Building permits · Jul 2026
Building permits per capita by metro area
How this is measured. Trailing-12-month units divided by population, times 1,000, for metro areas with at least 25,000 residents. The 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. HUD publishes it for metropolitan areas only, so micropolitan permit areas have no denominator and are not ranked here. Because the population is fixed at that base year, fast-growing metros are divided by a population they have already outgrown.
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.
Metropolitan areas ranked by residential units authorized per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to Jul 2026 — which markets are adding housing fastest relative to their size. Wildwood-The Villages FL leads at 27.8 units per 1,000 residents.
A permit is an authorization, not a housing start — some authorized units are never built. Only metro areas with at least 25,000 residents are ranked.
One time window, top 100 of 387 metro areas
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- 1.Wildwood-The Villages FL27.8
- 2.Wilmington NC19.8
- 3.North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota FL19.6
- 4.Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach SC17.7
- 5.Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers AR17.2
- 6.Punta Gorda FL16.9
- 7.St. George UT16.2
- 8.Ocala FL14.9
- 9.Cape Coral-Fort Myers FL14.3
- 10.Daphne-Fairhope-Foley AL14.3
| # | Metro area | Units per 1,000 | Units, 12 mo. | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wildwood-The Villages FL | 27.8 | 3,671 | 131,832 |
| 2 | Wilmington NC | 19.8 | 8,489 | 429,447 |
| 3 | North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota FL | 19.6 | 16,522 | 844,461 |
| 4 | Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach SC | 17.7 | 6,318 | 356,578 |
| 5 | Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers AR | 17.2 | 9,447 | 550,596 |
| 6 | Punta Gorda FL | 16.9 | 3,212 | 189,900 |
| 7 | St. George UT | 16.2 | 2,968 | 183,297 |
| 8 | Ocala FL | 14.9 | 5,645 | 378,225 |
| 9 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers FL | 14.3 | 11,055 | 772,902 |
| 10 | Daphne-Fairhope-Foley AL | 14.3 | 3,337 | 233,420 |
| 11 | Raleigh-Cary NC | 13.2 | 18,703 | 1,420,825 |
| 12 | College Station-Bryan TX | 12.6 | 3,405 | 269,418 |
| 13 | Homosassa Springs FL | 12.5 | 1,943 | 155,173 |
| 14 | Spartanburg SC | 12.5 | 4,459 | 357,277 |
| 15 | Savannah GA | 12.4 | 5,042 | 406,575 |
| 16 | Auburn-Opelika AL | 12.4 | 2,408 | 194,324 |
| 17 | Boise City ID | 12.2 | 9,409 | 771,602 |
| 18 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin FL | 12.1 | 3,485 | 288,639 |
| 19 | Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal SC | 11.9 | 2,608 | 218,515 |
| 20 | Bozeman MT | 11.9 | 1,419 | 119,685 |
| 21 | Bend OR | 11.5 | 2,874 | 248,998 |
| 22 | Asheville NC | 11.5 | 4,667 | 407,332 |
| 23 | Coeur dAlene ID | 11.3 | 1,951 | 173,396 |
| 24 | Burlington NC | 11.2 | 1,920 | 171,779 |
| 25 | Abilene TX | 10.8 | 1,916 | 176,656 |
| 26 | Sherman-Denison TX | 10.8 | 1,485 | 137,008 |
| 27 | Hinesville GA | 10.5 | 867 | 82,354 |
| 28 | Greeley CO | 10.5 | 3,467 | 331,466 |
| 29 | Greenville NC | 10.3 | 1,769 | 171,196 |
| 30 | Panama City-Panama City Beach FL | 10.2 | 2,104 | 206,069 |
| 31 | Idaho Falls ID | 10.1 | 1,595 | 158,478 |
| 32 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos TX | 10.0 | 23,056 | 2,296,377 |
| 33 | Logan UT-ID | 10.0 | 1,490 | 148,804 |
| 34 | Wenatchee-East Wenatchee WA | 10.0 | 1,219 | 122,265 |
| 35 | Sioux Falls SD-MN | 10.0 | 2,866 | 287,603 |
| 36 | Pinehurst-Southern Pines NC | 10.0 | 1,003 | 100,759 |
| 37 | Durham-Chapel Hill NC | 9.9 | 5,831 | 586,905 |
| 38 | Madison WI | 9.9 | 6,708 | 678,995 |
| 39 | Provo-Orem-Lehi UT | 9.8 | 6,618 | 677,964 |
| 40 | Charleston-North Charleston SC | 9.5 | 7,654 | 803,398 |
| 41 | Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton NC | 9.3 | 3,416 | 366,031 |
| 42 | Lakeland-Winter Haven FL | 9.3 | 6,862 | 736,229 |
| 43 | Huntsville AL | 9.3 | 4,579 | 493,980 |
| 44 | Jacksonville NC | 9.2 | 1,883 | 203,686 |
| 45 | Greenville-Anderson-Greer SC | 9.1 | 8,457 | 931,405 |
