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 2016, at 1,763. Talladega, AL had the lowest, at 0. The median was 65 and the figure for Alabama was 15,001. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,763Huntsville, AL
Lowest0Talladega, AL
Median6566 cities
Alabama15,001History

Top 40 cities, 2016

Huntsville, AL: 1,763 countHuntsville, AL1,763Tuscaloosa, AL: 1,231 countTuscaloosa, AL1,231Birmingham, AL: 606 countBirmingham, AL606Auburn, AL: 527 countAuburn, AL527Madison, AL: 490 countMadison, AL490Hoover, AL: 373 countHoover, AL373Fairhope, AL: 348 countFairhope, AL348Gulf Shores, AL: 329 countGulf Shores, AL329Montgomery, AL: 311 countMontgomery, AL311Saraland, AL: 304 countSaraland, AL304Mobile, AL: 296 countMobile, AL296Foley, AL: 265 countFoley, AL265Dothan, AL: 210 countDothan, AL210Pike Road, AL: 209 countPike Road, AL209Chelsea, AL: 204 countChelsea, AL204Daphne, AL: 202 countDaphne, AL202Opelika, AL: 188 countOpelika, AL188Spanish Fort, AL: 186 countSpanish Fort, AL186Helena, AL: 181 countHelena, AL181Calera, AL: 171 countCalera, AL171Prattville, AL: 169 countPrattville, AL169Trussville, AL: 168 countTrussville, AL168Northport, AL: 160 countNorthport, AL160Florence, AL: 154 countFlorence, AL154Pelham, AL: 138 countPelham, AL138Alabaster, AL: 132 countAlabaster, AL132Muscle Shoals, AL: 115 countMuscle Shoals, AL115Athens, AL: 111 countAthens, AL111Vestavia Hills, AL: 104 countVestavia Hills, AL104Cullman, AL: 79 countCullman, AL79Moody, AL: 77 countMoody, AL77Leeds, AL: 68 countLeeds, AL68Decatur, AL: 67 countDecatur, AL67Gardendale, AL: 63 countGardendale, AL63Irondale, AL: 63 countIrondale, AL63Enterprise, AL: 61 countEnterprise, AL61Phenix City, AL: 59 countPhenix City, AL59Bessemer, AL: 56 countBessemer, AL56Millbrook, AL: 50 countMillbrook, AL50Oxford, AL: 48 countOxford, AL48Huntsville, AL: 1,763 countHuntsville, AL1,763Tuscaloosa, AL: 1,231 countTuscaloosa, AL1,231Birmingham, AL: 606 countBirmingham, AL606Auburn, AL: 527 countAuburn, AL527Madison, AL: 490 countMadison, AL490Hoover, AL: 373 countHoover, AL373Fairhope, AL: 348 countFairhope, AL348Gulf Shores, AL: 329 countGulf Shores, AL329Montgomery, AL: 311 countMontgomery, AL311Saraland, AL: 304 countSaraland, AL304Mobile, AL: 296 countMobile, AL296Foley, AL: 265 countFoley, AL265Dothan, AL: 210 countDothan, AL210Pike Road, AL: 209 countPike Road, AL209Chelsea, AL: 204 countChelsea, AL204Daphne, AL: 202 countDaphne, AL202Opelika, AL: 188 countOpelika, AL188Spanish Fort, AL: 186 countSpanish Fort, AL186Helena, AL: 181 countHelena, AL181Calera, AL: 171 countCalera, AL171Prattville, AL: 169 countPrattville, AL169Trussville, AL: 168 countTrussville, AL168Northport, AL: 160 countNorthport, AL160Florence, AL: 154 countFlorence, AL154Pelham, AL: 138 countPelham, AL138Alabaster, AL: 132 countAlabaster, AL132Muscle Shoals, AL: 115 countMuscle Shoals, AL115Athens, AL: 111 countAthens, AL111Vestavia Hills, AL: 104 countVestavia Hills, AL104Cullman, AL: 79 countCullman, AL79Moody, AL: 77 countMoody, AL77Leeds, AL: 68 countLeeds, AL68Decatur, AL: 67 countDecatur, AL67Gardendale, AL: 63 countGardendale, AL63Irondale, AL: 63 countIrondale, AL63Enterprise, AL: 61 countEnterprise, AL61Phenix City, AL: 59 countPhenix City, AL59Bessemer, AL: 56 countBessemer, AL56Millbrook, AL: 50 countMillbrook, AL50Oxford, AL: 48 countOxford, AL48
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2016
count		Change on 2015
1Huntsville, AL Estimated1,763+17.1%
2Tuscaloosa, AL Estimated1,231+117.1%
3Birmingham, AL Estimated606-22.1%
4Auburn, AL Estimated527+8%
