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

Cities in Alabama by housing units authorized by building permits

Madison, AL had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 66 cities in 2024, at 1,559. Sylacauga, AL had the lowest, at 0. The median was 92 and the figure for Alabama was 20,725. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,559Madison, AL
Lowest0Sylacauga, AL
Median9266 cities
Alabama20,725History

Top 40 cities, 2024

Madison, AL: 1,559 countMadison, AL1,559Huntsville, AL: 1,485 countHuntsville, AL1,485Foley, AL: 1,189 countFoley, AL1,189Auburn, AL: 1,024 countAuburn, AL1,024Birmingham, AL: 676 countBirmingham, AL676Mobile, AL: 674 countMobile, AL674Opelika, AL: 543 countOpelika, AL543Athens, AL: 492 countAthens, AL492Tuscaloosa, AL: 433 countTuscaloosa, AL433Hoover, AL: 425 countHoover, AL425Daphne, AL: 342 countDaphne, AL342Dothan, AL: 271 countDothan, AL271Montgomery, AL: 251 countMontgomery, AL251Prattville, AL: 221 countPrattville, AL221Pike Road, AL: 200 countPike Road, AL200Calera, AL: 182 countCalera, AL182Chelsea, AL: 163 countChelsea, AL163Fairhope, AL: 162 countFairhope, AL162Cullman, AL: 158 countCullman, AL158Gulf Shores, AL: 148 countGulf Shores, AL148Enterprise, AL: 140 countEnterprise, AL140Northport, AL: 139 countNorthport, AL139Pell City, AL: 134 countPell City, AL134Saraland, AL: 132 countSaraland, AL132Florence, AL: 131 countFlorence, AL131Decatur, AL: 126 countDecatur, AL126Prichard, AL: 125 countPrichard, AL125Leeds, AL: 113 countLeeds, AL113Pelham, AL: 113 countPelham, AL113Trussville, AL: 112 countTrussville, AL112Alabaster, AL: 107 countAlabaster, AL107Vestavia Hills, AL: 102 countVestavia Hills, AL102Oxford, AL: 98 countOxford, AL98Spanish Fort, AL: 85 countSpanish Fort, AL85Alexander City, AL: 76 countAlexander City, AL76Phenix City, AL: 75 countPhenix City, AL75Homewood, AL: 73 countHomewood, AL73Millbrook, AL: 69 countMillbrook, AL69Albertville, AL: 60 countAlbertville, AL60Hartselle, AL: 60 countHartselle, AL60Madison, AL: 1,559 countMadison, AL1,559Huntsville, AL: 1,485 countHuntsville, AL1,485Foley, AL: 1,189 countFoley, AL1,189Auburn, AL: 1,024 countAuburn, AL1,024Birmingham, AL: 676 countBirmingham, AL676Mobile, AL: 674 countMobile, AL674Opelika, AL: 543 countOpelika, AL543Athens, AL: 492 countAthens, AL492Tuscaloosa, AL: 433 countTuscaloosa, AL433Hoover, AL: 425 countHoover, AL425Daphne, AL: 342 countDaphne, AL342Dothan, AL: 271 countDothan, AL271Montgomery, AL: 251 countMontgomery, AL251Prattville, AL: 221 countPrattville, AL221Pike Road, AL: 200 countPike Road, AL200Calera, AL: 182 countCalera, AL182Chelsea, AL: 163 countChelsea, AL163Fairhope, AL: 162 countFairhope, AL162Cullman, AL: 158 countCullman, AL158Gulf Shores, AL: 148 countGulf Shores, AL148Enterprise, AL: 140 countEnterprise, AL140Northport, AL: 139 countNorthport, AL139Pell City, AL: 134 countPell City, AL134Saraland, AL: 132 countSaraland, AL132Florence, AL: 131 countFlorence, AL131Decatur, AL: 126 countDecatur, AL126Prichard, AL: 125 countPrichard, AL125Leeds, AL: 113 countLeeds, AL113Pelham, AL: 113 countPelham, AL113Trussville, AL: 112 countTrussville, AL112Alabaster, AL: 107 countAlabaster, AL107Vestavia Hills, AL: 102 countVestavia Hills, AL102Oxford, AL: 98 countOxford, AL98Spanish Fort, AL: 85 countSpanish Fort, AL85Alexander City, AL: 76 countAlexander City, AL76Phenix City, AL: 75 countPhenix City, AL75Homewood, AL: 73 countHomewood, AL73Millbrook, AL: 69 countMillbrook, AL69Albertville, AL: 60 countAlbertville, AL60Hartselle, AL: 60 countHartselle, AL60
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2024
count		Change on 2023
1Madison, AL Estimated1,559+30.1%
2Huntsville, AL Estimated1,485-42.9%
