Building permits · Jun 2026
Metro areas with the most building permits
How this is measured. Units authorized in permit-issuing jurisdictions, summed over the trailing 12 months. Multifamily share is the portion of those units in buildings with 5 or more units. Permits per 1,000 residents is shown where a population denominator exists (HUD publishes population for metropolitan areas only, so micropolitan rows show a dash); that denominator is the population published with HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rents, which carries a 2023 base year — roughly three years older than the permit window.
Figures are new privately owned residential units authorized by building permits, from the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey. A permit authorizes construction; it is not a housing start and not a completion. Permits lead starts by weeks to months, and some authorized units are never built. The survey covers permit-issuing jurisdictions: a jurisdiction that did not report in a month contributes nothing for that month, so an absent figure is not a zero. Data window ends Jun 2026.
Every U.S. metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area ranked by residential units authorized in the 12 months to Jun 2026. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX leads at 61,973 units.
A permit is an authorization, not a housing start — some authorized units are never built.
One time window, top 100 of 919 metro areas
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- 1.Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX61,973
- 2.Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX59,212
- 3.New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ56,401
- 4.Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ36,414
- 5.Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA33,614
- 6.Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA33,518
- 7.Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos TX23,368
- 8.Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater FL21,666
- 9.Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV21,588
- 10.Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford FL21,240
| # | Metro area | Units, 12 mo. | Latest month | 5+ unit share | Per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | 61,973 | 5,703 | 37.0% | 8.1 |
| 2 | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | 59,212 | 4,773 | 20.5% | 8.3 |
| 3 | New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | 56,401 | 5,399 | 75.3% | 2.8 |
| 4 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ | 36,414 | 3,923 | 35.2% | 7.5 |
| 5 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | 33,614 | 2,385 | 57.2% | 2.6 |
| 6 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | 33,518 | 2,834 | 34.5% | 5.5 |
| 7 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos TX | 23,368 | 1,539 | 34.8% | 10.2 |
| 8 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater FL | 21,666 | 1,842 | 35.8% | 6.8 |
| 9 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | 21,588 | 2,998 | 54.3% | 3.5 |
| 10 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford FL | 21,240 | 1,857 | 41.8% | 7.9 |
| 11 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | 20,018 | 1,947 | 62.8% | 5.0 |
| 12 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia NC-SC | 19,866 | 1,320 | 31.8% | 7.4 |
| 13 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | 19,145 | 1,559 | 65.4% | 3.1 |
| 14 | Raleigh-Cary NC | 19,018 | 1,970 | 37.3% | 13.4 |
| 15 | Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin TN | 17,510 | 1,452 | 27.6% | 8.7 |
| 16 | North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota FL | 16,496 | 1,041 | 25.4% | 19.5 |
| 17 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial CO | 15,506 | 905 | 52.7% | 5.2 |
| 18 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | 15,460 | 1,162 | 32.2% | 1.6 |
| 19 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI | 14,222 | 1,524 | 37.5% | 3.9 |
| 20 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | 14,036 | 1,184 | 40.3% | 2.3 |
| 21 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CA | 13,843 | 1,456 | 30.7% | 3.0 |
| 22 | Columbus OH | 12,901 | 886 | 55.5% | 6.0 |
| 23 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood IN | 12,750 | 1,062 | 26.8% | 6.1 |
| 24 | Jacksonville FL | 12,443 | 1,541 | 22.9% | 7.7 |
| 25 | Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas NV | 11,111 | 1,101 | 28.0% | 4.9 |
| 26 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad CA | 10,989 | 930 | 59.4% | 3.3 |
| 27 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers FL | 10,841 | 750 | 22.9% | 14.0 |
| 28 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom CA | 10,479 | 1,138 | 24.8% | 4.4 |
| 29 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | 10,458 | 1,835 | 58.4% | 2.1 |
| 30 | Kansas City MO-KS | 9,979 | 880 | 42.3% | 4.6 |
| 31 | San Antonio-New Braunfels TX | 9,883 | 1,168 | 11.4% | 3.8 |
| 32 | Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers AR | 9,510 | 604 | 40.0% | 17.3 |
| 33 | Boise City ID | 9,087 | 955 | 11.3% | 11.8 |
| 34 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro OR-WA | 8,859 | 1,141 | 33.7% | 3.5 |
