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 2021, at 2,811. Gadsden, AL had the lowest, at 0. The median was 98 and the figure for Alabama was 22,100. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest2,811Huntsville, AL
Lowest0Gadsden, AL
Median9866 cities
Alabama22,100History

Top 40 cities, 2021

Huntsville, AL: 2,811 countHuntsville, AL2,811Tuscaloosa, AL: 1,126 countTuscaloosa, AL1,126Auburn, AL: 820 countAuburn, AL820Madison, AL: 801 countMadison, AL801Foley, AL: 765 countFoley, AL765Birmingham, AL: 637 countBirmingham, AL637Opelika, AL: 632 countOpelika, AL632Athens, AL: 624 countAthens, AL624Gulf Shores, AL: 471 countGulf Shores, AL471Daphne, AL: 443 countDaphne, AL443Hoover, AL: 385 countHoover, AL385Pike Road, AL: 305 countPike Road, AL305Fairhope, AL: 288 countFairhope, AL288Montgomery, AL: 282 countMontgomery, AL282Prattville, AL: 277 countPrattville, AL277Dothan, AL: 249 countDothan, AL249Calera, AL: 216 countCalera, AL216Trussville, AL: 204 countTrussville, AL204Chelsea, AL: 202 countChelsea, AL202Pell City, AL: 194 countPell City, AL194Cullman, AL: 192 countCullman, AL192Muscle Shoals, AL: 184 countMuscle Shoals, AL184Northport, AL: 175 countNorthport, AL175Enterprise, AL: 166 countEnterprise, AL166Helena, AL: 154 countHelena, AL154Pelham, AL: 130 countPelham, AL130Phenix City, AL: 118 countPhenix City, AL118Florence, AL: 114 countFlorence, AL114Leeds, AL: 110 countLeeds, AL110Decatur, AL: 109 countDecatur, AL109Spanish Fort, AL: 106 countSpanish Fort, AL106Mobile, AL: 99 countMobile, AL99Alexander City, AL: 98 countAlexander City, AL98Saraland, AL: 98 countSaraland, AL98Millbrook, AL: 95 countMillbrook, AL95Moody, AL: 86 countMoody, AL86Troy, AL: 81 countTroy, AL81Alabaster, AL: 80 countAlabaster, AL80Rainbow City, AL: 68 countRainbow City, AL68Hartselle, AL: 61 countHartselle, AL61Huntsville, AL: 2,811 countHuntsville, AL2,811Tuscaloosa, AL: 1,126 countTuscaloosa, AL1,126Auburn, AL: 820 countAuburn, AL820Madison, AL: 801 countMadison, AL801Foley, AL: 765 countFoley, AL765Birmingham, AL: 637 countBirmingham, AL637Opelika, AL: 632 countOpelika, AL632Athens, AL: 624 countAthens, AL624Gulf Shores, AL: 471 countGulf Shores, AL471Daphne, AL: 443 countDaphne, AL443Hoover, AL: 385 countHoover, AL385Pike Road, AL: 305 countPike Road, AL305Fairhope, AL: 288 countFairhope, AL288Montgomery, AL: 282 countMontgomery, AL282Prattville, AL: 277 countPrattville, AL277Dothan, AL: 249 countDothan, AL249Calera, AL: 216 countCalera, AL216Trussville, AL: 204 countTrussville, AL204Chelsea, AL: 202 countChelsea, AL202Pell City, AL: 194 countPell City, AL194Cullman, AL: 192 countCullman, AL192Muscle Shoals, AL: 184 countMuscle Shoals, AL184Northport, AL: 175 countNorthport, AL175Enterprise, AL: 166 countEnterprise, AL166Helena, AL: 154 countHelena, AL154Pelham, AL: 130 countPelham, AL130Phenix City, AL: 118 countPhenix City, AL118Florence, AL: 114 countFlorence, AL114Leeds, AL: 110 countLeeds, AL110Decatur, AL: 109 countDecatur, AL109Spanish Fort, AL: 106 countSpanish Fort, AL106Mobile, AL: 99 countMobile, AL99Alexander City, AL: 98 countAlexander City, AL98Saraland, AL: 98 countSaraland, AL98Millbrook, AL: 95 countMillbrook, AL95Moody, AL: 86 countMoody, AL86Troy, AL: 81 countTroy, AL81Alabaster, AL: 80 countAlabaster, AL80Rainbow City, AL: 68 countRainbow City, AL68Hartselle, AL: 61 countHartselle, AL61
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
count		Change on 2020
1Huntsville, AL Estimated2,811+57.1%
2Tuscaloosa, AL Estimated1,126+10%
3Auburn, AL Estimated820-46.1%
4Madison, AL Estimated801+82.9%
