Counties in Illinois by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025
Cook County had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 98 counties in 2025, at 4,969. Schuyler County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 17. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
Top 40 counties, 2025
Full ranking
| Rank | Counties | 2025 | Change on 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cook County Estimated | 4,969 | -23.6% |
| 2 | Will County Estimated | 1,993 | -0.4% |
| 3 | Kane County Estimated | 1,629 | -23.6% |
| 4 | Lake County Estimated | 1,468 | +40.9% |
| 5 | McHenry County Estimated | 1,393 | -11% |
| 6 | DuPage County Estimated | 1,265 | -12.8% |
| 7 | Champaign County Estimated | 860 | +52.2% |
| 8 | Kendall County Estimated | 733 | +3.8% |
| 9 | St. Clair County Estimated | 463 | -37.4% |
| 10 | Madison County Estimated | 435 | +18.9% |
| 11 | Winnebago County Estimated | 309 | +8.8% |
| 12 | McLean County Estimated | 269 | +10.7% |
| 13 | DeKalb County Estimated | 264 | +2.7% |
| 14 | Sangamon County Estimated | 224 | +17.3% |
| 15 | Rock Island County Estimated | 187 | +33.6% |
| 16 | Williamson County Estimated | 141 | +2.2% |
| 17 | Tazewell County Estimated | 118 | +0.9% |
| 18 | Grundy County Estimated | 114 | +29.5% |
| 19 | Kankakee County Estimated | 113 | -18.7% |
| 20 | Ogle County Estimated | 87 | +74% |
| 21 | Peoria County Estimated | 73 | +2.8% |
| 22 | Macoupin County Estimated | 70 | +7.7% |
| 23 | Boone County Estimated | 68 | +30.8% |
| 24 | Lawrence County Estimated | 67 | +4.7% |
| 25 | Monroe County Estimated | 65 | +8.3% |
| 26 | Logan County Estimated | 64 | +966.7% |
| 27 | Christian County Estimated | 60 | -4.8% |
| 27 | LaSalle County Estimated | 60 | -22.1% |
| 29 | Clinton County Estimated | 51 | -23.9% |
| 30 | Effingham County Estimated | 50 | +66.7% |
| 30 | Livingston County Estimated | 50 | -5.7% |
| 32 | Shelby County Estimated | 46 | +411.1% |
| 33 | Jo Daviess County Estimated | 42 | -28.8% |
| 34 | Jersey County Estimated | 39 | -61.4% |
| 34 | Piatt County Estimated | 39 | +14.7% |
| 34 | Woodford County Estimated | 39 | +25.8% |
| 37 | Macon County Estimated | 38 | -33.3% |
| 38 | Adams County Estimated | 36 | -47.8% |
| 39 | Lee County Estimated | 32 | -25.6% |
| 40 | Moultrie County Estimated | 29 | -32.6% |
| 41 | Douglas County Estimated | 28 | -26.3% |
| 42 | Bond County Estimated | 25 | -24.2% |
| 43 | Perry County Estimated | 23 | +15% |
| 43 | Whiteside County Estimated | 23 | -8% |
| 45 | Franklin County Estimated | 19 | +26.7% |
| 46 | Carroll County Estimated | 18 | -28% |
| 46 | Fulton County Estimated | 18 | +38.5% |
| 46 | Henry County Estimated | 18 | -25% |
| 46 | Mercer County Estimated | 18 | +12.5% |
| 50 | Bureau County Estimated | 16 | -15.8% |
| 50 | Coles County Estimated | 16 | -55.6% |
| 52 | Morgan County Estimated | 15 | +87.5% |
| 52 | Washington County Estimated | 15 | -16.7% |
| 54 | Ford County Estimated | 14 | +16.7% |
| 54 | Iroquois County Estimated | 14 | +7.7% |
| 54 | Stephenson County Estimated | 14 | +180% |
| 57 | De Witt County Estimated | 13 | 0% |
| 58 | Jefferson County Estimated | 12 | +100% |
| 58 | Marion County Estimated | 12 | -52% |
| 60 | Menard County Estimated | 11 | +22.2% |
| 60 | Montgomery County Estimated | 11 | +22.2% |
| 60 | Pike County Estimated | 11 | -31.3% |
| 63 | Union County Estimated | 10 | -23.1% |
| 63 | Vermilion County Estimated | 10 | +150% |
| 65 | Clark County Estimated | 9 | -25% |
| 65 | Crawford County Estimated | 9 | +12.5% |
| 67 | Massac County Estimated | 8 | 0% |
| 67 | Richland County Estimated | 8 | +14.3% |
| 69 | Brown County Estimated | 7 | -30% |
| 69 | Randolph County Estimated | 7 | -12.5% |
| 69 | Wabash County Estimated | 7 | +250% |
| 72 | Jasper County Estimated | 6 | +200% |
| 72 | Mason County Estimated | 6 | 0% |
| 72 | Putnam County Estimated | 6 | -33.3% |
| 75 | Calhoun County Estimated | 5 | -54.5% |
| 76 | Henderson County Estimated | 4 | -20% |
| 76 | Jackson County Estimated | 4 | 0% |
| 76 | Warren County Estimated | 4 | -55.6% |
| 79 | Edgar County Estimated | 3 | -50% |
| 79 | Fayette County Estimated | 3 | +50% |
| 79 | Marshall County Estimated | 3 | -50% |
| 79 | Pulaski County Estimated | 3 | |
| 83 | Cass County Estimated | 2 | +100% |
| 83 | Clay County Estimated | 2 | -33.3% |
| 83 | Greene County Estimated | 2 | +100% |
| 86 | Hancock County Estimated | 1 | -50% |
| 86 | Knox County Estimated | 1 | -50% |
| 86 | McDonough County Estimated | 1 | 0% |
| 86 | Pope County Estimated | 1 | |
| 86 | Stark County Estimated | 1 | -80% |
| 86 | Wayne County Estimated | 1 | -66.7% |
| 86 | White County Estimated | 1 | |
| 93 | Alexander County Estimated | 0 | -100% |
| 93 | Cumberland County Estimated | 0 | |
| 93 | Hardin County Estimated | 0 | |
| 93 | Johnson County Estimated | 0 | |
| 93 | Saline County Estimated | 0 | |
| 93 | Schuyler County Estimated | 0 |
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/co2025a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-10.Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank Counties in Illinois by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_units","level":"province","within":"Illinois","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=building_permit_units&level=province&within=Illinois&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest housing units authorized by building permits?
Cook County, with 4,969 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which county has the lowest housing units authorized by building permits?
Schuyler County, with 0 in 2025.
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
- US counties
- Counties in Texas
- Counties in Georgia
- Counties in Virginia
- Counties in Missouri
- Counties in Kansas
- Counties in North Carolina
- Counties in Iowa
- Counties in Kentucky
- Counties in Tennessee
- Counties in Indiana
- Counties in Nebraska
Counties in Illinois: more rankings
- Asian population share
- Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over
- Live births, July to June
- Black or African American population share
- Crude birth rate, July to June
- Crude death rate, July to June
- Deaths, July to June
- Foreign-born population share
- Real GDP growth
- GDP per capita, US dollars
- Gross domestic product (GDP), US dollars
- Gini index
- Hispanic or Latino population share
- Homeownership rate (US, housing units)
- County house price annual change, sales and refinances
- County house price index, 1990 = 100