Cities in California by housing units authorized by building permits

Los Angeles, CA had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 369 cities in 2024, at 10,488. Susanville, CA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 76 and the figure for California was 101,545. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest10,488Los Angeles, CA

Lowest0Susanville, CA

Median76369 cities

California101,545History

Top 40 cities, 2024

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2024 count	Change on 2023
1	Los Angeles, CA Estimated	10,488	-20.3%
2	San Diego, CA Estimated	6,615	+14.7%
3	Irvine, CA Estimated	3,730	+262.5%
4	Sacramento, CA Estimated	2,043	-18.8%
5	San Jose, CA Estimated	1,998	-24.6%
6	Roseville, CA Estimated	1,905	-3.1%
7	Bakersfield, CA Estimated	1,853	+26%
8	Fontana, CA Estimated	1,358	-29.6%
9	Rancho Cordova, CA Estimated	1,312	+83.8%
10	Manteca, CA Estimated	1,294	+126.6%
11	Chula Vista, CA Estimated	1,223	+45.1%
12	Elk Grove, CA Estimated	1,217	+5.9%
13	Fresno, CA Estimated	1,124	-37.6%
14	Riverside, CA Estimated	1,019	+7.6%
15	Menifee, CA Estimated	983	-1.7%
16	Folsom, CA Estimated	925	-38.6%
17	Lancaster, CA Estimated	897	+30.2%
18	Montclair, CA Estimated	819	+9,000%
19	San Francisco, CA Estimated	770	-32.2%
20	El Cerrito, CA Estimated	768	+1,686%
21	Lathrop, CA Estimated	725	+28.1%
22	Clovis, CA Estimated	664	-5.3%
23	Anaheim, CA Estimated	654	-23.1%
24	Tracy, CA Estimated	652	+369.1%
25	Ontario, CA Estimated	639	-77.1%
26	Chino, CA Estimated	601	+159.1%
26	Lincoln, CA Estimated	601	-4.1%
28	Oxnard, CA Estimated	579	+22.7%
29	Visalia, CA Estimated	575	+70.6%
30	Moreno Valley, CA Estimated	544	-48.9%
31	Lake Elsinore, CA Estimated	535	+192.3%
32	Stockton, CA Estimated	527	+7.3%
33	Camarillo, CA Estimated	485	+657.8%
34	Dixon, CA Estimated	483	+70.7%
35	Long Beach, CA Estimated	477	-24.9%
36	Paradise, CA Estimated	461	+23.3%
36	Victorville, CA Estimated	461	-9.4%
38	Arcadia, CA Estimated	456	+169.8%
39	Vacaville, CA Estimated	449	-0.9%
40	Santa Ana, CA Estimated	440	-71.2%
41	Shafter, CA Estimated	433	+143.3%
42	Huntington Beach, CA Estimated	423	-28.4%
43	Hanford, CA Estimated	422	-13.3%
44	Santa Monica, CA Estimated	418	-36.5%
45	Hemet, CA Estimated	410	+180.8%
46	West Sacramento, CA Estimated	407	+160.9%
47	Oakland, CA Estimated	402	-16.1%
48	Encinitas, CA Estimated	400	+104.1%
49	Escondido, CA Estimated	395	-33.4%
50	Tulare, CA Estimated	392	-16.9%
51	Temecula, CA Estimated	380	-70.6%
52	Perris, CA Estimated	379	-4.5%
53	Wildomar, CA Estimated	374	-37.7%
54	Inglewood, CA Estimated	363	+44%
55	Rancho Cucamonga, CA Estimated	329	-6.3%
56	Beaumont, CA Estimated	328	-44.5%
57	Hesperia, CA Estimated	320	+82.9%
58	Antioch, CA Estimated	319	-12.8%
59	Oceanside, CA Estimated	317	-8.1%
60	San Marcos, CA Estimated	316	-58.7%
61	Merced, CA Estimated	309	+28.2%
62	Berkeley, CA Estimated	307	-29.1%
63	Jurupa Valley, CA Estimated	299	+12%
64	El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles), CA Estimated	296	+51.8%
65	Santa Rosa, CA Estimated	292	-78.3%
66	Carlsbad, CA Estimated	289	-50.9%
67	Fairfield, CA Estimated	286	-43.9%
68	Pomona, CA Estimated	284	-42.6%
