Building permits · Jul 2026
Metro areas where multifamily is the biggest share of new housing
How this is measured. Units in structures with 5 or more units, divided by all units authorized, over the trailing 12 months. The ranked value is a share, so a mid-size metro where nearly everything approved is apartments outranks the country's largest apartment markets, which authorize far more units but also a great deal of single-family housing — the "All units" column shows each market's size. Note this is the 5+ definition; it excludes duplexes and 3-to-4-unit buildings, which some multifamily measures (including the per-geography pages on this site) fold in as 2+. Only metro areas permitting at least 500 units over the window are ranked, so a market with 6 total units and one triplex cannot top the chart.
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 Jul 2026.
Metro areas ranked by the share of residential units authorized in buildings with 5 or more units, over the 12 months to Jul 2026. Champaign-Urbana IL leads at 86.5% multifamily.
A permit is an authorization, not a housing start — some authorized units are never built. Only metro areas permitting 500+ units over the window are ranked.
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- 1.Champaign-Urbana IL86.5%
- 2.Boulder CO79.4%
- 3.Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA77.9%
- 4.New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ75.9%
- 5.Kalispell MT75.8%
- 6.Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury CT75.5%
- 7.Syracuse NY75.2%
- 8.Madison WI73.0%
- 9.Dubuque IA72.3%
- 10.San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA72.2%
| # | Metro area | 5+ unit share | 5+ unit units | Other units | All units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Champaign-Urbana IL | 86.5% | 1,732 | 271 | 2,003 |
| 2 | Boulder CO | 79.4% | 1,760 | 458 | 2,218 |
| 3 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA | 77.9% | 618 | 175 | 793 |
| 4 | New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | 75.9% | 43,531 | 13,844 | 57,375 |
| 5 | Kalispell MT | 75.8% | 835 | 267 | 1,102 |
| 6 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury CT | 75.5% | 1,999 | 650 | 2,649 |
| 7 | Syracuse NY | 75.2% | 1,911 | 629 | 2,540 |
| 8 | Madison WI | 73.0% | 4,898 | 1,810 | 6,708 |
| 9 | Dubuque IA | 72.3% | 464 | 178 | 642 |
| 10 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | 72.2% | 5,613 | 2,160 | 7,773 |
| 11 | New Haven CT | 71.4% | 690 | 276 | 966 |
| 12 | Oshkosh-Neenah WI | 71.0% | 720 | 294 | 1,014 |
| 13 | Sheboygan WI | 70.4% | 368 | 155 | 523 |
| 14 | Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh NY | 68.7% | 1,607 | 733 | 2,340 |
| 15 | Lafayette-West Lafayette IN | 67.1% | 1,252 | 614 | 1,866 |
| 16 | Corvallis OR | 67.0% | 450 | 222 | 672 |
| 17 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | 65.1% | 12,358 | 6,615 | 18,973 |
| 18 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | 65.0% | 13,460 | 7,252 | 20,712 |
| 19 | Burlington-South Burlington VT | 63.1% | 754 | 440 | 1,194 |
| 20 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | 62.8% | 5,130 | 3,042 | 8,172 |
| 21 | Rochester MN | 62.7% | 950 | 565 | 1,515 |
| 22 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford CT | 62.3% | 993 | 601 | 1,594 |
| 23 | Asheville NC | 61.9% | 2,887 | 1,780 | 4,667 |
| 24 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura CA | 60.4% | 909 | 596 | 1,505 |
| 25 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | 59.1% | 6,415 | 4,435 | 10,850 |
| 26 | Kenosha WI | 58.9% | 351 | 245 | 596 |
| 27 | Ann Arbor MI | 58.4% | 921 | 655 | 1,576 |
| 28 | Urban Honolulu HI | 58.1% | 939 | 676 | 1,615 |
| 29 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | 58.1% | 20,158 | 14,538 | 34,696 |
| 30 | Mankato MN | 57.9% | 389 | 283 | 672 |
| 31 | Gainesville FL | 57.6% | 1,296 | 953 | 2,249 |
| 32 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad CA | 57.2% | 5,962 | 4,452 | 10,414 |
| 33 | Salt Lake City-Murray UT | 56.6% | 4,319 | 3,310 | 7,629 |
| 34 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara CA | 56.3% | 740 | 574 | 1,314 |
| 35 | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater WA | 56.0% | 1,002 | 786 | 1,788 |
| 36 | Worcester MA | 55.8% | 1,007 | 798 | 1,805 |
| 37 | Appleton WI | 55.4% | 789 | 635 | 1,424 |
| 38 | Iowa City IA | 55.3% | 768 | 621 | 1,389 |
| 39 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | 54.7% | 11,909 | 9,870 | 21,779 |
| 40 | Fort Collins CO | 54.7% | 1,300 | 1,078 | 2,378 |
| 41 | Missoula MT | 54.0% | 485 | 413 | 898 |
| 42 | Columbus OH | 53.7% | 7,061 | 6,084 | 13,145 |
| 43 | Kingston NY | 53.7% | 333 | 287 | 620 |
| 44 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard WA | 53.1% | 722 | 638 | 1,360 |
| 45 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial CO | 53.0% | 8,514 | 7,541 | 16,055 |
