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 2023, at 2,600. Sylacauga, AL had the lowest, at 0. The median was 84 and the figure for Alabama was 20,337. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest2,600Huntsville, AL
Lowest0Sylacauga, AL
Median8466 cities
Alabama20,337History

Top 40 cities, 2023

Huntsville, AL: 2,600 countHuntsville, AL2,600Foley, AL: 1,565 countFoley, AL1,565Madison, AL: 1,198 countMadison, AL1,198Opelika, AL: 591 countOpelika, AL591Auburn, AL: 549 countAuburn, AL549Fairhope, AL: 536 countFairhope, AL536Gulf Shores, AL: 500 countGulf Shores, AL500Athens, AL: 487 countAthens, AL487Tuscaloosa, AL: 457 countTuscaloosa, AL457Birmingham, AL: 439 countBirmingham, AL439Hoover, AL: 342 countHoover, AL342Montgomery, AL: 331 countMontgomery, AL331Prattville, AL: 260 countPrattville, AL260Daphne, AL: 232 countDaphne, AL232Dothan, AL: 227 countDothan, AL227Cullman, AL: 181 countCullman, AL181Chelsea, AL: 177 countChelsea, AL177Decatur, AL: 166 countDecatur, AL166Mobile, AL: 166 countMobile, AL166Pike Road, AL: 155 countPike Road, AL155Trussville, AL: 153 countTrussville, AL153Northport, AL: 145 countNorthport, AL145Enterprise, AL: 127 countEnterprise, AL127Calera, AL: 118 countCalera, AL118Alabaster, AL: 111 countAlabaster, AL111Pelham, AL: 108 countPelham, AL108Vestavia Hills, AL: 108 countVestavia Hills, AL108Phenix City, AL: 106 countPhenix City, AL106Spanish Fort, AL: 106 countSpanish Fort, AL106Bessemer, AL: 102 countBessemer, AL102Pell City, AL: 95 countPell City, AL95Florence, AL: 94 countFlorence, AL94Hartselle, AL: 92 countHartselle, AL92Leeds, AL: 76 countLeeds, AL76Eufaula, AL: 64 countEufaula, AL64Jasper, AL: 60 countJasper, AL60Troy, AL: 55 countTroy, AL55Alexander City, AL: 54 countAlexander City, AL54Muscle Shoals, AL: 51 countMuscle Shoals, AL51Irondale, AL: 49 countIrondale, AL49Huntsville, AL: 2,600 countHuntsville, AL2,600Foley, AL: 1,565 countFoley, AL1,565Madison, AL: 1,198 countMadison, AL1,198Opelika, AL: 591 countOpelika, AL591Auburn, AL: 549 countAuburn, AL549Fairhope, AL: 536 countFairhope, AL536Gulf Shores, AL: 500 countGulf Shores, AL500Athens, AL: 487 countAthens, AL487Tuscaloosa, AL: 457 countTuscaloosa, AL457Birmingham, AL: 439 countBirmingham, AL439Hoover, AL: 342 countHoover, AL342Montgomery, AL: 331 countMontgomery, AL331Prattville, AL: 260 countPrattville, AL260Daphne, AL: 232 countDaphne, AL232Dothan, AL: 227 countDothan, AL227Cullman, AL: 181 countCullman, AL181Chelsea, AL: 177 countChelsea, AL177Decatur, AL: 166 countDecatur, AL166Mobile, AL: 166 countMobile, AL166Pike Road, AL: 155 countPike Road, AL155Trussville, AL: 153 countTrussville, AL153Northport, AL: 145 countNorthport, AL145Enterprise, AL: 127 countEnterprise, AL127Calera, AL: 118 countCalera, AL118Alabaster, AL: 111 countAlabaster, AL111Pelham, AL: 108 countPelham, AL108Vestavia Hills, AL: 108 countVestavia Hills, AL108Phenix City, AL: 106 countPhenix City, AL106Spanish Fort, AL: 106 countSpanish Fort, AL106Bessemer, AL: 102 countBessemer, AL102Pell City, AL: 95 countPell City, AL95Florence, AL: 94 countFlorence, AL94Hartselle, AL: 92 countHartselle, AL92Leeds, AL: 76 countLeeds, AL76Eufaula, AL: 64 countEufaula, AL64Jasper, AL: 60 countJasper, AL60Troy, AL: 55 countTroy, AL55Alexander City, AL: 54 countAlexander City, AL54Muscle Shoals, AL: 51 countMuscle Shoals, AL51Irondale, AL: 49 countIrondale, AL49
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2023
count		Change on 2022
1Huntsville, AL Estimated2,600+130.1%
