Short answer
The Cincinnati metro had 4,176 construction establishments with paid employees in 2023, employing 46,869 people with $3.57 billion in annual payroll, according to the US Census Bureau's County Business Patterns. Hamilton County has 1,453 of them; the Ohio counties together have 3,017, Northern Kentucky 945 and southeast Indiana 214. Plumbing and HVAC contractors are the largest trade, with 631 establishments. In 2025 the City of Cincinnati issued 10,084 permits naming 1,795 different companies.
- 4,176 construction establishments and 46,869 employees across 15 counties in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana in 2023.
- Hamilton County has 35% of establishments and 48% of construction jobs.
- Plumbing and HVAC contractors (631) and electrical contractors (405) are the biggest trades.
- The city's 2025 permits named 961 companies on building permits and 456 on HVAC permits.
- 59 contractors on Kentucky's highway prequalification list have Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky addresses.
On this page
This report is for owners and developers hiring in greater Cincinnati, contractors looking for subcontractors, and B2B sellers whose customers are builders and trades in Ohio, Northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana. It covers the Census count, the city's permit file, what to check on each side of the river and where to find names.
Cincinnati construction in Census data
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, construction sector (NAICS 23), Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area (CBSA 17140):
| Measure | Metro Cincinnati, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Construction establishments | 4,176 |
| Employees (pay period including March 12) | 46,869 |
| Annual payroll | $3,573,068,000 |
| Average employees per establishment | 11.2 |
| Average annual pay | $76,235 |
| Share of US construction establishments | 0.51% (of 814,557) |
Cincinnati's contractors are larger than the national average of 9.4 employees, and pay is close to the $76,580 average across all states (our calculation from the CBP state file). No SEC-registered listed construction company has its business address in the metro.
Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana
| County | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Hamilton, OH | 1,453 | 22,433 |
| Butler, OH | 593 | 6,503 |
| Clermont, OH | 507 | 3,765 |
| Warren, OH | 404 | 3,920 |
| Kenton, KY | 335 | 3,602 |
| Boone, KY | 298 | 3,035 |
| Campbell, KY | 217 | 1,960 |
| Dearborn, IN | 135 | 680 |
| Franklin, IN | 66 | 235 |
| Brown, OH | 60 | 269 |
| Grant, KY | 51 | 211 |
| Pendleton, KY | 23 | 74 |
| Ohio County, IN | 13 | 59 |
| Gallatin, KY | 11 | not reported (high-noise figure) |
| Bracken, KY | 10 | 64 |
The five Ohio counties have 3,017 establishments and 36,890 employees, the seven Kentucky counties 945 establishments and the three Indiana counties 214. Gallatin County's employee count is published but flagged by the Census Bureau because the noise it adds for confidentiality changed the figure by 5% or more, so we haven't added up Kentucky's employees. Hamilton County averages 15.4 employees per establishment; Clermont, east of the city, averages 7.4.
| Employees per establishment | Establishments |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 2,494 |
| 5 to 9 | 711 |
| 10 to 19 | 454 |
| 20 to 49 | 329 |
| 50 to 99 | 110 |
| 100 to 249 | 68 |
| 250 to 499 | 8 |
| 500 to 999 | not published |
| 1,000 or more | not published |
In broader bands: 3,659 establishments have 1 to 19 employees, 439 have 20 to 99 and 78 have 100 or more. The Census Bureau withholds the two largest classes; by subtraction, two establishments have 500 or more employees.
What CBP counts. Establishments are locations with paid employees, not companies; a contractor with a Blue Ash office and a Florence yard counts in both states. Self-employed contractors with no payroll aren't included.
What they build
| Type of work (NAICS) | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Specialty trade contractors (238) | 2,795 | 33,287 |
| Plumbing, heating and air conditioning (238220) | 631 | 9,666 |
| Electrical contractors (238210) | 405 | 5,844 |
| Site preparation (238910) | 237 | 3,778 |
| Poured concrete foundation and structure (238110) | 153 | 2,234 |
| Roofing (238160) | 150 | 1,332 |
| Construction of buildings (236) | 1,217 | 9,561 |
| Residential remodelers (236118) | 701 | 2,616 |
| New single-family home builders (236115) | 184 | 898 |
| For-sale homebuilders (236117) | 69 | 1,233 |
| Commercial and institutional builders (236220) | 224 | 4,177 |
| Heavy and civil engineering (237) | 164 | 4,021 |
Specialty trades are two thirds of the market. Plumbing and HVAC contractors average 15.3 employees and site preparation contractors 15.9, both well above the metro average, while remodelers average 3.7.
