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 2017, at 1,524. Valley, AL had the lowest, at 0. The median was 62 and the figure for Alabama was 14,799. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,524Huntsville, AL
Lowest0Valley, AL
Median6266 cities
Alabama14,799History

Top 40 cities, 2017

Huntsville, AL: 1,524 countHuntsville, AL1,524Auburn, AL: 963 countAuburn, AL963Tuscaloosa, AL: 917 countTuscaloosa, AL917Florence, AL: 594 countFlorence, AL594Madison, AL: 558 countMadison, AL558Fairhope, AL: 530 countFairhope, AL530Mobile, AL: 366 countMobile, AL366Hoover, AL: 284 countHoover, AL284Foley, AL: 272 countFoley, AL272Montgomery, AL: 260 countMontgomery, AL260Gulf Shores, AL: 255 countGulf Shores, AL255Pike Road, AL: 218 countPike Road, AL218Opelika, AL: 212 countOpelika, AL212Trussville, AL: 212 countTrussville, AL212Daphne, AL: 210 countDaphne, AL210Chelsea, AL: 204 countChelsea, AL204Helena, AL: 200 countHelena, AL200Calera, AL: 189 countCalera, AL189Prattville, AL: 188 countPrattville, AL188Dothan, AL: 186 countDothan, AL186Athens, AL: 159 countAthens, AL159Northport, AL: 153 countNorthport, AL153Spanish Fort, AL: 141 countSpanish Fort, AL141Phenix City, AL: 136 countPhenix City, AL136Muscle Shoals, AL: 126 countMuscle Shoals, AL126Pelham, AL: 117 countPelham, AL117Vestavia Hills, AL: 112 countVestavia Hills, AL112Birmingham, AL: 103 countBirmingham, AL103Alabaster, AL: 92 countAlabaster, AL92Cullman, AL: 87 countCullman, AL87Enterprise, AL: 80 countEnterprise, AL80Gardendale, AL: 77 countGardendale, AL77Irondale, AL: 63 countIrondale, AL63Troy, AL: 61 countTroy, AL61Millbrook, AL: 55 countMillbrook, AL55Oxford, AL: 48 countOxford, AL48Decatur, AL: 47 countDecatur, AL47Pell City, AL: 47 countPell City, AL47Saraland, AL: 47 countSaraland, AL47Bessemer, AL: 41 countBessemer, AL41Huntsville, AL: 1,524 countHuntsville, AL1,524Auburn, AL: 963 countAuburn, AL963Tuscaloosa, AL: 917 countTuscaloosa, AL917Florence, AL: 594 countFlorence, AL594Madison, AL: 558 countMadison, AL558Fairhope, AL: 530 countFairhope, AL530Mobile, AL: 366 countMobile, AL366Hoover, AL: 284 countHoover, AL284Foley, AL: 272 countFoley, AL272Montgomery, AL: 260 countMontgomery, AL260Gulf Shores, AL: 255 countGulf Shores, AL255Pike Road, AL: 218 countPike Road, AL218Opelika, AL: 212 countOpelika, AL212Trussville, AL: 212 countTrussville, AL212Daphne, AL: 210 countDaphne, AL210Chelsea, AL: 204 countChelsea, AL204Helena, AL: 200 countHelena, AL200Calera, AL: 189 countCalera, AL189Prattville, AL: 188 countPrattville, AL188Dothan, AL: 186 countDothan, AL186Athens, AL: 159 countAthens, AL159Northport, AL: 153 countNorthport, AL153Spanish Fort, AL: 141 countSpanish Fort, AL141Phenix City, AL: 136 countPhenix City, AL136Muscle Shoals, AL: 126 countMuscle Shoals, AL126Pelham, AL: 117 countPelham, AL117Vestavia Hills, AL: 112 countVestavia Hills, AL112Birmingham, AL: 103 countBirmingham, AL103Alabaster, AL: 92 countAlabaster, AL92Cullman, AL: 87 countCullman, AL87Enterprise, AL: 80 countEnterprise, AL80Gardendale, AL: 77 countGardendale, AL77Irondale, AL: 63 countIrondale, AL63Troy, AL: 61 countTroy, AL61Millbrook, AL: 55 countMillbrook, AL55Oxford, AL: 48 countOxford, AL48Decatur, AL: 47 countDecatur, AL47Pell City, AL: 47 countPell City, AL47Saraland, AL: 47 countSaraland, AL47Bessemer, AL: 41 countBessemer, AL41
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2017
count		Change on 2016
1Huntsville, AL Estimated1,524-13.6%
2Auburn, AL Estimated963+82.7%
3Tuscaloosa, AL Estimated917-25.5%