5Madison, AL Estimated490+5.2%
6Hoover, AL Estimated373+4.2%
7Fairhope, AL Estimated348+14.9%
8Gulf Shores, AL Estimated329+85.9%
9Montgomery, AL Estimated311-41.1%
10Saraland, AL Estimated304+442.9%
11Mobile, AL Estimated296+51.8%
12Foley, AL Estimated265+62.6%
13Dothan, AL Estimated210-9.9%
14Pike Road, AL Estimated209-11.1%
15Chelsea, AL Estimated204+58.1%
16Daphne, AL Estimated202-51.6%
17Opelika, AL Estimated188+26.2%
18Spanish Fort, AL Estimated186+75.5%
19Helena, AL Estimated181-1.6%
20Calera, AL Estimated171+14.8%
21Prattville, AL Estimated169+7%
22Trussville, AL Estimated168-28.5%
23Northport, AL Estimated160+8.8%
24Florence, AL Estimated154+2%
25Pelham, AL Estimated138+35.3%
26Alabaster, AL Estimated132+21.1%
27Muscle Shoals, AL Estimated115+8.5%
28Athens, AL Estimated111+6.7%
29Vestavia Hills, AL Estimated104-71.1%
30Cullman, AL Estimated79+49.1%
31Moody, AL Estimated77+20.3%
32Leeds, AL Estimated68+74.4%
33Decatur, AL Estimated67+86.1%
34Gardendale, AL Estimated63-30.8%
34Irondale, AL Estimated63+142.3%
36Enterprise, AL Estimated61+10.9%
37Phenix City, AL Estimated59-85.3%
38Bessemer, AL Estimated56+460%
39Millbrook, AL Estimated500%
40Oxford, AL Estimated48+37.1%
41Homewood, AL Estimated44+46.7%
42Hartselle, AL Estimated40+17.6%
43Mountain Brook, AL Estimated37-14%
44Troy, AL Estimated33-2.9%
45Pell City, AL Estimated32+6.7%
46Scottsboro, AL Estimated30-18.9%
47Rainbow City, AL Estimated17+88.9%
48Jacksonville, AL Estimated16+60%
49Russellville, AL Estimated14+16.7%
50Fort Payne, AL Estimated13-23.5%
51Alexander City, AL Estimated12-33.3%
51Clay, AL Estimated12+50%
53Ozark, AL Estimated11+37.5%
54Valley, AL Estimated9+350%
55Boaz, AL Estimated8+33.3%
55Jasper, AL Estimated8-38.5%
57Sylacauga, AL Estimated4+100%
58Eufaula, AL Estimated3-70%
59Albertville, AL Estimated2n/a
59Anniston, AL Estimated20%
61Center Point, AL Estimated1n/a
61Hueytown, AL Estimated1n/a
61Selma, AL Estimated1-66.7%
64Gadsden, AL Estimated0-100%
64Prichard, AL Estimated0-100%
64Talladega, 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/so2016a.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. (2017). 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, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2016a.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, 2016. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2017, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2016a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2017. 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, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2016a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2016.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2017) 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, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2016a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_alabama_by_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  year = {2017},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2016a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2016. 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/so2016a.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, 2016
PY  - 2017
DA  - 2017/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2016a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2016.
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/so2016a.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 1,763 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Talladega, AL, with 0 in 2016.

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