2Foley, AL Estimated1,565+170.3%
3Madison, AL Estimated1,198+308.9%
4Opelika, AL Estimated591+5.2%
5Auburn, AL Estimated549-59.6%
6Fairhope, AL Estimated536+3.3%
7Gulf Shores, AL Estimated500-2.5%
8Athens, AL Estimated487-42.3%
9Tuscaloosa, AL Estimated457-27.2%
10Birmingham, AL Estimated439-63.7%
11Hoover, AL Estimated342+8.9%
12Montgomery, AL Estimated331+20.4%
13Prattville, AL Estimated260+23.8%
14Daphne, AL Estimated232-20.5%
15Dothan, AL Estimated227+1.3%
16Cullman, AL Estimated181-34.7%
17Chelsea, AL Estimated177-9.7%
18Decatur, AL Estimated166+11.4%
18Mobile, AL Estimated166+97.6%
20Pike Road, AL Estimated155-25.5%
21Trussville, AL Estimated153-24.6%
22Northport, AL Estimated145-23.7%
23Enterprise, AL Estimated127-19.1%
24Calera, AL Estimated118-5.6%
25Alabaster, AL Estimated111+65.7%
26Pelham, AL Estimated108-21.7%
26Vestavia Hills, AL Estimated108+63.6%
28Phenix City, AL Estimated106-59.5%
28Spanish Fort, AL Estimated106-7.8%
30Bessemer, AL Estimated102+436.8%
31Pell City, AL Estimated95-34%
32Florence, AL Estimated94-38.2%
33Hartselle, AL Estimated92-6.1%
34Leeds, AL Estimated76-7.3%
35Eufaula, AL Estimated64+220%
36Jasper, AL Estimated60+13.2%
37Troy, AL Estimated55-5.2%
38Alexander City, AL Estimated54+63.6%
39Muscle Shoals, AL Estimated51-27.1%
40Irondale, AL Estimated49-68.6%
41Millbrook, AL Estimated47-27.7%
42Albertville, AL Estimated46-16.4%
43Scottsboro, AL Estimated42-8.7%
44Saraland, AL Estimated36-7.7%
45Oxford, AL Estimated29+11.5%
46Gadsden, AL Estimated27+42.1%
46Homewood, AL Estimated27+3.8%
48Fort Payne, AL Estimated26+44.4%
49Mountain Brook, AL Estimated24-7.7%
50Helena, AL Estimated23-71.6%
51Valley, AL Estimated22+46.7%
52Ozark, AL Estimated21+50%
53Clay, AL Estimated20+25%
53Jacksonville, AL Estimated20-33.3%
55Boaz, AL Estimated17+54.5%
56Moody, AL Estimated15+15.4%
56Prichard, AL Estimated15n/a
58Rainbow City, AL Estimated12-63.6%
59Anniston, AL Estimated11+120%
59Russellville, AL Estimated11-15.4%
61Gardendale, AL Estimated7-69.6%
62Hueytown, AL Estimated6-40%
63Talladega, AL Estimated4-42.9%
64Center Point, AL Estimated0-100%
64Selma, AL Estimated0n/a
64Sylacauga, 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/so2023a.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. (2024). 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, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.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, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 24 Apr. 2024, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2023. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2024. 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, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2023.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2024) 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, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_alabama_by_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  year = {2024},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2023. 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/so2023a.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, 2023
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/04/24
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2023.
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/so2023a.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 2,600 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Sylacauga, AL, with 0 in 2023.

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