5Foley, AL Estimated765+1.9%
6Birmingham, AL Estimated637+206.3%
7Opelika, AL Estimated632+54.5%
8Athens, AL Estimated624+49.6%
9Gulf Shores, AL Estimated471-9.6%
10Daphne, AL Estimated443-14%
11Hoover, AL Estimated385-3.5%
12Pike Road, AL Estimated305+63.1%
13Fairhope, AL Estimated288-6.5%
14Montgomery, AL Estimated282-5.1%
15Prattville, AL Estimated277-16.6%
16Dothan, AL Estimated249+7.8%
17Calera, AL Estimated216-32.9%
18Trussville, AL Estimated204+8.5%
19Chelsea, AL Estimated202+3.1%
20Pell City, AL Estimated194+32.9%
21Cullman, AL Estimated192+51.2%
22Muscle Shoals, AL Estimated184+12.9%
23Northport, AL Estimated175+29.6%
24Enterprise, AL Estimated166-35.9%
25Helena, AL Estimated154-24.9%
26Pelham, AL Estimated130+4%
27Phenix City, AL Estimated118-15.1%
28Florence, AL Estimated114+81%
29Leeds, AL Estimated110+243.8%
30Decatur, AL Estimated109+9%
31Spanish Fort, AL Estimated106-24.3%
32Mobile, AL Estimated99-16.8%
33Alexander City, AL Estimated98+250%
33Saraland, AL Estimated98-16.9%
35Millbrook, AL Estimated950%
36Moody, AL Estimated86-19.6%
37Troy, AL Estimated81+26.6%
38Alabaster, AL Estimated80-47.4%
39Rainbow City, AL Estimated68+223.8%
40Hartselle, AL Estimated61+8.9%
41Clay, AL Estimated57+5.6%
42Scottsboro, AL Estimated39-13.3%
43Jasper, AL Estimated37-22.9%
44Vestavia Hills, AL Estimated34-69.6%
45Albertville, AL Estimated33-26.7%
46Irondale, AL Estimated32-66.3%
47Mountain Brook, AL Estimated31-16.2%
48Oxford, AL Estimated29-56.7%
49Gardendale, AL Estimated28-90%
50Fort Payne, AL Estimated26+18.2%
51Bessemer, AL Estimated24+118.2%
51Homewood, AL Estimated24-45.5%
51Hueytown, AL Estimated24+242.9%
54Jacksonville, AL Estimated23+21.1%
55Russellville, AL Estimated17+13.3%
56Ozark, AL Estimated14+7.7%
57Boaz, AL Estimated12-60%
57Eufaula, AL Estimated120%
59Center Point, AL Estimated9+350%
59Valley, AL Estimated9-52.6%
61Sylacauga, AL Estimated5+25%
62Talladega, AL Estimated4-50%
63Anniston, AL Estimated30%
64Prichard, AL Estimated1-66.7%
64Selma, AL Estimated10%
66Gadsden, 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/so2021a.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. (2022). 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, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2021a.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, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 27 Apr. 2022, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2021a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2022. 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, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2021a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2022) 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, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2021a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_alabama_by_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  year = {2022},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2021a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2021. 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/so2021a.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, 2021
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/04/27
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2021a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2021.
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/so2021a.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 2,811 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Gadsden, AL, with 0 in 2021.

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