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

Cities in Alabama by housing units authorized by building permits

Huntsville, AL had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 66 cities in 2015, at 1,505. Hueytown, AL had the lowest, at 0. The median was 54 and the figure for Alabama was 14,054. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,505Huntsville, AL
Lowest0Hueytown, AL
Median5466 cities
Alabama14,054History

Top 40 cities, 2015

Huntsville, AL: 1,505 countHuntsville, AL1,505Birmingham, AL: 778 countBirmingham, AL778Tuscaloosa, AL: 567 countTuscaloosa, AL567Montgomery, AL: 528 countMontgomery, AL528Auburn, AL: 488 countAuburn, AL488Madison, AL: 466 countMadison, AL466Daphne, AL: 417 countDaphne, AL417Phenix City, AL: 400 countPhenix City, AL400Vestavia Hills, AL: 360 countVestavia Hills, AL360Hoover, AL: 358 countHoover, AL358Fairhope, AL: 303 countFairhope, AL303Pike Road, AL: 235 countPike Road, AL235Trussville, AL: 235 countTrussville, AL235Dothan, AL: 233 countDothan, AL233Mobile, AL: 195 countMobile, AL195Helena, AL: 184 countHelena, AL184Gulf Shores, AL: 177 countGulf Shores, AL177Foley, AL: 163 countFoley, AL163Prattville, AL: 158 countPrattville, AL158Florence, AL: 151 countFlorence, AL151Calera, AL: 149 countCalera, AL149Opelika, AL: 149 countOpelika, AL149Northport, AL: 147 countNorthport, AL147Chelsea, AL: 129 countChelsea, AL129Alabaster, AL: 109 countAlabaster, AL109Muscle Shoals, AL: 106 countMuscle Shoals, AL106Spanish Fort, AL: 106 countSpanish Fort, AL106Athens, AL: 104 countAthens, AL104Pelham, AL: 102 countPelham, AL102Gardendale, AL: 91 countGardendale, AL91Moody, AL: 64 countMoody, AL64Saraland, AL: 56 countSaraland, AL56Enterprise, AL: 55 countEnterprise, AL55Cullman, AL: 53 countCullman, AL53Millbrook, AL: 50 countMillbrook, AL50Mountain Brook, AL: 43 countMountain Brook, AL43Leeds, AL: 39 countLeeds, AL39Scottsboro, AL: 37 countScottsboro, AL37Decatur, AL: 36 countDecatur, AL36Oxford, AL: 35 countOxford, AL35Huntsville, AL: 1,505 countHuntsville, AL1,505Birmingham, AL: 778 countBirmingham, AL778Tuscaloosa, AL: 567 countTuscaloosa, AL567Montgomery, AL: 528 countMontgomery, AL528Auburn, AL: 488 countAuburn, AL488Madison, AL: 466 countMadison, AL466Daphne, AL: 417 countDaphne, AL417Phenix City, AL: 400 countPhenix City, AL400Vestavia Hills, AL: 360 countVestavia Hills, AL360Hoover, AL: 358 countHoover, AL358Fairhope, AL: 303 countFairhope, AL303Pike Road, AL: 235 countPike Road, AL235Trussville, AL: 235 countTrussville, AL235Dothan, AL: 233 countDothan, AL233Mobile, AL: 195 countMobile, AL195Helena, AL: 184 countHelena, AL184Gulf Shores, AL: 177 countGulf Shores, AL177Foley, AL: 163 countFoley, AL163Prattville, AL: 158 countPrattville, AL158Florence, AL: 151 countFlorence, AL151Calera, AL: 149 countCalera, AL149Opelika, AL: 149 countOpelika, AL149Northport, AL: 147 countNorthport, AL147Chelsea, AL: 129 countChelsea, AL129Alabaster, AL: 109 countAlabaster, AL109Muscle Shoals, AL: 106 countMuscle Shoals, AL106Spanish Fort, AL: 106 countSpanish Fort, AL106Athens, AL: 104 countAthens, AL104Pelham, AL: 102 countPelham, AL102Gardendale, AL: 91 countGardendale, AL91Moody, AL: 64 countMoody, AL64Saraland, AL: 56 countSaraland, AL56Enterprise, AL: 55 countEnterprise, AL55Cullman, AL: 53 countCullman, AL53Millbrook, AL: 50 countMillbrook, AL50Mountain Brook, AL: 43 countMountain Brook, AL43Leeds, AL: 39 countLeeds, AL39Scottsboro, AL: 37 countScottsboro, AL37Decatur, AL: 36 countDecatur, AL36Oxford, AL: 35 countOxford, AL35
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2015
count		Change on 2014
1Huntsville, AL Estimated1,505-19.7%
2Birmingham, AL Estimated778-22.6%
