Counties in Iowa by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025
Polk County had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 99 counties in 2025, at 4,730. Pocahontas County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 23. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
Top 40 counties, 2025
Full ranking
| Rank | Counties | 2025 | Change on 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polk County Estimated | 4,730 | +60.4% |
| 2 | Johnson County Estimated | 1,241 | +73.8% |
| 3 | Linn County Estimated | 941 | -8.1% |
| 4 | Dallas County Estimated | 875 | -42.2% |
| 5 | Black Hawk County Estimated | 488 | +68.9% |
| 6 | Warren County Estimated | 465 | +6.2% |
| 7 | Scott County Estimated | 372 | -52.6% |
| 8 | Sioux County Estimated | 359 | +43% |
| 9 | Marion County Estimated | 339 | +216.8% |
| 10 | Dubuque County Estimated | 334 | -29.5% |
| 10 | Pottawattamie County Estimated | 334 | -51% |
| 12 | Woodbury County Estimated | 238 | +38.4% |
| 13 | Boone County Estimated | 207 | +176% |
| 14 | Story County Estimated | 185 | -6.6% |
| 15 | Clarke County Estimated | 138 | +10.4% |
| 16 | Muscatine County Estimated | 119 | +54.5% |
| 17 | Dickinson County Estimated | 117 | -59.9% |
| 18 | Cerro Gordo County Estimated | 116 | +123.1% |
| 19 | Allamakee County Estimated | 98 | +10.1% |
| 20 | Clinton County Estimated | 85 | -27.4% |
| 21 | Des Moines County Estimated | 81 | +47.3% |
| 22 | Jasper County Estimated | 80 | +433.3% |
| 22 | Lee County Estimated | 80 | +48.1% |
| 24 | Floyd County Estimated | 77 | +250% |
| 25 | Cedar County Estimated | 67 | +36.7% |
| 26 | Madison County Estimated | 66 | -46.3% |
| 26 | Mahaska County Estimated | 66 | +312.5% |
| 28 | Buchanan County Estimated | 62 | +100% |
| 29 | Clay County Estimated | 61 | +577.8% |
| 30 | Cherokee County Estimated | 56 | -21.1% |
| 31 | Clayton County Estimated | 55 | 0% |
| 32 | Bremer County Estimated | 46 | +24.3% |
| 33 | Plymouth County Estimated | 45 | -69.2% |
| 34 | Poweshiek County Estimated | 44 | +51.7% |
| 35 | Wapello County Estimated | 42 | -6.7% |
| 36 | Lyon County Estimated | 41 | -34.9% |
| 37 | Mitchell County Estimated | 37 | -15.9% |
| 38 | Carroll County Estimated | 36 | +5.9% |
| 39 | Winneshiek County Estimated | 35 | -25.5% |
| 40 | Delaware County Estimated | 33 | -36.5% |
| 40 | Guthrie County Estimated | 33 | +26.9% |
| 40 | Marshall County Estimated | 33 | -10.8% |
| 43 | Henry County Estimated | 32 | -11.1% |
| 43 | Jackson County Estimated | 32 | +39.1% |
| 45 | Fayette County Estimated | 30 | +172.7% |
| 46 | Montgomery County Estimated | 29 | +123.1% |
| 47 | Benton County Estimated | 28 | -34.9% |
| 48 | Mills County Estimated | 25 | -37.5% |
| 48 | Washington County Estimated | 25 | -26.5% |
| 50 | Adair County Estimated | 23 | -68.1% |
| 50 | Union County Estimated | 23 | +1,050% |
| 50 | Webster County Estimated | 23 | -17.9% |
| 53 | Louisa County Estimated | 21 | +133.3% |
| 54 | Grundy County Estimated | 20 | +81.8% |
| 54 | Harrison County Estimated | 20 | -45.9% |
| 56 | Crawford County Estimated | 19 | +18.8% |
| 56 | Wright County Estimated | 19 | +5.6% |
| 58 | Butler County Estimated | 18 | -33.3% |
| 58 | Hardin County Estimated | 18 | -35.7% |
| 58 | Jones County Estimated | 18 | -10% |
| 58 | O'Brien County Estimated | 18 | +100% |
| 62 | Buena Vista County Estimated | 16 | -90.7% |
| 63 | Fremont County Estimated | 15 | +200% |
| 64 | Emmet County Estimated | 14 | -80.8% |
| 64 | Humboldt County Estimated | 14 | +180% |
| 64 | Sac County Estimated | 14 | +7.7% |
| 67 | Calhoun County Estimated | 13 | -18.8% |
| 68 | Adams County Estimated | 12 | +500% |
| 68 | Hamilton County Estimated | 12 | +33.3% |
| 68 | Monroe County Estimated | 12 | +50% |
| 68 | Page County Estimated | 12 | -36.8% |
| 72 | Appanoose County Estimated | 11 | +57.1% |
| 72 | Cass County Estimated | 11 | +10% |
| 74 | Iowa County Estimated | 9 | -30.8% |
| 75 | Chickasaw County Estimated | 8 | +60% |
| 76 | Audubon County Estimated | 7 | 0% |
| 76 | Hancock County Estimated | 7 | -46.2% |
| 76 | Monona County Estimated | 7 | +133.3% |
| 79 | Greene County Estimated | 6 | +100% |
| 79 | Howard County Estimated | 6 | -25% |
| 79 | Palo Alto County Estimated | 6 | -40% |
| 79 | Ringgold County Estimated | 6 | +100% |
| 83 | Tama County Estimated | 5 | -58.3% |
| 83 | Van Buren County Estimated | 5 | +66.7% |
| 83 | Worth County Estimated | 5 | +150% |
| 86 | Kossuth County Estimated | 4 | -55.6% |
| 86 | Taylor County Estimated | 4 | -20% |
| 86 | Winnebago County Estimated | 4 | 0% |
| 89 | Franklin County Estimated | 3 | -40% |
| 89 | Osceola County Estimated | 3 | -50% |
| 89 | Shelby County Estimated | 3 | -50% |
| 89 | Wayne County Estimated | 3 | -96.5% |
| 93 | Ida County Estimated | 2 | 0% |
| 93 | Jefferson County Estimated | 2 | +100% |
| 93 | Lucas County Estimated | 2 | -93.1% |
| 96 | Davis County Estimated | 1 | -66.7% |
| 96 | Decatur County Estimated | 1 | -50% |
| 96 | Keokuk County Estimated | 1 | 0% |
| 99 | Pocahontas County Estimated | 0 | -100% |
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 Iowa by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_units","level":"province","within":"Iowa","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=building_permit_units&level=province&within=Iowa&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest housing units authorized by building permits?
Polk County, with 4,730 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which county has the lowest housing units authorized by building permits?
Pocahontas 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 Illinois
- Counties in Kentucky
- Counties in Tennessee
- Counties in Indiana
- Counties in Nebraska
Counties in Iowa: 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