Counties in Kentucky by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025
Jefferson County had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 97 counties in 2025, at 3,001. Union County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 26. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
Top 40 counties, 2025
Full ranking
| Rank | Counties | 2025 | Change on 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jefferson County Estimated | 3,001 | +4.8% |
| 2 | Warren County Estimated | 1,453 | -36.4% |
| 3 | Fayette County Estimated | 1,052 | +1.5% |
| 4 | Madison County Estimated | 813 | -0.4% |
| 5 | Boone County Estimated | 756 | -47.1% |
| 6 | Kenton County Estimated | 681 | -2.6% |
| 7 | Bullitt County Estimated | 654 | +72.1% |
| 8 | Jessamine County Estimated | 512 | +91.8% |
| 9 | Hardin County Estimated | 432 | -54.3% |
| 10 | Simpson County Estimated | 396 | +94.1% |
| 11 | Scott County Estimated | 393 | -28% |
| 12 | Oldham County Estimated | 276 | -31.3% |
| 13 | Hart County Estimated | 272 | +244.3% |
| 14 | Shelby County Estimated | 269 | +13.5% |
| 15 | Daviess County Estimated | 253 | +11.9% |
| 16 | Nelson County Estimated | 222 | +5.7% |
| 17 | Barren County Estimated | 204 | -27.9% |
| 18 | Hopkins County Estimated | 201 | +70.3% |
| 19 | Campbell County Estimated | 182 | -26.9% |
| 20 | Christian County Estimated | 175 | -7.9% |
| 21 | McCracken County Estimated | 170 | -9.1% |
| 22 | Clark County Estimated | 166 | +3.8% |
| 23 | Meade County Estimated | 165 | +33.1% |
| 24 | Anderson County Estimated | 147 | +96% |
| 25 | Mercer County Estimated | 132 | -10.8% |
| 26 | Pulaski County Estimated | 129 | +5.7% |
| 27 | Henderson County Estimated | 112 | +21.7% |
| 28 | Grant County Estimated | 110 | +1.9% |
| 29 | Bourbon County Estimated | 109 | +21.1% |
| 30 | Franklin County Estimated | 96 | -22% |
| 31 | Woodford County Estimated | 95 | -6.9% |
| 32 | Boyle County Estimated | 94 | +10.6% |
| 33 | Lincoln County Estimated | 88 | -3.3% |
| 34 | Marshall County Estimated | 86 | -28.9% |
| 35 | Spencer County Estimated | 85 | -32.5% |
| 36 | Graves County Estimated | 83 | +822.2% |
| 37 | Logan County Estimated | 69 | +97.1% |
| 38 | Harrison County Estimated | 68 | -1.4% |
| 38 | Henry County Estimated | 68 | +4.6% |
| 40 | Larue County Estimated | 59 | -9.2% |
| 41 | Marion County Estimated | 56 | +9.8% |
| 42 | Montgomery County Estimated | 53 | -7% |
| 43 | Whitley County Estimated | 52 | -21.2% |
| 44 | Gallatin County Estimated | 51 | -8.9% |
| 45 | Bell County Estimated | 41 | -6.8% |
| 46 | Todd County Estimated | 40 | +48.1% |
| 47 | Grayson County Estimated | 36 | +33.3% |
| 48 | Mason County Estimated | 26 | -13.3% |
| 48 | Washington County Estimated | 26 | +44.4% |
| 50 | Greenup County Estimated | 21 | -16% |
| 50 | Laurel County Estimated | 21 | +31.3% |
| 52 | Calloway County Estimated | 20 | -75.3% |
| 53 | Allen County Estimated | 17 | +30.8% |
| 53 | Owen County Estimated | 17 | -5.6% |
| 55 | Hancock County Estimated | 15 | +66.7% |
| 56 | Breckinridge County Estimated | 14 | +180% |
| 56 | Pike County Estimated | 14 | +180% |
| 58 | Boyd County Estimated | 12 | +33.3% |
| 59 | Taylor County Estimated | 9 | -10% |
| 60 | Rowan County Estimated | 8 | -82.2% |
| 61 | Fulton County Estimated | 7 | 0% |
| 62 | Adair County Estimated | 6 | +100% |
| 63 | Lyon County Estimated | 5 | +66.7% |
| 63 | Muhlenberg County Estimated | 5 | 0% |
| 63 | Powell County Estimated | 5 | +400% |
| 63 | Russell County Estimated | 5 | |
| 63 | Webster County Estimated | 5 | +25% |
| 68 | Green County Estimated | 4 | 0% |
| 69 | Carter County Estimated | 3 | +200% |
| 69 | Nicholas County Estimated | 3 | |
| 69 | Ohio County Estimated | 3 | -82.4% |
| 72 | Casey County Estimated | 2 | -50% |
| 72 | Floyd County Estimated | 2 | -50% |
| 72 | McLean County Estimated | 2 | -50% |
| 72 | Morgan County Estimated | 2 | +100% |
| 76 | Breathitt County Estimated | 1 | -75% |
| 76 | Carroll County Estimated | 1 | -66.7% |
| 76 | Crittenden County Estimated | 1 | -97.9% |
| 76 | Letcher County Estimated | 1 | 0% |
| 80 | Bath County Estimated | 0 | -100% |
| 80 | Butler County Estimated | 0 | -100% |
| 80 | Caldwell County Estimated | 0 | -100% |
| 80 | Clay County Estimated | 0 | |
| 80 | Clinton County Estimated | 0 | |
| 80 | Cumberland County Estimated | 0 | -100% |
| 80 | Estill County Estimated | 0 | -100% |
| 80 | Fleming County Estimated | 0 | |
| 80 | Garrard County Estimated | 0 | |
| 80 | Harlan County Estimated | 0 | |
| 80 | Jackson County Estimated | 0 | |
| 80 | Knox County Estimated | 0 | |
| 80 | Lewis County Estimated | 0 | |
| 80 | McCreary County Estimated | 0 | |
| 80 | Pendleton County Estimated | 0 | |
| 80 | Perry County Estimated | 0 | |
| 80 | Trigg County Estimated | 0 | -100% |
| 80 | Union 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 Kentucky by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_units","level":"province","within":"Kentucky","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=building_permit_units&level=province&within=Kentucky&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest housing units authorized by building permits?
Jefferson County, with 3,001 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which county has the lowest housing units authorized by building permits?
Union 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 Illinois
- Counties in Tennessee
- Counties in Indiana
- Counties in Nebraska
Counties in Kentucky: 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