| 35 | Cincinnati OH-KY-IN | 8,643 | 491 | 43.7% | 3.8 |
| 36 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn MI | 8,589 | 877 | 37.7% | 2.0 |
| 37 | Richmond VA | 8,493 | 527 | 48.4% | 6.5 |
| 38 | Wilmington NC | 8,156 | 661 | 18.5% | 19.0 |
| 39 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | 8,097 | 476 | 73.9% | 4.1 |
| 40 | Oklahoma City OK | 8,011 | 648 | 17.1% | 5.6 |
| 41 | Greenville-Anderson-Greer SC | 7,991 | 1,085 | 10.4% | 8.6 |
| 42 | Knoxville TN | 7,675 | 607 | 31.9% | 8.5 |
| 43 | Charleston-North Charleston SC | 7,529 | 804 | 20.4% | 9.4 |
| 44 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | 7,430 | 966 | 59.4% | 1.6 |
| 45 | Madison WI | 7,106 | 488 | 74.4% | 10.5 |
| 46 | Salt Lake City-Murray UT | 7,065 | 292 | 55.3% | 5.6 |
| 47 | Lakeland-Winter Haven FL | 6,787 | 536 | 4.1% | 9.2 |
| 48 | Omaha NE-IA | 6,732 | 817 | 44.3% | 7.0 |
| 49 | Provo-Orem-Lehi UT | 6,731 | 418 | 22.7% | 9.9 |
| 50 | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission TX | 6,612 | 744 | 7.1% | 7.6 |
| 51 | Columbia SC | 6,575 | 874 | 26.6% | 7.9 |
| 52 | St. Louis MO-IL | 6,511 | 723 | 28.1% | 2.3 |
| 53 | Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach SC | 6,390 | 555 | 1.1% | 17.9 |
| 54 | Louisville-Jefferson County KY-IN | 5,668 | 447 | 36.5% | 4.2 |
| 55 | Ocala FL | 5,633 | 445 | 1.2% | 14.9 |
| 56 | Durham-Chapel Hill NC | 5,602 | 863 | 45.9% | 9.5 |
| 57 | Colorado Springs CO | 5,599 | 398 | 40.5% | 7.4 |
| 58 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson MD | 5,534 | 407 | 36.1% | 1.9 |
| 59 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk VA-NC | 5,379 | 284 | 33.9% | 3.0 |
| 60 | Savannah GA | 5,363 | 719 | 50.9% | 13.2 |
| 61 | Pittsburgh PA | 5,352 | 595 | 35.9% | 2.2 |
| 62 | Tulsa OK | 4,882 | 747 | 33.7% | 4.8 |
| 63 | Birmingham AL | 4,721 | 605 | 32.0% | 4.0 |
| 64 | Winston-Salem NC | 4,686 | 367 | 6.4% | 6.9 |
| 65 | Des Moines-West Des Moines IA | 4,584 | 482 | 24.6% | 6.4 |
| 66 | Huntsville AL | 4,584 | 313 | 19.2% | 9.3 |
| 67 | Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville FL | 4,538 | 437 | 23.4% | 7.4 |
| 68 | Tucson AZ | 4,521 | 437 | 21.2% | 4.3 |
| 69 | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach FL | 4,482 | 375 | 20.5% | 6.6 |
| 70 | Baton Rouge LA | 4,405 | 377 | 27.3% | 5.1 |
| 71 | Asheville NC | 4,399 | 294 | 59.7% | 10.8 |
| 72 | Cleveland OH | 4,393 | 434 | 35.4% | 2.0 |
| 73 | Spartanburg SC | 4,182 | 241 | 2.6% | 11.7 |
| 74 | Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood MI | 4,077 | 281 | 35.4% | 3.5 |
| 75 | Port St. Lucie FL | 4,064 | 418 | 0.6% | 8.2 |
| 76 | Greensboro-High Point NC | 4,027 | 295 | 38.6% | 5.2 |
| 77 | Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent FL | 3,693 | 251 | 5.5% | 7.2 |
| 78 | Wichita KS | 3,655 | 517 | 13.2% | 5.7 |
| 79 | Ogden UT | 3,642 | 435 | 47.4% | 5.7 |
| 80 | Memphis TN-MS-AR | 3,594 | 274 | 7.6% | 2.7 |
| 81 | Wildwood-The Villages FL | 3,579 | 371 | 5.7% | 27.1 |
| 82 | Seaford DE | 3,541 | 426 | 8.5% | — |
| 83 | Greeley CO | 3,540 | 494 | 30.3% | 10.7 |
| 84 | Augusta-Richmond County GA-SC | 3,539 | 375 | 1.1% | 5.8 |
| 85 | Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton NC | 3,475 | 427 | 18.9% | 9.5 |
| 86 | Fresno CA | 3,433 | 577 | 13.0% | 2.9 |
| 87 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin FL | 3,432 | 289 | 13.7% | 11.9 |
| 88 | Daphne-Fairhope-Foley AL | 3,428 | 252 | 5.8% | 14.7 |
| 89 | Portland-South Portland ME | 3,393 | 319 | 39.8% | 6.1 |
| 90 | Gulfport-Biloxi MS | 3,341 | 280 | 11.0% | 8.0 |
| 91 | Milwaukee-Waukesha WI | 3,333 | 444 | 42.1% | 2.1 |
| 92 | Reno NV | 3,272 | 547 | 46.8% | 5.9 |
| 93 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury CT | 3,265 | 174 | 79.7% | 3.4 |
| 94 | Naples-Marco Island FL | 3,259 | 509 | 39.8% | 8.6 |
| 95 | Bend OR | 3,197 | 189 | 45.3% | 12.8 |
| 96 | Chattanooga TN-GA | 3,165 | 288 | 16.6% | 5.6 |
| 97 | Killeen-Temple TX | 3,103 | 267 | 7.1% | 6.5 |
| 98 | Punta Gorda FL | 3,073 | 249 | 5.7% | 16.2 |
| 99 | Bakersfield-Delano CA | 3,062 | 317 | 2.8% | 3.4 |
| 100 | Providence-Warwick RI-MA | 3,053 | 326 | 44.1% | 1.8 |
Top 100 of 919 ranked metro areas. Every row links to that geography’s full monthly permit history.
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Building permits by state
Metro areas with the most building permits — FAQ
Which metro area issues the most building permits?+
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX authorized 61,973 housing units in the 12 months to Jun 2026, the most of any U.S. metro area (Census Building Permits Survey).
Does this count permits or housing units?+
Housing units. A single permit for a 200-unit apartment building counts as 200 units, which is why multifamily markets rank higher here than a permit count would suggest.
Why is a metro area I expected missing?+
The Building Permits Survey covers permit-issuing jurisdictions. An area that did not report for a month contributes nothing for that month — absent is not the same as zero. Areas with no reported units in the window are omitted.
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