Data / Rankings / Housing units authorized by building permits / Cities in Massachusetts

Cities in Massachusetts by housing units authorized by building permits

Boston, MA had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 53 cities in 2023, at 2,051. Melrose, MA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 40 and the figure for Massachusetts was 13,214. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest2,051Boston, MA
Lowest0Melrose, MA
Median4053 cities
Massachusetts13,214History

All cities, 2023

Boston, MA: 2,051 countBoston, MA2,051Woburn, MA: 632 countWoburn, MA632Revere, MA: 472 countRevere, MA472Lynn, MA: 380 countLynn, MA380Newton, MA: 281 countNewton, MA281Worcester, MA: 267 countWorcester, MA267Taunton, MA: 262 countTaunton, MA262Everett, MA: 199 countEverett, MA199Cambridge, MA: 121 countCambridge, MA121Lowell, MA: 116 countLowell, MA116Beverly, MA: 114 countBeverly, MA114Newburyport, MA: 113 countNewburyport, MA113Malden, MA: 112 countMalden, MA112Somerville, MA: 101 countSomerville, MA101Agawam Town, MA: 95 countAgawam Town, MA95Springfield, MA: 90 countSpringfield, MA90Gloucester, MA: 81 countGloucester, MA81Quincy, MA: 75 countQuincy, MA75Waltham, MA: 73 countWaltham, MA73Brockton, MA: 61 countBrockton, MA61Chelsea, MA: 59 countChelsea, MA59Fall River, MA: 55 countFall River, MA55Weymouth Town, MA: 54 countWeymouth Town, MA54Northampton, MA: 44 countNorthampton, MA44Attleboro, MA: 43 countAttleboro, MA43Franklin Town, MA: 41 countFranklin Town, MA41Westfield, MA: 40 countWestfield, MA40Bridgewater Town, MA: 39 countBridgewater Town, MA39Barnstable Town, MA: 37 countBarnstable Town, MA37Framingham, MA: 37 countFramingham, MA37North Attleborough Town, MA: 26 countNorth Attleborough Town, MA26Peabody, MA: 26 countPeabody, MA26Haverhill, MA: 23 countHaverhill, MA23New Bedford, MA: 20 countNew Bedford, MA20Fitchburg, MA: 19 countFitchburg, MA19Gardner, MA: 17 countGardner, MA17Pittsfield, MA: 16 countPittsfield, MA16Lawrence, MA: 15 countLawrence, MA15Salem, MA: 15 countSalem, MA15Holyoke, MA: 14 countHolyoke, MA14Chicopee, MA: 13 countChicopee, MA13Randolph Town, MA: 9 countRandolph Town, MA9Marlborough, MA: 8 countMarlborough, MA8Winthrop Town, MA: 8 countWinthrop Town, MA8Medford, MA: 7 countMedford, MA7Greenfield, MA: 6 countGreenfield, MA6Leominster, MA: 6 countLeominster, MA6Southbridge Town, MA: 6 countSouthbridge Town, MA6Braintree Town, MA: 5 countBraintree Town, MA5Palmer Town, MA: 5 countPalmer Town, MA5West Springfield Town, MA: 5 countWest Springfield Town, MA5North Adams, MA: 1 countNorth Adams, MA1Melrose, MA: 0 countMelrose, MA0Boston, MA: 2,051 countBoston, MA2,051Woburn, MA: 632 countWoburn, MA632Revere, MA: 472 countRevere, MA472Lynn, MA: 380 countLynn, MA380Newton, MA: 281 countNewton, MA281Worcester, MA: 267 countWorcester, MA267Taunton, MA: 262 countTaunton, MA262Everett, MA: 199 countEverett, MA199Cambridge, MA: 121 countCambridge, MA121Lowell, MA: 116 countLowell, MA116Beverly, MA: 114 countBeverly, MA114Newburyport, MA: 113 countNewburyport, MA113Malden, MA: 112 countMalden, MA112Somerville, MA: 101 countSomerville, MA101Agawam Town, MA: 95 countAgawam Town, MA95Springfield, MA: 90 countSpringfield, MA90Gloucester, MA: 81 countGloucester, MA81Quincy, MA: 75 countQuincy, MA75Waltham, MA: 73 countWaltham, MA73Brockton, MA: 61 countBrockton, MA61Chelsea, MA: 59 countChelsea, MA59Fall River, MA: 55 countFall River, MA55Weymouth Town, MA: 54 countWeymouth Town, MA54Northampton, MA: 44 countNorthampton, MA44Attleboro, MA: 43 countAttleboro, MA43Franklin Town, MA: 41 countFranklin Town, MA41Westfield, MA: 40 countWestfield, MA40Bridgewater Town, MA: 39 countBridgewater Town, MA39Barnstable Town, MA: 37 countBarnstable Town, MA37Framingham, MA: 37 countFramingham, MA37North Attleborough Town, MA: 26 countNorth Attleborough Town, MA26Peabody, MA: 26 countPeabody, MA26Haverhill, MA: 23 countHaverhill, MA23New Bedford, MA: 20 countNew Bedford, MA20Fitchburg, MA: 19 countFitchburg, MA19Gardner, MA: 17 countGardner, MA17Pittsfield, MA: 16 countPittsfield, MA16Lawrence, MA: 15 countLawrence, MA15Salem, MA: 15 countSalem, MA15Holyoke, MA: 14 countHolyoke, MA14Chicopee, MA: 13 countChicopee, MA13Randolph Town, MA: 9 countRandolph Town, MA9Marlborough, MA: 8 countMarlborough, MA8Winthrop Town, MA: 8 countWinthrop Town, MA8Medford, MA: 7 countMedford, MA7Greenfield, MA: 6 countGreenfield, MA6Leominster, MA: 6 countLeominster, MA6Southbridge Town, MA: 6 countSouthbridge Town, MA6Braintree Town, MA: 5 countBraintree Town, MA5Palmer Town, MA: 5 countPalmer Town, MA5West Springfield Town, MA: 5 countWest Springfield Town, MA5North Adams, MA: 1 countNorth Adams, MA1Melrose, MA: 0 countMelrose, MA0
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2023
count		Change on 2022
1Boston, MA Estimated2,051-47.9%
2Woburn, MA Estimated632+710.3%
3Revere, MA Estimated472+728.1%
4Lynn, MA Estimated380+512.9%
5Newton, MA Estimated281+14.2%
6Worcester, MA Estimated267-67.1%
