Data / Rankings / Housing units authorized by building permits / Cities in Alabama

Cities in Alabama by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025

Huntsville, AL had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 66 cities in 2025, at 1,942. Sylacauga, AL had the lowest, at 0. The median was 79 and the figure for Alabama was 19,061. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,942Huntsville, AL
Lowest0Sylacauga, AL
Median7966 cities
Alabama19,061History

Top 40 cities, 2025

Huntsville, AL: 1,942 countHuntsville, AL1,942Hoover, AL: 724 countHoover, AL724Auburn, AL: 689 countAuburn, AL689Madison, AL: 626 countMadison, AL626Birmingham, AL: 579 countBirmingham, AL579Opelika, AL: 568 countOpelika, AL568Montgomery, AL: 503 countMontgomery, AL503Athens, AL: 449 countAthens, AL449Tuscaloosa, AL: 427 countTuscaloosa, AL427Foley, AL: 352 countFoley, AL352Decatur, AL: 309 countDecatur, AL309Mobile, AL: 301 countMobile, AL301Daphne, AL: 293 countDaphne, AL293Florence, AL: 287 countFlorence, AL287Dothan, AL: 252 countDothan, AL252Calera, AL: 244 countCalera, AL244Gulf Shores, AL: 242 countGulf Shores, AL242Fairhope, AL: 222 countFairhope, AL222Pike Road, AL: 209 countPike Road, AL209Prattville, AL: 200 countPrattville, AL200Enterprise, AL: 191 countEnterprise, AL191Chelsea, AL: 155 countChelsea, AL155Gardendale, AL: 152 countGardendale, AL152Cullman, AL: 149 countCullman, AL149Leeds, AL: 144 countLeeds, AL144Pelham, AL: 136 countPelham, AL136Albertville, AL: 101 countAlbertville, AL101Trussville, AL: 101 countTrussville, AL101Oxford, AL: 97 countOxford, AL97Valley, AL: 92 countValley, AL92Alabaster, AL: 86 countAlabaster, AL86Northport, AL: 86 countNorthport, AL86Vestavia Hills, AL: 79 countVestavia Hills, AL79Millbrook, AL: 78 countMillbrook, AL78Alexander City, AL: 66 countAlexander City, AL66Bessemer, AL: 66 countBessemer, AL66Phenix City, AL: 66 countPhenix City, AL66Pell City, AL: 63 countPell City, AL63Helena, AL: 59 countHelena, AL59Spanish Fort, AL: 57 countSpanish Fort, AL57Huntsville, AL: 1,942 countHuntsville, AL1,942Hoover, AL: 724 countHoover, AL724Auburn, AL: 689 countAuburn, AL689Madison, AL: 626 countMadison, AL626Birmingham, AL: 579 countBirmingham, AL579Opelika, AL: 568 countOpelika, AL568Montgomery, AL: 503 countMontgomery, AL503Athens, AL: 449 countAthens, AL449Tuscaloosa, AL: 427 countTuscaloosa, AL427Foley, AL: 352 countFoley, AL352Decatur, AL: 309 countDecatur, AL309Mobile, AL: 301 countMobile, AL301Daphne, AL: 293 countDaphne, AL293Florence, AL: 287 countFlorence, AL287Dothan, AL: 252 countDothan, AL252Calera, AL: 244 countCalera, AL244Gulf Shores, AL: 242 countGulf Shores, AL242Fairhope, AL: 222 countFairhope, AL222Pike Road, AL: 209 countPike Road, AL209Prattville, AL: 200 countPrattville, AL200Enterprise, AL: 191 countEnterprise, AL191Chelsea, AL: 155 countChelsea, AL155Gardendale, AL: 152 countGardendale, AL152Cullman, AL: 149 countCullman, AL149Leeds, AL: 144 countLeeds, AL144Pelham, AL: 136 countPelham, AL136Albertville, AL: 101 countAlbertville, AL101Trussville, AL: 101 countTrussville, AL101Oxford, AL: 97 countOxford, AL97Valley, AL: 92 countValley, AL92Alabaster, AL: 86 countAlabaster, AL86Northport, AL: 86 countNorthport, AL86Vestavia Hills, AL: 79 countVestavia Hills, AL79Millbrook, AL: 78 countMillbrook, AL78Alexander City, AL: 66 countAlexander City, AL66Bessemer, AL: 66 countBessemer, AL66Phenix City, AL: 66 countPhenix City, AL66Pell City, AL: 63 countPell City, AL63Helena, AL: 59 countHelena, AL59Spanish Fort, AL: 57 countSpanish Fort, AL57
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2025
count		Change on 2024
1Huntsville, AL Estimated1,942+30.8%
2Hoover, AL Estimated724+70.4%
3Auburn, AL Estimated689-32.7%
4Madison, AL Estimated626-59.8%
5Birmingham, AL Estimated579-14.3%
6Opelika, AL Estimated568+4.6%
7Montgomery, AL Estimated503+100.4%
8Athens, AL Estimated449-8.7%
