Short answer
The New Orleans-Metairie metro had 1,759 construction establishments with paid employees in 2023, employing 22,914 people with $1.55 billion in annual payroll, according to the US Census Bureau's County Business Patterns. Jefferson Parish has 1,038 of them and Orleans Parish 391. Louisiana requires a state license for residential construction over $50,000 and a registered contractor for home improvement jobs of $7,500 or more. In 2025 the City of New Orleans issued 17,869 permits.
- 1,759 construction establishments and 22,914 employees in seven parishes in 2023.
- Jefferson Parish has 59% of establishments; St. John the Baptist has 57 establishments but 4,711 employees.
- Plumbing and HVAC contractors (358) are the largest group; remodelers are next with 273.
- Home improvement work of $7,500 or more needs a registered or licensed contractor; mold remediation at that value needs a mold license.
- The city's 2025 permits included 2,785 renovations and 407 permanent generators.
On this page
This report is for homeowners and property owners hiring a contractor around New Orleans, contractors looking for subcontractors or partners, and B2B sellers whose customers are local builders and trades. It covers the Census count by parish and trade, what Louisiana and the city require, the city's permit records and where to find names.
New Orleans construction in numbers
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, construction sector (NAICS 23), New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metro Area (CBSA 35380):
| Measure | Metro New Orleans, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Construction establishments | 1,759 |
| Employees (pay period including March 12) | 22,914 |
| Annual payroll | $1,553,334,000 |
| Average employees per establishment | 13.0 |
| Average annual pay | $67,790 |
| Share of US construction establishments | 0.22% (of 814,557) |
Average pay is $8,790 below the $76,580 average across all states and ranks 94th of the 135 metros with at least 1,000 construction establishments (our calculations from the CBP files). No SEC-registered listed construction company has its business address in the metro.
Parish by parish
| Parish | Establishments | Employees | Employees per establishment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson | 1,038 | 10,511 | 10.1 |
| Orleans | 391 | 4,286 | 11.0 |
| St. Charles | 104 | 1,691 | 16.3 |
| St. Bernard | 88 | 760 | 8.6 |
| Plaquemines | 63 | 622 | 9.9 |
| St. John the Baptist | 57 | 4,711 | 82.6 |
| St. James | 18 | 333 | 18.5 |
Jefferson Parish, with Metairie, Kenner and the West Bank, holds 59% of the metro's establishments and 46% of its construction employees. St. John the Baptist is the outlier: 57 establishments with 4,711 employees, an average of 82.6, which points to a few very large employers based there. St. Tammany Parish, across the lake, isn't part of this metro definition, so its contractors aren't in these figures.
| Employees per establishment | Establishments |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 1,049 |
| 5 to 9 | 307 |
| 10 to 19 | 192 |
| 20 to 49 | 131 |
| 50 to 99 | 47 |
| 100 to 249 | 25 |
| 250 to 499 | 6 |
| 500 to 999 | not published |
| 1,000 or more | not published |
In broader bands: 1,548 establishments (88.0%) have 1 to 19 employees, 178 have 20 to 99 and 33 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 Harahan shop and a Chalmette office counts in both parishes. Self-employed contractors and owner-operators with no payroll, common in residential repair, aren't included.
What they build
| Type of work (NAICS) | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Specialty trade contractors (238) | 1,095 | 14,070 |
| Plumbing, heating and air conditioning (238220) | 358 | 3,268 |
| Electrical contractors (238210) | 208 | 1,994 |
| Other specialty trades, including scaffolding, crane rental and paving (238990) | 93 | 4,114 |
| Site preparation (238910) | 53 | 1,363 |
| Roofing (238160) | 51 | 399 |
| Construction of buildings (236) | 551 | 4,189 |
| Residential remodelers (236118) | 273 | 1,090 |
| Commercial and institutional builders (236220) | 165 | 2,266 |
| New single-family home builders (236115) | 73 | 329 |
| Heavy and civil engineering (237) | 113 | 4,655 |
| Highway, street and bridge (237310) | 34 | 2,074 |
| Oil and gas pipeline and related structures (237120) | 15 | 1,110 |
The "other specialty" group is the surprise: 93 establishments averaging 44 employees, a category that includes scaffold erection and crane rental with operators. Highway and bridge contractors average 61. New home builders are few, 73, which matches a metro that permitted only 922 single-family units in 2025.
Louisiana's rules for home and repair work
The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC) sets value thresholds, labor and materials included:
| Type of job | Who may do it | Key requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Home improvement on an existing home, $7,500 or more | A registered home improvement contractor or a licensed contractor | General liability of at least $100,000 and workers' compensation |
| Residential construction, or home improvement over $50,000 | A licensed residential building contractor | $50,000 net worth, the board's business and law course, liability insurance |
| Mold remediation, $7,500 or more | A licensed mold remediation contractor | 24 hours of approved training, $50,000 liability insurance |
| Commercial projects, $50,000 or more | A licensed commercial contractor | See the Baton Rouge report for the commercial rules |
Inside the city, electricians must also hold a City of New Orleans electrical license, renewed every year. A Class A master electrical contractor license costs $125 a year, needs a passing ICC exam or a state license, and requires $500,000 in general liability insurance, with one license holder per company. The city issues mechanical contractor licenses for air conditioning, refrigeration and gas fitting as well.
