's residential count.
Type stated in the permit
| Type | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| gas tank | 67 | 41% |
| tankless | 20 | 12% |
| electric tank | 9 | 5% |
| heat-pump water heater | 7 | 4% |
Parsed from the permit's own type and work text. A permit can state more than one; many state none.
Sample rows
Anonymized: street address, permit number and any names removed. Subscribers get the full row with address, permit number and source link.
| Issued | ZIP | Permit type | Scope | Type | Declared value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-16 | 02135 | GAS / 1-2FAM | water heater | gas tank | $500 |
| 2026-10-07 | 02131 | GAS / 1-2FAM | water heater | gas tank | $1,800 |
| 2026-10-07 | 02128 | PLUMBING / 1-2FAM | plumbing + water heater | not stated | $1,800 |
| 2026-09-29 | 02126 | GAS / 1-3FAM | HVAC + water heater + gas line | not stated | $10,000 |
| 2026-09-21 | 02132 | GAS / 1-2FAM | water heater + gas line | tankless | $1,500 |
| 2026-09-08 | 02132 | PLUMBING / 1-4FAM | plumbing + water heater + remodel | not stated | $40,000 |
Source
- Boston: Permit records on data.boston.gov (dataset 6ddcd912-32a0-43df-9908-63574f8c7e77), published by Boston. Source dataset. Collected window(s): Aug 23, 2026 – Oct 17, 2026. Last pulled Oct 18, 2026.
Metric: Residential = the source marks the permit's use as residential (permits with commercial or unknown use are not counted). Water Heaters = the permit's type or work description matches the Curbside Signal water heater rules. Counts exclude void or cancelled permits. Dates are the jurisdiction's permit issue date. Records are deduplicated on source and permit number. How we count. Part of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro: every trade × city page there.
The honest limit. A permit usually means the job is already sold. We say that up front. The value is what happens around it:
- Neighbor marketing around active jobs: same-age houses on the same street.
- Cross-trade follow-on demand: new roof → solar, gutters, insulation; remodel → HVAC, electrical, landscaping, pool; new build → pest, security, landscaping.
- Competitor intelligence: which contractors pull permits where (where the jurisdiction publishes it), and who to recruit as subs.
- Early-stage projects for commercial trades and GC subs.
Follow-on: Water heater swaps lead to gas line, venting and electrical work, and to whole-house repipes in older homes.
Other trades in Boston, MA
Residential permits in the same window, by trade.
Questions
How many residential water heater permits were issued in Boston, MA recently?
165 residential water heater permits in the public records we pulled, the 8 weeks ending Oct 17, 2026. Source: Boston.
Which Boston ZIP codes have the most water heater permits?
02130 (24 permits), 02131 (17 permits), 02127 (15 permits), by residential water heater permit count the 8 weeks ending Oct 17, 2026. 19 ZIP codes had at least one permit.
What is the median declared value of a residential water heater permit in Boston?
$1,989, across 164 permits that list a valuation. Declared values are what the applicant stated on the permit, not the contract price.
How do I get the Boston water heater permit list, and what does it cost?
Request a free sample for your ZIPs first. ZIP Pack is $29/mo for one trade and up to 5 ZIPs every Monday; Metro Feed is $99/mo for a whole metro and up to 3 trades, with daily alerts. Guarantee on every package: If a weekly file is late or missing, that month is free. If a month delivers under half the 8-week average permit count for your ZIPs and trade, the next month is free.
Boston water heater leads, every Monday
Send your trade and ZIP codes. We'll reply with a real sample from the public records we pull, or tell you plainly that we don't cover you yet.