| 46 | Hammond LA | 8.9 | 1,188 | 133,953 |
| 47 | Knoxville TN | 8.8 | 7,947 | 908,007 |
| 48 | Gainesville GA | 8.6 | 1,762 | 204,953 |
| 49 | Naples-Marco Island FL | 8.6 | 3,265 | 380,221 |
| 50 | Champaign-Urbana IL | 8.5 | 2,003 | 236,707 |
| 51 | Port St. Lucie FL | 8.4 | 4,154 | 494,081 |
| 52 | Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin TN | 8.4 | 16,883 | 2,015,869 |
| 53 | Lafayette-West Lafayette IN | 8.3 | 1,866 | 224,515 |
| 54 | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | 8.3 | 59,214 | 7,170,269 |
| 55 | Clarksville TN-KY | 8.2 | 2,656 | 322,949 |
| 56 | Kennewick-Richland WA | 8.2 | 2,493 | 304,252 |
| 57 | Gulfport-Biloxi MS | 8.0 | 3,345 | 416,839 |
| 58 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | 8.0 | 61,275 | 7,673,379 |
| 59 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford FL | 7.9 | 21,166 | 2,679,298 |
| 60 | Iowa City IA | 7.9 | 1,389 | 175,894 |
| 61 | Columbia SC | 7.8 | 6,492 | 831,913 |
| 62 | Carson City NV | 7.8 | 453 | 58,249 |
| 63 | Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville FL | 7.8 | 4,741 | 610,723 |
| 64 | Lubbock TX | 7.6 | 2,681 | 352,044 |
| 65 | Goldsboro NC | 7.6 | 892 | 117,480 |
| 66 | Jonesboro AR | 7.6 | 1,016 | 134,035 |
| 67 | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission TX | 7.5 | 6,573 | 873,167 |
| 68 | Bowling Green KY | 7.5 | 1,351 | 180,624 |
| 69 | Dover DE | 7.5 | 1,360 | 182,400 |
| 70 | Jacksonville FL | 7.4 | 11,930 | 1,613,587 |
| 71 | Odessa TX | 7.3 | 1,191 | 162,300 |
| 72 | Omaha NE-IA | 7.3 | 7,088 | 966,688 |
| 73 | Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent FL | 7.3 | 3,734 | 510,290 |
| 74 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia NC-SC | 7.3 | 19,485 | 2,668,688 |
| 75 | Missoula MT | 7.3 | 898 | 123,193 |
| 76 | Colorado Springs CO | 7.2 | 5,469 | 755,081 |
| 77 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ | 7.2 | 35,159 | 4,864,209 |
| 78 | Des Moines-West Des Moines IA | 7.1 | 5,058 | 711,490 |
| 79 | Corvallis OR | 7.0 | 672 | 95,615 |
| 80 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater FL | 7.0 | 22,392 | 3,194,310 |
| 81 | Warner Robins GA | 6.9 | 1,325 | 192,171 |
| 82 | Winston-Salem NC | 6.9 | 4,646 | 678,243 |
| 83 | Cleveland TN | 6.8 | 865 | 126,479 |
| 84 | Portland-South Portland ME | 6.8 | 3,786 | 557,764 |
| 85 | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach FL | 6.8 | 4,587 | 676,035 |
| 86 | Rapid City SD | 6.8 | 1,007 | 148,871 |
| 87 | Boulder CO | 6.7 | 2,218 | 328,658 |
| 88 | Harrisonburg VA | 6.7 | 915 | 135,689 |
| 89 | Rochester MN | 6.7 | 1,515 | 225,911 |
| 90 | Richmond VA | 6.6 | 8,733 | 1,316,145 |
| 91 | Fort Collins CO | 6.6 | 2,378 | 359,363 |
| 92 | Gainesville FL | 6.6 | 2,249 | 341,067 |
| 93 | Traverse City MI | 6.6 | 1,007 | 153,733 |
| 94 | Helena MT | 6.5 | 590 | 90,737 |
| 95 | Killeen-Temple TX | 6.5 | 3,104 | 477,577 |
| 96 | Mankato MN | 6.5 | 672 | 103,402 |
| 97 | Dubuque IA | 6.5 | 642 | 98,812 |
| 98 | Brunswick-St.Simons GA | 6.4 | 729 | 113,854 |
| 99 | Sebring- FL | 6.4 | 655 | 102,339 |
| 100 | Winchester VA-WV | 6.4 | 915 | 143,385 |
Top 100 of 387 ranked metro areas. Every row links to that geography’s full monthly permit history.
Other permit rankings
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Building permits by state
Building permits per capita by metro area — FAQ
Which metro area permits the most housing per capita?+
Wildwood-The Villages FL permitted 27.8 housing units per 1,000 residents over the 12 months to Jul 2026, the highest rate of any ranked U.S. metro area.
Why do fewer metro areas appear here than on the volume ranking?+
Per-capita ranking needs a population denominator, and the population series ships for metropolitan areas only. Micropolitan areas appear on the volume leaderboards but not this one.
Is a high rate good?+
It is a supply measure, not a verdict. A high rate means a market is authorizing a lot of housing relative to its population, which typically tracks in-migration and land availability; it says nothing on its own about affordability or absorption.
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