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 57 cities in 2024, at 1,789. North Adams, MA had the lowest, at 2. The median was 44 and the figure for Massachusetts was 14,338. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,789Boston, MA
Lowest2North Adams, MA
Median4457 cities
Massachusetts14,338History

All cities, 2024

Boston, MA: 1,789 countBoston, MA1,789Worcester, MA: 945 countWorcester, MA945Cambridge, MA: 489 countCambridge, MA489Newton, MA: 407 countNewton, MA407Marlborough, MA: 323 countMarlborough, MA323Quincy, MA: 311 countQuincy, MA311Lynn, MA: 265 countLynn, MA265Everett, MA: 206 countEverett, MA206Barnstable Town, MA: 193 countBarnstable Town, MA193Springfield, MA: 163 countSpringfield, MA163Woburn, MA: 130 countWoburn, MA130Lowell, MA: 112 countLowell, MA112Taunton, MA: 102 countTaunton, MA102Revere, MA: 92 countRevere, MA92Somerville, MA: 83 countSomerville, MA83Malden, MA: 80 countMalden, MA80Franklin Town, MA: 79 countFranklin Town, MA79Gloucester, MA: 79 countGloucester, MA79Beverly, MA: 74 countBeverly, MA74Chelsea, MA: 70 countChelsea, MA70Braintree Town, MA: 65 countBraintree Town, MA65Fall River, MA: 63 countFall River, MA63Northampton, MA: 58 countNorthampton, MA58Winthrop Town, MA: 56 countWinthrop Town, MA56Easthampton, MA: 49 countEasthampton, MA49North Attleborough Town, MA: 48 countNorth Attleborough Town, MA48Brockton, MA: 45 countBrockton, MA45Randolph Town, MA: 44 countRandolph Town, MA44Weymouth Town, MA: 44 countWeymouth Town, MA44Attleboro, MA: 43 countAttleboro, MA43Westfield, MA: 43 countWestfield, MA43Haverhill, MA: 41 countHaverhill, MA41Bridgewater Town, MA: 38 countBridgewater Town, MA38Salem, MA: 35 countSalem, MA35Waltham, MA: 32 countWaltham, MA32Framingham, MA: 31 countFramingham, MA31Peabody, MA: 29 countPeabody, MA29Agawam Town, MA: 27 countAgawam Town, MA27Fitchburg, MA: 22 countFitchburg, MA22Greenfield, MA: 17 countGreenfield, MA17Watertown, MA: 17 countWatertown, MA17Methuen, MA: 15 countMethuen, MA15Pittsfield, MA: 15 countPittsfield, MA15Chicopee, MA: 11 countChicopee, MA11Lawrence, MA: 11 countLawrence, MA11Medford, MA: 11 countMedford, MA11Holyoke, MA: 10 countHolyoke, MA10Leominster, MA: 9 countLeominster, MA9Gardner, MA: 7 countGardner, MA7New Bedford, MA: 7 countNew Bedford, MA7Newburyport, MA: 7 countNewburyport, MA7West Springfield Town, MA: 7 countWest Springfield Town, MA7Amesbury, MA: 5 countAmesbury, MA5Palmer Town, MA: 5 countPalmer Town, MA5Southbridge Town, MA: 3 countSouthbridge Town, MA3Melrose, MA: 2 countMelrose, MA2North Adams, MA: 2 countNorth Adams, MA2Boston, MA: 1,789 countBoston, MA1,789Worcester, MA: 945 countWorcester, MA945Cambridge, MA: 489 countCambridge, MA489Newton, MA: 407 countNewton, MA407Marlborough, MA: 323 countMarlborough, MA323Quincy, MA: 311 countQuincy, MA311Lynn, MA: 265 countLynn, MA265Everett, MA: 206 countEverett, MA206Barnstable Town, MA: 193 countBarnstable Town, MA193Springfield, MA: 163 countSpringfield, MA163Woburn, MA: 130 countWoburn, MA130Lowell, MA: 112 countLowell, MA112Taunton, MA: 102 countTaunton, MA102Revere, MA: 92 countRevere, MA92Somerville, MA: 83 countSomerville, MA83Malden, MA: 80 countMalden, MA80Franklin Town, MA: 79 countFranklin Town, MA79Gloucester, MA: 79 countGloucester, MA79Beverly, MA: 74 countBeverly, MA74Chelsea, MA: 70 countChelsea, MA70Braintree Town, MA: 65 countBraintree Town, MA65Fall River, MA: 63 countFall River, MA63Northampton, MA: 58 countNorthampton, MA58Winthrop Town, MA: 56 countWinthrop Town, MA56Easthampton, MA: 49 countEasthampton, MA49North Attleborough Town, MA: 48 countNorth Attleborough Town, MA48Brockton, MA: 45 countBrockton, MA45Randolph Town, MA: 44 countRandolph Town, MA44Weymouth Town, MA: 44 countWeymouth Town, MA44Attleboro, MA: 43 countAttleboro, MA43Westfield, MA: 43 countWestfield, MA43Haverhill, MA: 41 countHaverhill, MA41Bridgewater Town, MA: 38 countBridgewater Town, MA38Salem, MA: 35 countSalem, MA35Waltham, MA: 32 countWaltham, MA32Framingham, MA: 31 countFramingham, MA31Peabody, MA: 29 countPeabody, MA29Agawam Town, MA: 27 countAgawam Town, MA27Fitchburg, MA: 22 countFitchburg, MA22Greenfield, MA: 17 countGreenfield, MA17Watertown, MA: 17 countWatertown, MA17Methuen, MA: 15 countMethuen, MA15Pittsfield, MA: 15 countPittsfield, MA15Chicopee, MA: 11 countChicopee, MA11Lawrence, MA: 11 countLawrence, MA11Medford, MA: 11 countMedford, MA11Holyoke, MA: 10 countHolyoke, MA10Leominster, MA: 9 countLeominster, MA9Gardner, MA: 7 countGardner, MA7New Bedford, MA: 7 countNew Bedford, MA7Newburyport, MA: 7 countNewburyport, MA7West Springfield Town, MA: 7 countWest Springfield Town, MA7Amesbury, MA: 5 countAmesbury, MA5Palmer Town, MA: 5 countPalmer Town, MA5Southbridge Town, MA: 3 countSouthbridge Town, MA3Melrose, MA: 2 countMelrose, MA2North Adams, MA: 2 countNorth Adams, MA2