3Tuscaloosa, AL Estimated567-54%
4Montgomery, AL Estimated528-7.5%
5Auburn, AL Estimated488-20.7%
6Madison, AL Estimated466+37.9%
7Daphne, AL Estimated417+149.7%
8Phenix City, AL Estimated400+254%
9Vestavia Hills, AL Estimated360+230.3%
10Hoover, AL Estimated358-13.3%
11Fairhope, AL Estimated303+13.9%
12Pike Road, AL Estimated235+51.6%
12Trussville, AL Estimated235+27%
14Dothan, AL Estimated233-19.4%
15Mobile, AL Estimated195+78.9%
16Helena, AL Estimated184+20.3%
17Gulf Shores, AL Estimated177+34.1%
18Foley, AL Estimated163-5.2%
19Prattville, AL Estimated158+20.6%
20Florence, AL Estimated151+235.6%
21Calera, AL Estimated149+24.2%
21Opelika, AL Estimated149+10.4%
23Northport, AL Estimated147+24.6%
24Chelsea, AL Estimated129+17.3%
25Alabaster, AL Estimated109-49.1%
26Muscle Shoals, AL Estimated106+7.1%
26Spanish Fort, AL Estimated106+7.1%
28Athens, AL Estimated104-23.5%
29Pelham, AL Estimated102+12.1%
30Gardendale, AL Estimated91+167.6%
31Moody, AL Estimated64+20.8%
32Saraland, AL Estimated56-41.1%
33Enterprise, AL Estimated55+1.9%
34Cullman, AL Estimated53-7%
35Millbrook, AL Estimated50-29.6%
36Mountain Brook, AL Estimated43-10.4%
37Leeds, AL Estimated39+25.8%
38Scottsboro, AL Estimated37-2.6%
39Decatur, AL Estimated36-2.7%
40Oxford, AL Estimated35-59.8%
41Hartselle, AL Estimated34-8.1%
41Troy, AL Estimated34-22.7%
43Homewood, AL Estimated30+57.9%
43Pell City, AL Estimated30+15.4%
45Irondale, AL Estimated26-23.5%
46Alexander City, AL Estimated18+12.5%
47Fort Payne, AL Estimated17+6.3%
48Jasper, AL Estimated13+85.7%
49Russellville, AL Estimated120%
50Bessemer, AL Estimated10+900%
50Eufaula, AL Estimated10+25%
50Jacksonville, AL Estimated10+150%
53Rainbow City, AL Estimated9-47.1%
54Clay, AL Estimated8-11.1%
54Gadsden, AL Estimated8-27.3%
54Ozark, AL Estimated80%
57Boaz, AL Estimated6+200%
58Talladega, AL Estimated5+150%
59Prichard, AL Estimated4+33.3%
60Selma, AL Estimated3n/a
61Anniston, AL Estimated20%
61Sylacauga, AL Estimated20%
61Valley, AL Estimated2-66.7%
64Albertville, AL Estimated0-100%
64Center Point, AL Estimated0n/a
64Hueytown, AL Estimated0-100%

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/so2015a.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. (2016). 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, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2015a.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, 2015. U.S. Census Bureau, 30 Sept. 2016, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2015a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2016. 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, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2015a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2016) 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, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2015a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_alabama_by_2015,
  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, 2015}},
  year = {2016},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2015a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2015. 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/so2015a.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, 2015
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/09/30
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2015a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2015.
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/so2015a.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 1,505 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Hueytown, AL, with 0 in 2015.

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