9Tuscaloosa, AL Estimated427-1.4%
10Foley, AL Estimated352-70.4%
11Decatur, AL Estimated309+145.2%
12Mobile, AL Estimated301-55.3%
13Daphne, AL Estimated293-14.3%
14Florence, AL Estimated287+119.1%
15Dothan, AL Estimated252-7%
16Calera, AL Estimated244+34.1%
17Gulf Shores, AL Estimated242+63.5%
18Fairhope, AL Estimated222+37%
19Pike Road, AL Estimated209+4.5%
20Prattville, AL Estimated200-9.5%
21Enterprise, AL Estimated191+36.4%
22Chelsea, AL Estimated155-4.9%
23Gardendale, AL Estimated152+985.7%
24Cullman, AL Estimated149-5.7%
25Leeds, AL Estimated144+27.4%
26Pelham, AL Estimated136+20.4%
27Albertville, AL Estimated101+68.3%
27Trussville, AL Estimated101-9.8%
29Oxford, AL Estimated97-1%
30Valley, AL Estimated92+170.6%
31Alabaster, AL Estimated86-19.6%
31Northport, AL Estimated86-38.1%
33Vestavia Hills, AL Estimated79-22.5%
34Millbrook, AL Estimated78+13%
35Alexander City, AL Estimated66-13.2%
35Bessemer, AL Estimated66+78.4%
35Phenix City, AL Estimated66-12%
38Pell City, AL Estimated63-53%
39Helena, AL Estimated59+37.2%
40Spanish Fort, AL Estimated57-32.9%
41Moody, AL Estimated50+354.5%
42Saraland, AL Estimated49-62.9%
43Muscle Shoals, AL Estimated48-20%
44Hartselle, AL Estimated42-30%
44Scottsboro, AL Estimated42-6.7%
46Boaz, AL Estimated31+47.6%
46Jacksonville, AL Estimated31+47.6%
48Homewood, AL Estimated28-61.6%
49Hueytown, AL Estimated27+50%
50Troy, AL Estimated26-38.1%
51Fort Payne, AL Estimated23+4.5%
52Gadsden, AL Estimated21-50%
52Mountain Brook, AL Estimated21+90.9%
52Russellville, AL Estimated21+90.9%
55Rainbow City, AL Estimated20+17.6%
56Eufaula, AL Estimated14-58.8%
57Jasper, AL Estimated12-66.7%
57Ozark, AL Estimated12-25%
59Anniston, AL Estimated110%
60Irondale, AL Estimated10+42.9%
60Talladega, AL Estimated10-16.7%
62Clay, AL Estimated80%
63Prichard, AL Estimated4-96.8%
64Center Point, AL Estimated2-66.7%
65Selma, AL Estimated0n/a
65Sylacauga, AL Estimated0n/a

Other periods

About this ranking

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.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

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/South%20Region/so2025a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

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 (Cities in Alabama by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2025a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Alabama by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 May 2026, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2025a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities. 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. Cities in Alabama by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2025a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities.

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, Cities in Alabama by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2025a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_alabama_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: Cities in Alabama by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2025a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities. 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/South\%20Region/so2025a.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: Cities in Alabama by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/14
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2025a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities.
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/South%20Region/so2025a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which city has the highest housing units authorized by building permits?

Huntsville, AL, with 1,942 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest housing units authorized by building permits?

Sylacauga, AL, with 0 in 2025.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Cities in Alabama: more rankings