Who pulled permits in the City of Cincinnati in 2025
The city's Buildings and Inspections department publishes every permit applied for since 2010, refreshed daily, with the company name, work class, square footage and estimated project cost. A companion file lists the contractors and subcontractors on each permit. Permits issued in calendar 2025:
| Permit type | Permits | Different company names |
|---|---|---|
| HVAC | 2,838 | 456 |
| Plumbing | 2,832 | 281 |
| Building | 2,449 | 961 |
| Fire protection systems | 554 | 125 |
| Excavation and fill | 454 | 207 |
| Miscellaneous structures | 400 | 169 |
| All permit types | 10,084 | 1,795 |
Most of the work is on existing buildings: 8,221 of the permits were for existing structures and 1,863 for new ones. Only 88 companies pulled the 213 new building permits. Across the metro, the Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey estimates 7,264 new housing units were authorized in 2025, up slightly from 7,089 in 2024, with single-family units rising from 4,025 to 4,311.
Checking a contractor on each side of the river
| Where | What to check |
|---|---|
| City of Cincinnati | The contractor's recent permits in the city's permit file, by company name |
| Northern Kentucky | Plumbers, electricians, boiler contractors and sprinkler and fire alarm contractors are licensed by the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction; verify them in its license search |
| Kentucky highway work | Prime contractors are prequalified by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which publishes the list with each firm's work classes |
| Anywhere | Certificates of insurance confirmed with the insurer, and two references on similar jobs |
On the Ohio and Indiana sides, ask the local building department which contractor and trade licenses it requires before you sign; the requirements are set at state and local level and differ by trade.
Selling to Cincinnati contractors
| Size band | Establishments | Who usually decides |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 19 employees | 3,659 | The owner |
| 20 to 99 employees | 439 | Owner with an operations manager, estimator or service manager |
| 100 or more | 78 | Operations, safety, procurement and fleet leaders |
The permit file turns a cold list into a timed one: you can see which mechanical contractors pulled the most HVAC permits this quarter and which general contractors they work for. Our guide on how to build a prospect list covers cleaning and ranking a list like this.
Illustrative example. The company, price and assumptions are invented; the counts are from CBP 2023 and the city's 2025 permit data.
Queen City Dispatch (queencitydispatch.example) sells scheduling and dispatch software to service trades. Its market is the metro's 631 plumbing and HVAC establishments. If 40% run service crews of five or more, that's about 252 accounts. The city file adds a priority list: the 456 companies on HVAC permits and 281 on plumbing permits in 2025, many of them the same firms. Winning 8% of the 252, 20 accounts, at $9,600 a year each is $192,000 in annual subscriptions. Bebop finds service contractors that match a description like that and writes a playbook for each account.
Where to find names
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Cincinnati Building Permits | Every city permit since 2010 with company name, work class, square footage and cost |
| Cincinnati Building Permits Contacts | Contractors and subcontractors on each permit since 2012 |
| KYTC prequalified contractors list | 554 firms prequalified for Kentucky highway work (1 October 2026), with work classes |
| Kentucky license search | Licensed Kentucky plumbers, electricians and other trades |
| REDI Cincinnati | The regional economic development organization, with market data and site information |
| Cincinnati Regional Chamber | Regional business network |
Next step: build the list with the construction companies industry guide, or see the statewide Ohio construction companies report and the Columbus report.
Sources
- County Business Patterns 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- County Business Patterns methodology (noise flags), US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Building Permits Survey, annual metro area data 2025 and 2024, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Cincinnati Building Permits, City of Cincinnati, Buildings and Inspections (CincyInsights open data), updated 29 October 2026, queried 30 October 2026
- Cincinnati Building Permits Contacts, City of Cincinnati (CincyInsights open data), updated 29 October 2026, accessed 30 October 2026
- Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, Commonwealth of Kentucky, accessed 30 October 2026
- Prequalified contractors list, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, 1 October 2026
- REDI Cincinnati, REDI Cincinnati, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many construction companies are in Cincinnati?
The US Census Bureau counted 4,176 construction establishments with paid employees in the Cincinnati metro area in 2023, employing 46,869 people with $3.57 billion in payroll. Hamilton County had 1,453, the Northern Kentucky counties 945 and the Indiana counties 214. These are locations rather than companies, and self-employed contractors with no employees aren't counted.
How can I see which contractors are working in Cincinnati?
Use the City of Cincinnati's building permits data on its open data portal, refreshed daily. Each permit lists the company, the work class, square footage and estimated cost, and a companion contacts file lists the contractors and subcontractors. In 2025 the city issued 10,084 permits naming 1,795 different companies, including 961 on building permits.
Do contractors need a license in Northern Kentucky?
Kentucky's Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction licenses plumbers, electricians, boiler contractors and sprinkler and fire alarm contractors, and its license search shows whether a license is current. Contractors bidding Kentucky state highway work must be prequalified by the Transportation Cabinet. Ask the local building department about any other requirements for your project.
What are the most common construction businesses in Cincinnati?
Residential remodelers are the most numerous type, with 701 establishments in the metro in 2023, followed by plumbing and HVAC contractors (631) and electrical contractors (405). Plumbing and HVAC firms employ the most people, 9,666, and average 15.3 employees each. Commercial and institutional builders number 224 and average about 19 employees.