4Florence, AL Estimated594+285.7%
5Madison, AL Estimated558+13.9%
6Fairhope, AL Estimated530+52.3%
7Mobile, AL Estimated366+23.6%
8Hoover, AL Estimated284-23.9%
9Foley, AL Estimated272+2.6%
10Montgomery, AL Estimated260-16.4%
11Gulf Shores, AL Estimated255-22.5%
12Pike Road, AL Estimated218+4.3%
13Opelika, AL Estimated212+12.8%
13Trussville, AL Estimated212+26.2%
15Daphne, AL Estimated210+4%
16Chelsea, AL Estimated2040%
17Helena, AL Estimated200+10.5%
18Calera, AL Estimated189+10.5%
19Prattville, AL Estimated188+11.2%
20Dothan, AL Estimated186-11.4%
21Athens, AL Estimated159+43.2%
22Northport, AL Estimated153-4.4%
23Spanish Fort, AL Estimated141-24.2%
24Phenix City, AL Estimated136+130.5%
25Muscle Shoals, AL Estimated126+9.6%
26Pelham, AL Estimated117-15.2%
27Vestavia Hills, AL Estimated112+7.7%
28Birmingham, AL Estimated103-83%
29Alabaster, AL Estimated92-30.3%
30Cullman, AL Estimated87+10.1%
31Enterprise, AL Estimated80+31.1%
32Gardendale, AL Estimated77+22.2%
33Irondale, AL Estimated630%
34Troy, AL Estimated61+84.8%
35Millbrook, AL Estimated55+10%
36Oxford, AL Estimated480%
37Decatur, AL Estimated47-29.9%
37Pell City, AL Estimated47+46.9%
37Saraland, AL Estimated47-84.5%
40Bessemer, AL Estimated41-26.8%
41Homewood, AL Estimated40-9.1%
42Hartselle, AL Estimated38-5%
43Clay, AL Estimated32+166.7%
44Leeds, AL Estimated29-57.4%
44Rainbow City, AL Estimated29+70.6%
46Moody, AL Estimated28-63.6%
46Mountain Brook, AL Estimated28-24.3%
48Albertville, AL Estimated23+1,050%
49Russellville, AL Estimated15+7.1%
50Alexander City, AL Estimated14+16.7%
50Fort Payne, AL Estimated14+7.7%
50Scottsboro, AL Estimated14-53.3%
53Gadsden, AL Estimated12n/a
54Jasper, AL Estimated9+12.5%
54Ozark, AL Estimated9-18.2%
56Boaz, AL Estimated80%
56Jacksonville, AL Estimated8-50%
58Sylacauga, AL Estimated40%
59Eufaula, AL Estimated30%
60Anniston, AL Estimated20%
60Hueytown, AL Estimated2+100%
60Prichard, AL Estimated2n/a
60Talladega, AL Estimated2n/a
64Center Point, AL Estimated10%
64Selma, AL Estimated10%
66Valley, 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/so2017a.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. (2018). 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, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2017a.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, 2017. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2018, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2017a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2018. 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, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2017a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2018) 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, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2017a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_alabama_by_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  year = {2018},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2017a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2017. 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/so2017a.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, 2017
PY  - 2018
DA  - 2018/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2017a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2017.
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/so2017a.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 1,524 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Valley, AL, with 0 in 2017.

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