| 46 | Wenatchee-East Wenatchee WA | 52.7% | 642 | 577 | 1,219 |
| 47 | Savannah GA | 51.8% | 2,613 | 2,429 | 5,042 |
| 48 | Waterloo-Cedar Falls IA | 51.6% | 284 | 266 | 550 |
| 49 | Eugene-Springfield OR | 51.5% | 717 | 674 | 1,391 |
| 50 | Sioux Falls SD-MN | 51.5% | 1,476 | 1,390 | 2,866 |
| 51 | Tallahassee FL | 51.4% | 1,233 | 1,166 | 2,399 |
| 52 | Bowling Green KY | 50.9% | 687 | 664 | 1,351 |
| 53 | Eau Claire WI | 50.8% | 459 | 444 | 903 |
| 54 | Santa Fe NM | 50.8% | 282 | 273 | 555 |
| 55 | Helena MT | 50.7% | 299 | 291 | 590 |
| 56 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA | 49.9% | 840 | 842 | 1,682 |
| 57 | Lincoln NE | 49.5% | 1,035 | 1,054 | 2,089 |
| 58 | Ogden UT | 49.4% | 1,867 | 1,912 | 3,779 |
| 59 | Amarillo TX | 49.0% | 801 | 834 | 1,635 |
| 60 | Richmond VA | 49.0% | 4,278 | 4,455 | 8,733 |
| 61 | Omaha NE-IA | 48.4% | 3,434 | 3,654 | 7,088 |
| 62 | College Station-Bryan TX | 48.0% | 1,636 | 1,769 | 3,405 |
| 63 | Salem OR | 46.8% | 894 | 1,015 | 1,909 |
| 64 | Reno NV | 46.4% | 1,475 | 1,705 | 3,180 |
| 65 | Durham-Chapel Hill NC | 46.1% | 2,688 | 3,143 | 5,831 |
| 66 | Portland-South Portland ME | 46.0% | 1,741 | 2,045 | 3,786 |
| 67 | Spokane-Spokane Valley WA | 45.9% | 1,462 | 1,726 | 3,188 |
| 68 | Roanoke VA | 45.1% | 458 | 558 | 1,016 |
| 69 | South Bend-Mishawaka IN-MI | 45.0% | 478 | 584 | 1,062 |
| 70 | Green Bay WI | 44.6% | 799 | 992 | 1,791 |
| 71 | Greenville NC | 44.1% | 780 | 989 | 1,769 |
| 72 | Providence-Warwick RI-MA | 44.1% | 1,395 | 1,769 | 3,164 |
| 73 | Cincinnati OH-KY-IN | 43.9% | 3,816 | 4,872 | 8,688 |
| 74 | Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton PA-NJ | 43.4% | 957 | 1,248 | 2,205 |
| 75 | Lansing-East Lansing MI | 43.2% | 397 | 521 | 918 |
| 76 | Kennewick-Richland WA | 43.2% | 1,078 | 1,415 | 2,493 |
| 77 | Medford OR | 43.1% | 417 | 550 | 967 |
| 78 | Greensboro-High Point NC | 43.0% | 1,854 | 2,457 | 4,311 |
| 79 | Reading PA | 42.6% | 255 | 344 | 599 |
| 80 | Kansas City MO-KS | 42.3% | 4,290 | 5,843 | 10,133 |
| 81 | Bellingham WA | 42.3% | 461 | 629 | 1,090 |
| 82 | Chambersburg PA | 42.0% | 362 | 500 | 862 |
| 83 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | 41.6% | 5,893 | 8,261 | 14,154 |
| 84 | Colorado Springs CO | 41.4% | 2,266 | 3,203 | 5,469 |
| 85 | Fargo ND-MN | 41.4% | 536 | 758 | 1,294 |
| 86 | Duluth MN-WI | 41.4% | 327 | 463 | 790 |
| 87 | LaGrange GA-AL | 41.1% | 330 | 472 | 802 |
| 88 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford FL | 41.0% | 8,683 | 12,483 | 21,166 |
| 89 | Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers AR | 40.9% | 3,860 | 5,587 | 9,447 |
| 90 | Bloomington IN | 40.8% | 274 | 398 | 672 |
| 91 | Hammond LA | 40.0% | 475 | 713 | 1,188 |
| 92 | Waco TX | 39.6% | 546 | 832 | 1,378 |
| 93 | Topeka KS | 39.4% | 224 | 345 | 569 |
| 94 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI | 39.4% | 5,809 | 8,948 | 14,757 |
| 95 | Milwaukee-Waukesha WI | 38.9% | 1,215 | 1,911 | 3,126 |
| 96 | Bozeman MT | 38.8% | 550 | 869 | 1,419 |
| 97 | Naples-Marco Island FL | 38.7% | 1,262 | 2,003 | 3,265 |
| 98 | Norwich-New London-Willimantic CT | 38.6% | 194 | 308 | 502 |
| 99 | Pittsburgh PA | 37.9% | 2,088 | 3,426 | 5,514 |
| 100 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater FL | 37.8% | 8,461 | 13,931 | 22,392 |
Top 100 of 300 ranked metro areas. Every row links to that geography’s full monthly permit history.
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Metro areas where multifamily is the biggest share of new housing — FAQ
Which metro area has the highest multifamily share of new housing?+
86.5% of housing units authorized in Champaign-Urbana IL over the 12 months to Jul 2026 were in buildings with 5 or more units, the highest share of any ranked metro area. That is a share of a comparatively small total — 2,003 units — not the largest number of apartments.
Does the top metro area authorize the most multifamily units?+
No, and the two questions have different answers. This board ranks the share of new housing that is multifamily; the biggest apartment markets in the country authorize tens of thousands of multifamily units a year but also authorize many single-family homes, which pulls their share down. The "5+ unit units" column reports each ranked market's multifamily volume.
What counts as multifamily here?+
Buildings with 5 or more units. The Building Permits Survey also reports 2-unit and 3-to-4-unit structures separately; those are counted in the "other units" column here, not as multifamily.
Why does this differ from the multifamily share on a metro's own page?+
The per-geography pages report the 2-or-more-unit share, the broader definition. This leaderboard uses the 5-or-more-unit share, which is the standard cut for apartment development. The same metro will show a lower number here.
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