3Foley, AL Estimated1,189-24%
4Auburn, AL Estimated1,024+86.5%
5Birmingham, AL Estimated676+54%
6Mobile, AL Estimated674+306%
7Opelika, AL Estimated543-8.1%
8Athens, AL Estimated492+1%
9Tuscaloosa, AL Estimated433-5.3%
10Hoover, AL Estimated425+24.3%
11Daphne, AL Estimated342+47.4%
12Dothan, AL Estimated271+19.4%
13Montgomery, AL Estimated251-24.2%
14Prattville, AL Estimated221-15%
15Pike Road, AL Estimated200+29%
16Calera, AL Estimated182+54.2%
17Chelsea, AL Estimated163-7.9%
18Fairhope, AL Estimated162-69.8%
19Cullman, AL Estimated158-12.7%
20Gulf Shores, AL Estimated148-70.4%
21Enterprise, AL Estimated140+10.2%
22Northport, AL Estimated139-4.1%
23Pell City, AL Estimated134+41.1%
24Saraland, AL Estimated132+266.7%
25Florence, AL Estimated131+39.4%
26Decatur, AL Estimated126-24.1%
27Prichard, AL Estimated125+733.3%
28Leeds, AL Estimated113+48.7%
28Pelham, AL Estimated113+4.6%
30Trussville, AL Estimated112-26.8%
31Alabaster, AL Estimated107-3.6%
32Vestavia Hills, AL Estimated102-5.6%
33Oxford, AL Estimated98+237.9%
34Spanish Fort, AL Estimated85-19.8%
35Alexander City, AL Estimated76+40.7%
36Phenix City, AL Estimated75-29.2%
37Homewood, AL Estimated73+170.4%
38Millbrook, AL Estimated69+46.8%
39Albertville, AL Estimated60+30.4%
39Hartselle, AL Estimated60-34.8%
39Muscle Shoals, AL Estimated60+17.6%
42Scottsboro, AL Estimated45+7.1%
43Helena, AL Estimated43+87%
44Gadsden, AL Estimated42+55.6%
44Troy, AL Estimated42-23.6%
46Bessemer, AL Estimated37-63.7%
47Jasper, AL Estimated36-40%
48Eufaula, AL Estimated34-46.9%
48Valley, AL Estimated34+54.5%
50Fort Payne, AL Estimated22-15.4%
51Boaz, AL Estimated21+23.5%
51Jacksonville, AL Estimated21+5%
53Hueytown, AL Estimated18+200%
54Rainbow City, AL Estimated17+41.7%
55Ozark, AL Estimated16-23.8%
56Gardendale, AL Estimated14+100%
57Talladega, AL Estimated12+200%
58Anniston, AL Estimated110%
58Moody, AL Estimated11-26.7%
58Mountain Brook, AL Estimated11-54.2%
58Russellville, AL Estimated110%
62Clay, AL Estimated8-60%
63Irondale, AL Estimated7-85.7%
64Center Point, AL Estimated6n/a
65Selma, AL Estimated0n/a
65Sylacauga, 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/so2024a.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. (2025). 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, 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2024a.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, 2024. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2025, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2024a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2024. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. 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, 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2024a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2024.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) 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, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2024a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_alabama_by_2024,
  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, 2024}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2024a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2024. 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/so2024a.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, 2024
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2024a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/alabama-cities?period=2024.
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/so2024a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

Madison, AL, with 1,559 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Sylacauga, AL, with 0 in 2024.

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