Counties in Illinois by housing units authorized by building permits
Cook County had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 98 counties in 2024, at 6,507. White County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 16. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
Top 40 counties, 2024
Full ranking
| Rank | Counties | 2024 | Change on 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cook County Estimated | 6,507 | +34.1% |
| 2 | Kane County Estimated | 2,132 | -0.8% |
| 3 | Will County Estimated | 2,002 | +49.6% |
| 4 | McHenry County Estimated | 1,565 | +33.9% |
| 5 | DuPage County Estimated | 1,450 | +49% |
| 6 | Lake County Estimated | 1,042 | +27.2% |
| 7 | St. Clair County Estimated | 740 | +37% |
| 8 | Kendall County Estimated | 706 | -37.2% |
| 9 | Champaign County Estimated | 565 | -3.1% |
| 10 | Madison County Estimated | 366 | +7.6% |
| 11 | Winnebago County Estimated | 284 | +66.1% |
| 12 | DeKalb County Estimated | 257 | -8.5% |
| 13 | McLean County Estimated | 243 | +13% |
| 14 | Sangamon County Estimated | 191 | -19.7% |
| 15 | Rock Island County Estimated | 140 | +59.1% |
| 16 | Kankakee County Estimated | 139 | +61.6% |
| 17 | Williamson County Estimated | 138 | +7% |
| 18 | Tazewell County Estimated | 117 | +154.3% |
| 19 | Jersey County Estimated | 101 | +16.1% |
| 20 | Grundy County Estimated | 88 | +60% |
| 21 | LaSalle County Estimated | 77 | -16.3% |
| 22 | Peoria County Estimated | 71 | -22.8% |
| 23 | Adams County Estimated | 69 | +13.1% |
| 24 | Clinton County Estimated | 67 | +19.6% |
| 25 | Macoupin County Estimated | 65 | +6.6% |
| 26 | Lawrence County Estimated | 64 | +10.3% |
| 27 | Christian County Estimated | 63 | +117.2% |
| 28 | Monroe County Estimated | 60 | -7.7% |
| 29 | Jo Daviess County Estimated | 59 | +63.9% |
| 30 | Macon County Estimated | 57 | +67.6% |
| 31 | Livingston County Estimated | 53 | +112% |
| 32 | Boone County Estimated | 52 | +79.3% |
| 33 | Ogle County Estimated | 50 | -60.9% |
| 34 | Lee County Estimated | 43 | +79.2% |
| 34 | Moultrie County Estimated | 43 | +16.2% |
| 36 | Douglas County Estimated | 38 | -13.6% |
| 37 | Coles County Estimated | 36 | +20% |
| 38 | Piatt County Estimated | 34 | +30.8% |
| 39 | Bond County Estimated | 33 | +3.1% |
| 40 | Woodford County Estimated | 31 | -13.9% |
| 41 | Effingham County Estimated | 30 | -53.8% |
| 42 | Carroll County Estimated | 25 | +13.6% |
| 42 | Marion County Estimated | 25 | +400% |
| 42 | Whiteside County Estimated | 25 | -3.8% |
| 45 | Henry County Estimated | 24 | +9.1% |
| 46 | Perry County Estimated | 20 | 0% |
| 47 | Bureau County Estimated | 19 | +5.6% |
| 48 | Washington County Estimated | 18 | -28% |
| 49 | Mercer County Estimated | 16 | 0% |
| 49 | Pike County Estimated | 16 | +6.7% |
| 51 | Franklin County Estimated | 15 | -16.7% |
| 52 | De Witt County Estimated | 13 | +8.3% |
| 52 | Fulton County Estimated | 13 | -50% |
| 52 | Iroquois County Estimated | 13 | 0% |
| 52 | Union County Estimated | 13 | +18.2% |
| 56 | Clark County Estimated | 12 | +1,100% |
| 56 | Ford County Estimated | 12 | +50% |
| 58 | Calhoun County Estimated | 11 | -8.3% |
| 59 | Brown County Estimated | 10 | +400% |
| 60 | Menard County Estimated | 9 | +12.5% |
| 60 | Montgomery County Estimated | 9 | -57.1% |
| 60 | Putnam County Estimated | 9 | -40% |
| 60 | Shelby County Estimated | 9 | -74.3% |
| 60 | Warren County Estimated | 9 | -81.6% |
| 65 | Crawford County Estimated | 8 | -42.9% |
| 65 | Massac County Estimated | 8 | -11.1% |
| 65 | Morgan County Estimated | 8 | +300% |
| 65 | Randolph County Estimated | 8 | +100% |
| 69 | Richland County Estimated | 7 | +133.3% |
| 70 | Edgar County Estimated | 6 | -25% |
| 70 | Jefferson County Estimated | 6 | +50% |
| 70 | Logan County Estimated | 6 | -14.3% |
| 70 | Marshall County Estimated | 6 | -25% |
| 70 | Mason County Estimated | 6 | -14.3% |
| 75 | Henderson County Estimated | 5 | +66.7% |
| 75 | Stark County Estimated | 5 | +150% |
| 75 | Stephenson County Estimated | 5 | -64.3% |
| 78 | Jackson County Estimated | 4 | -33.3% |
| 78 | Vermilion County Estimated | 4 | -50% |
| 80 | Clay County Estimated | 3 | -50% |
| 80 | Wayne County Estimated | 3 | |
| 82 | Alexander County Estimated | 2 | |
| 82 | Fayette County Estimated | 2 | -33.3% |
| 82 | Hancock County Estimated | 2 | |
| 82 | Jasper County Estimated | 2 | |
| 82 | Knox County Estimated | 2 | +100% |
| 82 | Wabash County Estimated | 2 | |
| 88 | Cass County Estimated | 1 | -75% |
| 88 | Greene County Estimated | 1 | 0% |
| 88 | McDonough County Estimated | 1 | 0% |
| 91 | Cumberland County Estimated | 0 | -100% |
| 91 | Hardin County Estimated | 0 | |
| 91 | Johnson County Estimated | 0 | |
| 91 | Pope County Estimated | 0 | |
| 91 | Pulaski County Estimated | 0 | |
| 91 | Saline County Estimated | 0 | |
| 91 | Schuyler County Estimated | 0 | |
| 91 | White 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/co2024a.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 6,507 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which county has the lowest housing units authorized by building permits?
White County, 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 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