7Taunton, MA Estimated262+51.4%
8Everett, MA Estimated199-27.9%
9Cambridge, MA Estimated121-77.7%
10Lowell, MA Estimated116+146.8%
11Beverly, MA Estimated114+1,528.6%
12Newburyport, MA Estimated113+927.3%
13Malden, MA Estimated112+273.3%
14Somerville, MA Estimated101-12.2%
15Agawam Town, MA Estimated95+171.4%
16Springfield, MA Estimated90+221.4%
17Gloucester, MA Estimated81+47.3%
18Quincy, MA Estimated75-11.8%
19Waltham, MA Estimated73+82.5%
20Brockton, MA Estimated61+74.3%
21Chelsea, MA Estimated59-6.3%
22Fall River, MA Estimated55-9.8%
23Weymouth Town, MA Estimated54-93.5%
24Northampton, MA Estimated44+18.9%
25Attleboro, MA Estimated43+4.9%
26Franklin Town, MA Estimated41-83.9%
27Westfield, MA Estimated40-13%
28Bridgewater Town, MA Estimated39-4.9%
29Barnstable Town, MA Estimated37-88.3%
29Framingham, MA Estimated37+19.4%
31North Attleborough Town, MA Estimated26+188.9%
31Peabody, MA Estimated26-3.7%
33Haverhill, MA Estimated23-46.5%
34New Bedford, MA Estimated20+17.6%
35Fitchburg, MA Estimated19-55.8%
36Gardner, MA Estimated17-5.6%
37Pittsfield, MA Estimated16+166.7%
38Lawrence, MA Estimated15+7.1%
38Salem, MA Estimated15-80%
40Holyoke, MA Estimated14+180%
41Chicopee, MA Estimated13+44.4%
42Randolph Town, MA Estimated9-40%
43Marlborough, MA Estimated8+60%
43Winthrop Town, MA Estimated8-42.9%
45Medford, MA Estimated7-82.5%
46Greenfield, MA Estimated6-25%
46Leominster, MA Estimated6-50%
46Southbridge Town, MA Estimated6-62.5%
49Braintree Town, MA Estimated5-16.7%
49Palmer Town, MA Estimated5-16.7%
49West Springfield Town, MA Estimated5-16.7%
52North Adams, MA Estimated1-66.7%
53Melrose, MA Estimated0-100%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of new privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in the year or month, from the US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey. Annual totals for the nation, states and counties; monthly counts for the nation and states.

Counts housing units, not buildings, starts, completions or sales. Monthly counts are not seasonally adjusted and do not add up exactly to the annual total, which includes later corrections; the national seasonally adjusted annual rate in the monthly New Residential Construction release is a different measure.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. 4 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2023 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2023a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2024). Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation (Cities in Massachusetts by housing units authorized by building permits, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2023a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Massachusetts by housing units authorized by building permits, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 24 Apr. 2024, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2023a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/massachusetts-cities?period=2023. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2024. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Cities in Massachusetts by housing units authorized by building permits, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2023a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/massachusetts-cities?period=2023.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2024) Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Massachusetts by housing units authorized by building permits, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2023a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/massachusetts-cities?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation: Cities in Massachusetts by housing units authorized by building permits, 2023}},
  year = {2024},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2023a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/massachusetts-cities?period=2023. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast\%20Region/ne2023a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation: Cities in Massachusetts by housing units authorized by building permits, 2023
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/04/24
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2023a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/massachusetts-cities?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/massachusetts-cities?period=2023.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2023a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in Massachusetts by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

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

Boston, MA, with 2,051 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Melrose, MA, with 0 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 estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 4 cities have no value for 2023 and are not ranked.

Housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Cities in Massachusetts: more rankings