69	Corona, CA Estimated	282	+102.9%
70	Lemoore, CA Estimated	280	+110.5%
71	Glendale, CA Estimated	271	+9.7%
72	Santa Clarita, CA Estimated	269	-72.2%
73	Riverbank, CA Estimated	265	+79.1%
74	Lodi, CA Estimated	262	+144.9%
75	American Canyon, CA Estimated	257	+221.3%
76	Millbrae, CA Estimated	255	+3,542.9%
77	Rocklin, CA Estimated	252	+16.1%
78	Indio, CA Estimated	251	-25.7%
79	Redlands, CA Estimated	248	+31.2%
80	Los Altos, CA Estimated	246	+623.5%
81	Rohnert Park, CA Estimated	245	+5.6%
82	Orange, CA Estimated	232	+321.8%
83	Chico, CA Estimated	231	+7.4%
84	Moorpark, CA Estimated	225	+1,775%
85	Palo Alto, CA Estimated	220	+28.7%
85	Vista, CA Estimated	220	+6.8%
87	Rosemead, CA Estimated	218	+10.7%
88	Mountain View, CA Estimated	214	-44.3%
89	San Jacinto, CA Estimated	213	+23.1%
90	Eastvale, CA Estimated	209	+2,222.2%
90	Sunnyvale, CA Estimated	209	-62.5%
92	San Luis Obispo, CA Estimated	208	-41.1%
93	South Gate, CA Estimated	202	+6.3%
94	Santee, CA Estimated	199	+192.6%
95	Morgan Hill, CA Estimated	190	+68.1%
96	Santa Maria, CA Estimated	188	+13.3%
97	La Mesa, CA Estimated	184	+53.3%
98	Walnut, CA Estimated	181	+302.2%
99	Hayward, CA Estimated	174	+2.4%
100	Modesto, CA Estimated	173	-36.6%
101	Temple City, CA Estimated	172	+84.9%
102	Newport Beach, CA Estimated	166	+5.7%
102	Reedley, CA Estimated	166	-10.8%
104	Galt, CA Estimated	164	-11.4%
105	Richmond, CA Estimated	163	+26.4%
106	Newark, CA Estimated	159	+127.1%
107	Monterey Park, CA Estimated	158	+378.8%
108	Highland, CA Estimated	155	+203.9%
109	Gilroy, CA Estimated	153	+15%
110	Porterville, CA Estimated	151	+86.4%
111	Pasadena, CA Estimated	149	+161.4%
112	Grover Beach, CA Estimated	145	+935.7%
113	Turlock, CA Estimated	144	+9.1%
114	Downey, CA Estimated	140	-9.1%
114	Los Banos, CA Estimated	140	+48.9%
114	Salinas, CA Estimated	140	-9.1%
117	Santa Paula, CA Estimated	139	+52.7%
118	Madera, CA Estimated	138	-0.7%
119	Woodland, CA Estimated	136	-49.3%
120	Alhambra, CA Estimated	134	+4.7%
121	West Hollywood, CA Estimated	132	+725%
122	Fremont, CA Estimated	131	-80.8%
123	Baldwin Park, CA Estimated	130	+202.3%
123	Pleasanton, CA Estimated	130	-5.1%
125	Delano, CA Estimated	129	-27.5%
126	Marina, CA Estimated	123	-8.9%
126	Redding, CA Estimated	123	+30.9%
126	Rio Vista, CA Estimated	123	+64%
126	San Ramon, CA Estimated	123	+5.1%
130	Seaside, CA Estimated	120	+1,614.3%
131	El Cajon, CA Estimated	119	-11.9%
132	Desert Hot Springs, CA Estimated	118	+4.4%
132	Hollister, CA Estimated	118	-44.6%
134	Danville, CA Estimated	116	+17.2%
134	Lemon Grove, CA Estimated	116	+6.4%
134	Napa, CA Estimated	116	+3.6%
137	Murrieta, CA Estimated	114	-82.4%
137	Palm Springs, CA Estimated	114	-7.3%
139	Bellflower, CA Estimated	111	+70.8%
139	Davis, CA Estimated	111	-51.1%
139	Redondo Beach, CA Estimated	111	-14.6%
139	San Gabriel, CA Estimated	111	+85%
143	California City, CA Estimated	110	+89.7%
143	Sanger, CA Estimated	110	+3.8%
145	Atascadero, CA Estimated	109	-6.8%
145	Palm Desert, CA Estimated	109	-87.4%
147	Garden Grove, CA Estimated	108	-43.8%
147	Montebello, CA Estimated	108	-56.3%
149	Pico Rivera, CA Estimated	106	+21.8%
