Cities in Arizona by housing units authorized by building permits

Phoenix, AZ had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 44 cities in 2018, at 7,262. Nogales, AZ had the lowest, at 2. The median was 284 and the figure for Arizona was 41,664. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest7,262Phoenix, AZ

Lowest2Nogales, AZ

Median28444 cities

Arizona41,664History

All cities, 2018

count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2018 count	Change on 2017
1	Phoenix, AZ Estimated	7,262	+6.3%
2	Mesa, AZ Estimated	2,919	-3.2%
3	Buckeye, AZ Estimated	2,194	-0%
4	Gilbert, AZ Estimated	1,789	+4.7%
5	Tempe, AZ Estimated	1,760	+148.6%
6	Tucson, AZ Estimated	1,540	-24.8%
7	Peoria, AZ Estimated	1,428	-40.3%
8	Surprise, AZ Estimated	1,415	+48.8%
9	Goodyear, AZ Estimated	1,332	-7.1%
10	Chandler, AZ Estimated	1,331	-40.3%
11	Queen Creek, AZ Estimated	1,296	+20.4%
12	Scottsdale, AZ Estimated	1,179	+86.6%
13	Marana, AZ Estimated	1,108	+40.6%
14	Maricopa, AZ Estimated	988	+17.1%
15	Prescott, AZ Estimated	692	+106.6%
16	Prescott Valley, AZ Estimated	540	-42.4%
17	Yuma, AZ Estimated	487	-20.7%
18	Lake Havasu City, AZ Estimated	425	+24.6%
19	Flagstaff, AZ Estimated	375	-24.8%
20	Sahuarita, AZ Estimated	366	+27.5%
21	Oro Valley, AZ Estimated	331	-1.2%
22	San Luis, AZ Estimated	294	+18.5%
23	Kingman, AZ Estimated	274	-4.2%
24	Casa Grande, AZ Estimated	252	+121.1%
25	Florence, AZ Estimated	233	+6.9%
26	Avondale, AZ Estimated	232	-7.9%
27	Glendale, AZ Estimated	191	-70.3%
28	Chino Valley, AZ Estimated	186	+33.8%
29	Apache Junction, AZ Estimated	163	+288.1%
30	Bullhead City, AZ Estimated	161	+12.6%
31	Eloy, AZ Estimated	135	+15.4%
32	Paradise Valley, AZ Estimated	124	+44.2%
33	Show Low, AZ Estimated	118	+4.4%
34	Payson, AZ Estimated	94	+6.8%
35	Fountain Hills, AZ Estimated	86	+4.9%
36	Cottonwood, AZ Estimated	72	+44%
37	Sierra Vista, AZ Estimated	68	+7.9%
38	Coolidge, AZ Estimated	48	+336.4%
39	Somerton, AZ Estimated	42	-63.2%
40	Safford, AZ Estimated	30	+57.9%
41	Camp Verde, AZ Estimated	20	+25%
42	Douglas, AZ Estimated	17	+41.7%
43	El Mirage, AZ Estimated	4	-55.6%
44	Nogales, AZ Estimated	2	0%

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/West%20Region/we2018a.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. (2019). Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation (Cities in Arizona by housing units authorized by building permits, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2018a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Arizona by housing units authorized by building permits, 2018. U.S. Census Bureau, 20 June 2019, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2018a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/arizona-cities?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2019. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Cities in Arizona by housing units authorized by building permits, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2018a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/arizona-cities?period=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2019) Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Arizona by housing units authorized by building permits, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2018a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/arizona-cities?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_arizona_by_2018,
  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 Arizona by housing units authorized by building permits, 2018}},
  year = {2019},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2018a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/arizona-cities?period=2018. 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/West\%20Region/we2018a.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 Arizona by housing units authorized by building permits, 2018
PY  - 2019
DA  - 2019/06/20
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2018a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/arizona-cities?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/arizona-cities?period=2018.
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/West%20Region/we2018a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

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

Phoenix, AZ, with 7,262 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Nogales, AZ, with 2 in 2018.

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.