The strongest signal in the 2026 data is not simply that more pool permits are being issued. It is that volume is increasing while market concentration continues to fall.
The largest pool builders control far less of the market.
In 2020, the five largest contractors accounted for 55.3% of all issued pool permits. By 2025, their combined share had fallen to 37.9%.
The same shift is visible further down the rankings. The Top 20 contractors controlled 81.4% of permits in 2020 but only 66.7% in 2025.
| Year | Top 5 | Top 10 | Top 20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 55.3% | 68.9% | 81.4% |
| 2021 | 54.7% | 67.9% | 79.9% |
| 2022 | 41.5% | 54.9% | 69.7% |
| 2023 | 45.0% | 57.4% | 71.8% |
| 2024 | 38.5% | 51.5% | 67.3% |
| 2025 | 37.9% | 50.5% | 66.7% |
| 2026 YTD | 38.5% | 50.3% | 65.3% |
The Top 5 builders lost roughly 17 percentage points of market share between 2020 and 2025. Smaller and mid-sized contractors collectively captured a much larger portion of the available work.
The first half of 2026 was legitimately stronger.
Comparing only Jan. 1 through Jun. 30 avoids the mistake of comparing a partial 2026 year against full calendar years.
| Year | H1 Permits | Active Contractors |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 843 | 86 |
| 2021 | 1,102 | 88 |
| 2022 | 1,017 | 117 |
| 2023 | 733 | 122 |
| 2024 | 626 | 102 |
| 2025 | 603 | 115 |
| 2026 | 715 | 128 |
Permit volume increased 18.6%.
First-half permits rose from 603 in 2025 to 715 in 2026, making 2026 the strongest first half in three years.
The contractor base grew too.
Active contractor licenses increased from 115 to 128, an 11.3% rise from the first half of 2025.
Growth returned without the old market dominance returning.
During the boom, the largest builders captured an extraordinary share of all activity. In H1 2021, the Top 5 controlled 60.7% of permits and the Top 20 controlled 82.6%.
By H1 2026, those figures had fallen to 38.5% and 65.3% respectively.
| Year | Top 5 | Top 10 | Top 20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 60.7% | 72.6% | 82.6% |
| 2024 | 39.6% | 51.8% | 68.1% |
| 2025 | 40.1% | 53.2% | 70.3% |
| 2026 | 38.5% | 50.3% | 65.3% |
The market is recovering but it has structurally changed.
The first-half permit rebound is being spread across a broader field of contractors. More work is entering the market, but the largest builders are not reclaiming the dominance they held during the peak years.
A bigger contractor is not automatically the default choice anymore.
A less concentrated market gives homeowners more options but also makes independent contractor research more important. Permit activity can show who is active, who is growing and who has maintained a meaningful local presence.
SplashDate™ uses a separate, residential-only methodology for the homeowner timeline calculator. These broader market research notes include both residential and commercial pool permits because the question here is different: how is the overall Naples area pool construction market changing?