Data / Rankings / Housing units authorized by building permits / Counties in Florida

Counties in Florida by housing units authorized by building permits

Lee County had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 67 counties in 2023, at 13,556. Okeechobee County had the lowest, at 9. The median was 1,556. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest13,556Lee County
Lowest9Okeechobee County
Median1,55667 counties

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Lee CountyLee County: 13,556 count13,556Miami-Dade CountyMiami-Dade County: 12,781 count12,781Hillsborough CountyHillsborough County: 12,716 count12,716Polk CountyPolk County: 12,513 count12,513Duval CountyDuval County: 9,811 count9,811Orange CountyOrange County: 8,690 count8,690Osceola CountyOsceola County: 8,255 count8,255Manatee CountyManatee County: 8,106 count8,106Sarasota CountySarasota County: 7,822 count7,822Pasco CountyPasco County: 7,667 count7,667Brevard CountyBrevard County: 6,537 count6,537St. Johns CountySt. Johns County: 6,451 count6,451Lake CountyLake County: 6,316 count6,316Palm Beach CountyPalm Beach County: 5,492 count5,492Marion CountyMarion County: 5,197 count5,197St. Lucie CountySt. Lucie County: 5,193 count5,193Volusia CountyVolusia County: 4,553 count4,553Charlotte CountyCharlotte County: 4,429 count4,429Collier CountyCollier County: 3,618 count3,618Sumter CountySumter County: 3,339 count3,339Broward CountyBroward County: 3,047 count3,047Pinellas CountyPinellas County: 2,973 count2,973Okaloosa CountyOkaloosa County: 2,802 count2,802Walton CountyWalton County: 2,794 count2,794Flagler CountyFlagler County: 2,529 count2,529Clay CountyClay County: 2,443 count2,443Bay CountyBay County: 2,322 count2,322Citrus CountyCitrus County: 2,202 count2,202Seminole CountySeminole County: 2,154 count2,154Hernando CountyHernando County: 2,030 count2,030Leon CountyLeon County: 1,990 count1,990Santa Rosa CountySanta Rosa County: 1,774 count1,774Indian River CountyIndian River County: 1,656 count1,656Alachua CountyAlachua County: 1,556 count1,556Nassau CountyNassau County: 1,547 count1,547Escambia CountyEscambia County: 1,049 count1,049Martin CountyMartin County: 944 count944Highlands CountyHighlands County: 712 count712Monroe CountyMonroe County: 652 count652Hendry CountyHendry County: 535 count535
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
count
1Lee County Estimated13,556
2Miami-Dade County Estimated12,781
3Hillsborough County Estimated12,716
4Polk County Estimated12,513
5Duval County Estimated9,811
6Orange County Estimated8,690
7Osceola County Estimated8,255
8Manatee County Estimated8,106
9Sarasota County Estimated7,822
10Pasco County Estimated7,667
11Brevard County Estimated6,537
12St. Johns County Estimated6,451
13Lake County Estimated6,316
14Palm Beach County Estimated5,492
15Marion County Estimated5,197
16St. Lucie County Estimated5,193
17Volusia County Estimated4,553
18Charlotte County Estimated4,429
19Collier County Estimated3,618
20Sumter County Estimated3,339
21Broward County Estimated3,047
22Pinellas County Estimated2,973
23Okaloosa County Estimated2,802
24Walton County Estimated2,794
25Flagler County Estimated2,529
26Clay County Estimated2,443
27Bay County Estimated2,322
28Citrus County Estimated2,202
29Seminole County Estimated2,154
30Hernando County Estimated2,030
31Leon County Estimated1,990
32Santa Rosa County Estimated1,774
33Indian River County Estimated1,656
34Alachua County Estimated1,556
35Nassau County Estimated1,547
36Escambia County Estimated1,049
37Martin County Estimated944
38Highlands County Estimated712
39Monroe County Estimated652
40Hendry County Estimated535
41Wakulla County Estimated534
42Gulf County Estimated278
43Levy County Estimated270
44Putnam County Estimated198
45Columbia County Estimated182
46Washington County Estimated175
47DeSoto County Estimated153
48Jackson County Estimated143
49Suwannee County Estimated142
50Gilchrist County Estimated119
51Franklin County Estimated109
52Gadsden County Estimated97
53Baker County Estimated74
54Hardee County Estimated73
55Bradford County Estimated69
55Jefferson County Estimated69
57Taylor County Estimated57
58Dixie County Estimated50
58Glades County Estimated50
60Union County Estimated45
61Lafayette County Estimated39
62Madison County Estimated31
63Calhoun County Estimated26
64Hamilton County Estimated17
65Liberty County Estimated14
66Holmes County Estimated12
67Okeechobee County Estimated9

Other periods

About this ranking

Annual number of new privately owned housing units authorized by building permits, from the US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.

Final annual county estimates include imputation for missing reports. Counts housing units, not buildings, starts, completions or sales. Covers permit-issuing areas; areas where permits are not required are outside the survey. Not seasonally adjusted or expressed as an annualized monthly rate. The total is the sum of units in the four published structure categories; inputs are retained.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual county estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/County/co2023a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

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Rank Counties in Florida by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

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

Lee County, with 13,556 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Okeechobee County, with 9 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 county estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized, including imputation. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Counties in Florida: more rankings