Short answer
The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro had 4,177 construction establishments with paid employees in 2023, employing 52,914 people with $5.45 billion in annual payroll, according to the US Census Bureau's County Business Patterns. Santa Clara County has 3,951 of them. Average pay was $102,925, second among the 135 metros with 1,000 or more construction establishments. The largest construction company headquartered here is Legence, a building systems contractor with $2.55 billion in 2025 revenue.
- 4,177 construction establishments and 52,914 employees in Santa Clara and San Benito counties in 2023.
- Average construction pay of $102,925, about $26,300 above the figure across all states.
- Specialty trades average 15.6 employees; drywall and insulation contractors average 35.
- Housing permits rose to 5,570 units in 2025 from 4,115, driven by apartments.
- Legence of San Jose reported $2.55 billion in 2025 revenue, 42.7% of it from technology buildings.
On this page
This report is for property owners and developers hiring in Santa Clara County, general contractors looking for trade partners, and B2B sellers whose customers are Silicon Valley builders and trades. It covers the Census count, the trades that dominate, the public company based here, what to check before you hire and where the names are published.
San Jose construction in numbers
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, construction sector (NAICS 23), San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area (CBSA 41940):
| Measure | Metro San Jose, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Construction establishments | 4,177 |
| Employees (pay period including March 12) | 52,914 |
| Annual payroll | $5,446,190,000 |
| Average employees per establishment | 12.7 |
| Average annual pay | $102,925 |
| Share of US construction establishments | 0.51% (of 814,557) |
| County | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara County | 3,951 | 51,335 |
| San Benito County | 226 | 1,579 |
Only Anchorage pays more on average among the 135 metros with at least 1,000 construction establishments, and the San Jose figure is about $26,300 above the $76,580 average across all states (our calculations from the CBP metro and state files).
| Employees per establishment | Establishments |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 2,526 |
| 5 to 9 | 731 |
| 10 to 19 | 437 |
| 20 to 49 | 306 |
| 50 to 99 | 108 |
| 100 to 249 | 45 |
| 250 to 499 | 13 |
| 500 to 999 | 8 |
| 1,000 or more | 3 |
In broader bands: 3,694 establishments (88.4%) have 1 to 19 employees, 414 have 20 to 99 and 69 have 100 or more.
What CBP counts. Establishments are locations with paid employees, not companies; an electrical contractor with a San Jose shop and a Gilroy yard counts twice. Self-employed contractors without payroll aren't counted, and CBP covers NAICS sector 23 only, so design firms and suppliers are excluded.
The trades run the market
| Type of work (NAICS) | Establishments | Employees | Employees per establishment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specialty trade contractors (238) | 2,518 | 39,223 | 15.6 |
| Plumbing, heating and air conditioning (238220) | 547 | 9,753 | 17.8 |
| Electrical contractors (238210) | 504 | 8,933 | 17.7 |
| Drywall and insulation (238310) | 119 | 4,187 | 35.2 |
| Poured concrete foundation and structure (238110) | 106 | 2,519 | 23.8 |
| Painting and wall covering (238320) | 264 | 2,068 | 7.8 |
| Roofing (238160) | 151 | 1,850 | 12.3 |
| Construction of buildings (236) | 1,570 | 11,416 | 7.3 |
| Residential remodelers (236118) | 914 | 4,459 | 4.9 |
| New single-family home builders (236115) | 391 | 1,751 | 4.5 |
| Commercial and institutional builders (236220) | 195 | 4,484 | 23.0 |
| Heavy and civil engineering (237) | 89 | 2,275 | 25.6 |
Specialty trades employ three and a half times as many people as building contractors. Mechanical and electrical contractors together employ 18,686, and drywall and insulation firms average 35 employees, the largest crews of the trades in the table. That mix is consistent with a market where much of the work is commercial and technical fit-out rather than new houses.
The public company headquartered here
| Company | Headquarters | Main business | Revenue, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legence Corp. | San Jose | Engineering, installation and maintenance of mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems in buildings | $2.55 billion |
Legence's 10-K for 2025 says technology buildings (facilities housing servers, networking and data systems, plus offices for software and internet companies) produced $1.09 billion (42.7%) of its revenue, followed by life sciences and healthcare (18.0%) and education (16.8%), and that it had about 7,000 full-time employees. Its revenue is company-wide, not San Jose only. Large private contractors don't publish revenue and aren't ranked here.
What's being permitted
The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey estimates the metro authorized 5,570 new housing units in 2025, up from 4,115 in 2024. Units in buildings of five or more rose from 1,874 to 3,483, while single-family units dipped from 2,207 to 2,042.
