Housing units authorized by building permits in Boston, MA
Housing units authorized by building permits in Boston, MA was 2,107 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 17.8% from 2024. That is the 1st highest of 57 cities in 2025.
Housing units authorized by building permits in Boston, MA, 2007 to 2025
All 19 values
| Period | count |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,107 Estimated |
| 2024 | 1,789 Estimated |
| 2023 | 2,051 Estimated |
| 2022 | 3,935 Estimated |
| 2021 | 3,512 Estimated |
| 2020 | 3,532 Estimated |
| 2019 | 2,993 Estimated |
| 2018 | 3,602 Estimated |
| 2017 | 5,085 Estimated |
| 2016 | 3,348 Estimated |
| 2015 | 4,955 Estimated |
| 2014 | 2,841 Estimated |
| 2013 | 2,561 Estimated |
| 2012 | 1,776 Estimated |
| 2011 | 785 Estimated |
| 2010 | 351 Estimated |
| 2009 | 332 Estimated |
| 2008 | 513 Estimated |
| 2007 | 1,041 Estimated |
Compared with Massachusetts and United States
| Place | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Boston, MA | 2,107 |
| Massachusetts | 12,477 |
| United States | 1,431,616 |
Rankings
- US states by housing units authorized by building permits
- US cities by housing units authorized by building permits
- Cities in Massachusetts by housing units authorized by building permits
Definition
Number of new privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in the year or month, from the US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey. Annual totals for the nation, states and counties; monthly counts for the nation and states.
Counts housing units, not buildings, starts, completions or sales. Monthly counts are not seasonally adjusted and do not add up exactly to the annual total, which includes later corrections; the national seasonally adjusted annual rate in the monthly New Residential Construction release is a different measure.
How to cite
U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
APA 7
U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation (Housing units authorized by building permits, Boston, MA, 2007 to 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt
MLA 9
Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Housing units authorized by building permits, Boston, MA, 2007 to 2025. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 May 2026, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/building-permit-housing-units/boston-ma. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Housing units authorized by building permits, Boston, MA, 2007 to 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/building-permit-housing-units/boston-ma.
Harvard
U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Housing units authorized by building permits, Boston, MA, 2007 to 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/building-permit-housing-units/boston-ma (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{census_housing_units_authorized_by_2025,
author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
title = {{Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation: Housing units authorized by building permits, Boston, MA, 2007 to 2025}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/building-permit-housing-units/boston-ma. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast\%20Region/ne2025a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - U.S. Census Bureau
TI - Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation: Housing units authorized by building permits, Boston, MA, 2007 to 2025
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/14
PB - U.S. Census Bureau
DB - Invokely
UR - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt
L2 - https://invokely.ai/en/building-permit-housing-units/boston-ma
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/building-permit-housing-units/boston-ma.
N1 - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
What is the latest housing units authorized by building permits in Boston, MA? Cite the source.
get_value {"indicator":"building_permit_units","place":"us-place-2507000"}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/value?indicator=building_permit_units&place=us-place-2507000Questions
What is the housing units authorized by building permits in Boston, MA?
Housing units authorized by building permits in Boston, MA was 2,107 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 17.8% from 2024. That is the 1st highest of 57 cities in 2025.
Where does this figure come from?
U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.
What was the highest housing units authorized by building permits in Boston, MA?
5,085 in 2017, the highest value since 2007 in this series.