149	Saratoga, CA Estimated	106	+9.3%
151	Healdsburg, CA Estimated	105	+556.3%
152	El Monte, CA Estimated	103	+5.1%
153	Apple Valley, CA Estimated	102	+88.9%
153	West Covina, CA Estimated	102	+17.2%
155	Lynwood, CA Estimated	101	-10.6%
155	San Mateo, CA Estimated	101	+741.7%
157	Palmdale, CA Estimated	100	-73.4%
158	Buena Park, CA Estimated	97	+5.4%
158	Compton, CA Estimated	97	+6.6%
158	Manhattan Beach, CA Estimated	97	+14.1%
158	Santa Clara, CA Estimated	97	-89.2%
162	San Bruno, CA Estimated	96	-42.9%
163	Cupertino, CA Estimated	94	-21.7%
164	Oakley, CA Estimated	93	+2.2%
165	Yuba City, CA Estimated	92	+109.1%
166	Dublin, CA Estimated	91	-76.4%
166	Redwood City, CA Estimated	91	+71.7%
166	Torrance, CA Estimated	91	-41.7%
169	Burbank, CA Estimated	90	-69.5%
169	Cathedral City, CA Estimated	90	-9.1%
169	La Quinta, CA Estimated	90	-65.3%
169	Oakdale, CA Estimated	90	+32.4%
173	Concord, CA Estimated	89	-73.7%
174	Alameda, CA Estimated	88	-36.2%
174	Yucaipa, CA Estimated	88	-60.4%
176	Fullerton, CA Estimated	87	+278.3%
177	Whittier, CA Estimated	85	+51.8%
178	Culver City, CA Estimated	84	-41.3%
178	Menlo Park, CA Estimated	84	+42.4%
180	Covina, CA Estimated	82	n/a
181	Imperial Beach, CA Estimated	78	+32.2%
182	Milpitas, CA Estimated	77	-81.1%
183	Banning, CA Estimated	76	-74.1%
183	McFarland, CA Estimated	76	-22.4%
183	Monrovia, CA Estimated	76	-80.5%
186	Livermore, CA Estimated	74	+80.5%
186	Loma Linda, CA Estimated	74	+469.2%
186	Pittsburg, CA Estimated	74	-39.8%
186	Watsonville, CA Estimated	74	+7.2%
190	King City, CA Estimated	71	+24.6%
191	El Centro, CA Estimated	70	+3,400%
191	La Habra, CA Estimated	70	-19.5%
193	Brawley, CA Estimated	69	-14.8%
193	Placentia, CA Estimated	69	-16.9%
193	San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA Estimated	69	-52.7%
196	Lakewood, CA Estimated	66	+43.5%
196	Upland, CA Estimated	66	-30.5%
198	San Leandro, CA Estimated	65	+35.4%
199	Poway, CA Estimated	63	-49.2%
200	Vallejo, CA Estimated	62	+26.5%
201	Glendora, CA Estimated	61	-21.8%
202	Colton, CA Estimated	60	+50%
203	Artesia, CA Estimated	59	+63.9%
203	Calexico, CA Estimated	59	-48.2%
205	South San Francisco, CA Estimated	57	-39.4%
206	Kingsburg, CA Estimated	56	+47.4%
207	Campbell, CA Estimated	54	+1.9%
207	Paramount, CA Estimated	54	+145.5%
207	Santa Barbara, CA Estimated	54	-33.3%
207	Santa Cruz, CA Estimated	54	-82.6%
211	Thousand Oaks, CA Estimated	53	-22.1%
212	Laguna Beach, CA Estimated	51	-41.4%
212	Rancho Mirage, CA Estimated	51	-44%
212	South Pasadena, CA Estimated	51	+15.9%
215	Diamond Bar, CA Estimated	50	+16.3%
215	La Puente, CA Estimated	50	+127.3%
217	Patterson, CA Estimated	49	+14%
217	Tehachapi, CA Estimated	49	+58.1%
219	Ridgecrest, CA Estimated	48	+26.3%
220	Dinuba, CA Estimated	47	+4.4%
220	San Bernardino, CA Estimated	47	-76.8%
220	Windsor, CA Estimated	47	-76.8%
223	Eureka, CA Estimated	46	+142.1%
224	Coachella, CA Estimated	45	-52.6%
224	Lompoc, CA Estimated	45	+15.4%
226	San Clemente, CA Estimated	43	+43.3%
227	Beverly Hills, CA Estimated	42	-2.3%
227	Stanton, CA Estimated	42	-27.6%
229	El Segundo, CA Estimated	41	+5.1%
229	Tustin, CA Estimated	41	-70.3%
229	Union City, CA Estimated	41	+46.4%