What the city permitted in 2025
The City of New Orleans publishes its permits since 2012, updated nightly, with the type, construction value and the contractors on each. Permits issued in calendar 2025:
| Permit type | Permits | Different contractor names |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical service, circuit or feeder | 3,306 | 471 |
| Mechanical fuel gas | 2,633 | 305 |
| Mechanical HVAC | 2,105 | 330 |
| Renovation, non-structural | 1,940 | 984 |
| Renovation, structural | 845 | 515 |
| Residential re-roofing | 532 | 203 |
| New construction | 427 | 233 |
| Permanent generator | 407 | 91 |
In all, 17,869 permits were issued and about 2,900 different contractor names appear. Renovations outnumber new construction by more than six to one. Across the metro, the Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey estimates 1,694 new housing units were authorized in 2025, up from 1,611 in 2024.
How to hire a New Orleans contractor
- Match the license to the job value. From $7,500, home improvement work needs a registered or licensed contractor, and above $50,000 a residential license. Search the LSLBC by name, number or parish.
- Check the city trade license for electrical and mechanical work in Orleans Parish.
- Look up the contractor's permits in the city's Find Permits and Violations search, by name or address.
- Get a written contract with the license or registration number on it, and confirm insurance with the insurer.
Selling to New Orleans contractors
| Size band | Establishments | Who usually decides |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 19 employees | 1,548 | The owner or license holder |
| 20 to 99 employees | 178 | Owner with a project manager or office manager |
| 100 or more | 33 | Operations, safety, procurement and equipment leaders |
In the city, the permit file tells you what each contractor actually does: generator installs, re-roofs, gas work or structural renovation. That makes it easy to segment by job type rather than by NAICS code. Our guide to writing a cold email covers turning a permit into an opener.
Illustrative example. The distributor, figures and assumptions are invented; the counts are from the city's 2025 permit data.
Crescent Standby Supply (crescentstandby.example) distributes home standby generators through installers. In 2025, 91 contractors pulled the city's 407 permanent generator permits. Recruiting 20 of them as dealers, each installing 25 units a year, gives 500 units; at $9,000 a unit installed, that's $4.5 million in dealer sales. The research that matters is which installers also work in Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes, outside the city file. Bebop finds contractors that match a description like that and writes a playbook for each one.
Where to find names
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| LSLBC contractor search | Licensed and registered contractors by name, number, city, parish or classification |
| City of New Orleans permits (open data) | Every city permit since 2012 with type, value and contractor |
| Safety and Permits | City trade licenses and the permit and violation search |
| Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans | Builders and remodelers in seven parishes since 1941, with a member directory |
| GNO, Inc. | Economic development for the 10 parishes of Southeast Louisiana |
Next step: for industrial and commercial contractors upriver, see the Baton Rouge construction companies report, or the statewide Louisiana report.
Sources
- County Business Patterns 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Building Permits Survey, annual metro area data 2025 and 2024, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Types of licenses, Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, accessed 30 October 2026
- Licensing requirements for contractors in Louisiana, Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, accessed 30 October 2026
- Class A Master Electrical License, City of New Orleans, accessed 30 October 2026
- Permits, City of New Orleans Open Data, updated nightly, queried 30 October 2026
- Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans, HBAGNO, accessed 30 October 2026
- Greater New Orleans, Inc., GNO, Inc., accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many construction companies are in New Orleans?
The US Census Bureau counted 1,759 construction establishments with paid employees in the New Orleans-Metairie metro area in 2023, employing 22,914 people. Jefferson Parish had 1,038 and Orleans Parish 391. These are locations rather than companies, and owner-operators without employees aren't counted, so the number of working contractors is higher.
Does a contractor need a license in Louisiana for home repairs?
It depends on the value. Home improvement work of $7,500 or more, labor and materials included, must be done by a contractor registered for home improvement or licensed by the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors. Jobs over $50,000 need a licensed residential building contractor, and mold remediation of $7,500 or more needs a mold remediation license.
How do I check a contractor in New Orleans?
Search the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors by name, license number or parish to confirm the registration or license fits the job. For electrical and mechanical work in the city, confirm the City of New Orleans trade license. Then use the city's Find Permits and Violations search to see the contractor's recent permits and any violations.
What kind of construction work is most common in New Orleans?
Renovation and systems work. In 2025 the City of New Orleans issued 2,785 renovation permits against 427 for new construction, plus 3,306 electrical service permits, 2,105 HVAC permits and 407 for permanent generators. Across the metro, plumbing and HVAC contractors were the largest group of construction establishments in 2023, with 358.