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2024
count		Change on 2023
1Boston, MA Estimated1,789-12.8%
2Worcester, MA Estimated945+253.9%
3Cambridge, MA Estimated489+304.1%
4Newton, MA Estimated407+44.8%
5Marlborough, MA Estimated323+3,937.5%
6Quincy, MA Estimated311+314.7%
7Lynn, MA Estimated265-30.3%
8Everett, MA Estimated206+3.5%
9Barnstable Town, MA Estimated193+421.6%
10Springfield, MA Estimated163+81.1%
11Woburn, MA Estimated130-79.4%
12Lowell, MA Estimated112-3.4%
13Taunton, MA Estimated102-61.1%
14Revere, MA Estimated92-80.5%
15Somerville, MA Estimated83-17.8%
16Malden, MA Estimated80-28.6%
17Franklin Town, MA Estimated79+92.7%
17Gloucester, MA Estimated79-2.5%
19Beverly, MA Estimated74-35.1%
20Chelsea, MA Estimated70+18.6%
21Braintree Town, MA Estimated65+1,200%
22Fall River, MA Estimated63+14.5%
23Northampton, MA Estimated58+31.8%
24Winthrop Town, MA Estimated56+600%
25Easthampton, MA Estimated49n/a
26North Attleborough Town, MA Estimated48+84.6%
27Brockton, MA Estimated45-26.2%
28Randolph Town, MA Estimated44+388.9%
28Weymouth Town, MA Estimated44-18.5%
30Attleboro, MA Estimated430%
30Westfield, MA Estimated43+7.5%
32Haverhill, MA Estimated41+78.3%
33Bridgewater Town, MA Estimated38-2.6%
34Salem, MA Estimated35+133.3%
35Waltham, MA Estimated32-56.2%
36Framingham, MA Estimated31-16.2%
37Peabody, MA Estimated29+11.5%
38Agawam Town, MA Estimated27-71.6%
39Fitchburg, MA Estimated22+15.8%
40Greenfield, MA Estimated17+183.3%
40Watertown, MA Estimated17n/a
42Methuen, MA Estimated15n/a
42Pittsfield, MA Estimated15-6.3%
44Chicopee, MA Estimated11-15.4%
44Lawrence, MA Estimated11-26.7%
44Medford, MA Estimated11+57.1%
47Holyoke, MA Estimated10-28.6%
48Leominster, MA Estimated9+50%
49Gardner, MA Estimated7-58.8%
49New Bedford, MA Estimated7-65%
49Newburyport, MA Estimated7-93.8%
49West Springfield Town, MA Estimated7+40%
53Amesbury, MA Estimated5n/a
53Palmer Town, MA Estimated50%
55Southbridge Town, MA Estimated3-50%
56Melrose, MA Estimated2n/a
56North Adams, MA Estimated2+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. 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/ne2024a.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. (2025). 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, 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2024a.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, 2024. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2025, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2024a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/massachusetts-cities?period=2024. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. 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, 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2024a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/massachusetts-cities?period=2024.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) 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, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2024a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/massachusetts-cities?period=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2024,
  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, 2024}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2024a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/massachusetts-cities?period=2024. 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/ne2024a.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, 2024
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2024a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/massachusetts-cities?period=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/massachusetts-cities?period=2024.
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/ne2024a.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 1,789 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

North Adams, MA, with 2 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 estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Cities in Massachusetts: more rankings