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

Counties in Massachusetts by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025

Middlesex County had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 14 counties in 2025, at 2,341. Franklin County had the lowest, at 64. The median was 781. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest2,341Middlesex County
Lowest64Franklin County
Median78114 counties

All counties, 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

Middlesex CountyMiddlesex County: 2,341 count2,341Suffolk CountySuffolk County: 2,338 count2,338Worcester CountyWorcester County: 1,690 count1,690Norfolk CountyNorfolk County: 1,194 count1,194Bristol CountyBristol County: 1,156 count1,156Essex CountyEssex County: 942 count942Plymouth CountyPlymouth County: 931 count931Barnstable CountyBarnstable County: 630 count630Hampden CountyHampden County: 318 count318Hampshire CountyHampshire County: 291 count291Nantucket CountyNantucket County: 250 count250Dukes CountyDukes County: 183 count183Berkshire CountyBerkshire County: 149 count149Franklin CountyFranklin County: 64 count64
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Full ranking

RankCounties2025
count		Change on 2024
1Middlesex County Estimated2,341-33%
2Suffolk County Estimated2,338+16.5%
3Worcester County Estimated1,690-32.6%
4Norfolk County Estimated1,194-2.5%
5Bristol County Estimated1,156+34%
6Essex County Estimated942-6.8%
7Plymouth County Estimated931-25.9%
8Barnstable County Estimated630-1.6%
9Hampden County Estimated318-28.2%
10Hampshire County Estimated291-8.5%
11Nantucket County Estimated250-4.6%
12Dukes County Estimated183+77.7%
13Berkshire County Estimated149+17.3%
14Franklin County Estimated64-22.9%

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.

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Rank Counties in Massachusetts by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_units","level":"province","within":"Massachusetts","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=building_permit_units&level=province&within=Massachusetts&limit=10

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Questions

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

Middlesex County, with 2,341 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Franklin County, with 64 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

Counties in Massachusetts: more rankings