232	Brentwood, CA Estimated	40	-66.4%
232	Selma, CA Estimated	40	+263.6%
232	Soledad, CA Estimated	40	+110.5%
235	La Cañada Flintridge, CA Estimated	39	+77.3%
235	Rialto, CA Estimated	39	+18.2%
235	Truckee, CA Estimated	39	-31.6%
238	Carpinteria, CA Estimated	37	+270%
238	Chino Hills, CA Estimated	37	+184.6%
238	La Verne, CA Estimated	37	-53.8%
238	Mission Viejo, CA Estimated	37	-47.1%
238	San Dimas, CA Estimated	37	+23.3%
243	Coronado, CA Estimated	36	+63.6%
243	Hillsborough, CA Estimated	36	-12.2%
243	South El Monte, CA Estimated	36	-57.1%
243	Yucca Valley, CA Estimated	36	-39%
247	Bell Gardens, CA Estimated	35	+118.8%
248	Adelanto, CA Estimated	34	-54.7%
248	Chowchilla, CA Estimated	34	+25.9%
248	Duarte, CA Estimated	34	+88.9%

Showing the top 250 of 369. The Excel download has every row.

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. 3 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2024 and are left out rather than filled from another source. 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/we2024a.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 California by housing units authorized by building permits, 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2024a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in California by housing units authorized by building permits, 2024. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2025, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2024a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/california-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 California by housing units authorized by building permits, 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2024a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/california-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 California by housing units authorized by building permits, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2024a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/california-cities?period=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_california_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 California by housing units authorized by building permits, 2024}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2024a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/california-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/West\%20Region/we2024a.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 California 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/West%20Region/we2024a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/california-cities?period=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/california-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/West%20Region/we2024a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank Cities in California by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

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

Los Angeles, CA, with 10,488 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Susanville, CA, 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. 3 cities have no value for 2024 and are not ranked.