The City of San Jose's open data portal publishes its active building permits file daily, with the permit type, work description, valuation and the contractor named on each. On 29 October 2026 it held 17,426 active records. Of the 12,045 issued since 1 January 2025, 9,483 named a contractor, and about 3,200 different contractor names appear, a working list of who is active in the city. Accessory dwelling units account for 645 of those permits.
Before you hire in San Jose
- Check the CSLB license with the Instant License Check: status, classification (B for general building, C-10 for electrical, C-20 for HVAC and so on) and the $25,000 license bond every licensed contractor must carry.
- Confirm workers' compensation. California requires it of any contractor with employees; the CSLB record shows the policy, and you can ask for the certificate.
- Get it in writing. CSLB says a written contract is required for home improvement projects over $500, and the down payment can't exceed $1,000 or 10% of the price, whichever is less. A larger deposit request is a warning sign.
- Look up the contractor's recent permits in the city's file to see similar jobs, then call one of those clients.
Selling to San Jose contractors
| Size band | Establishments | Who usually decides |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 19 employees | 3,694 | The owner, who holds the license |
| 20 to 99 employees | 414 | Owner with an operations or project manager; a purchasing lead in larger trades |
| 100 or more | 69 | Preconstruction, procurement, safety, prefabrication and fleet leaders |
In this market the larger trade contractors are often the buyer, not the general contractor. Lead with the trade's own problems (labor cost at six-figure average pay, prefabrication, schedule on technical fit-outs) and with the job you saw on the permit file. Our guide to finding decision makers covers who sits where at a mid-size contractor.
Illustrative example. The distributor, figures and assumptions are invented; the counts are from CBP 2023.
Coyote Valley Electric Supply (coyotevalley.example) sells wire, gear and lighting to electrical contractors. Its market is the metro's 504 electrical establishments. If a quarter have 20 or more employees and buy on account, that's 126 accounts. Winning 15% of them, 19 accounts, at $400,000 a year in purchases each is $7.6 million in annual sales. The research that matters is which of the 126 hold active commercial permits right now. Bebop builds that kind of list from a plain-language description and writes a playbook for each account.
Where to find names
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| CSLB list by classification and county | Free Excel list of currently renewed licensees for up to 10 classifications and 10 counties, with address, phone, bond and workers' comp |
| CSLB Instant License Check | Status, classifications, bond and insurance for one contractor |
| San Jose active building permits | Every active city permit, with work description, valuation and contractor |
| ABC Northern California | Merit shop contractors, with a member directory; office in Livermore |
| San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce | Local business directory; the chamber has served the city since 1886 |
Next step: see the statewide license rules and public companies in the California construction companies report, or the neighboring market in the San Francisco 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
- Legence Corp. Form 10-K for 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 30 March 2026
- Active Building Permits, City of San Jose Open Data Portal, updated 29 October 2026, accessed 30 October 2026
- Finding the right contractor, Contractors State License Board, accessed 30 October 2026
- What is a contract?, Contractors State License Board, accessed 30 October 2026
- List of contractors by classification and county, Contractors State License Board, accessed 30 October 2026
- Licensing classifications, Contractors State License Board, accessed 30 October 2026
- ABC Northern California, Associated Builders and Contractors, Northern California Chapter, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many construction companies are in San Jose?
The US Census Bureau counted 4,177 construction establishments with paid employees in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area in 2023, employing 52,914 people. Santa Clara County had 3,951 and San Benito County 226. These are locations rather than companies, and self-employed contractors with no employees aren't included.
How much do construction workers earn in San Jose?
Construction establishments in the San Jose metro paid an average of $102,925 per employee in 2023, according to County Business Patterns: $5.45 billion in payroll for 52,914 employees. That's the second-highest average among the 135 metros with at least 1,000 construction establishments, behind Anchorage, and about $26,300 above the average across all states.
What is the largest construction company in San Jose?
Among public companies, Legence Corp. is headquartered in San Jose and reported $2.55 billion in revenue for 2025 in its 10-K, with about 7,000 full-time employees. It designs, installs and maintains mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, and 42.7% of its revenue came from technology buildings. Private contractors don't publish revenue, so they can't be ranked the same way.
How do I check a contractor's license in San Jose?
Use the Contractors State License Board's Instant License Check with the license number or business name. Confirm the license is active, the classification matches your job, the $25,000 license bond is current and workers' compensation is on file if the contractor has employees. Then look up the contractor's recent jobs in the City of San Jose's active building permits data.
Where can I find a list of contractors in Santa Clara County?
The Contractors State License Board's data portal builds a free Excel list of currently renewed licensees by classification and county, with address, phone, bond and workers' compensation details. The City of San Jose's active building permits file names the contractor on each permit, which shows who is working in the city now.