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

Cities in Michigan by housing units authorized by building permits

Grand Rapids, MI had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 84 cities in 2016, at 1,398. Ypsilanti, MI had the lowest, at 0. The median was 12 and the figure for Michigan was 20,408. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,398Grand Rapids, MI
Lowest0Ypsilanti, MI
Median1284 cities
Michigan20,408History

Top 40 cities, 2016

Grand Rapids, MI: 1,398 countGrand Rapids, MI1,398Lansing, MI: 507 countLansing, MI507Detroit, MI: 409 countDetroit, MI409Rochester Hills, MI: 334 countRochester Hills, MI334Auburn Hills, MI: 247 countAuburn Hills, MI247Wyoming, MI: 227 countWyoming, MI227Novi, MI: 184 countNovi, MI184Portage, MI: 171 countPortage, MI171Sterling Heights, MI: 156 countSterling Heights, MI156Midland, MI: 148 countMidland, MI148Royal Oak, MI: 134 countRoyal Oak, MI134Troy, MI: 114 countTroy, MI114Birmingham, MI: 86 countBirmingham, MI86Warren, MI: 72 countWarren, MI72Kentwood, MI: 64 countKentwood, MI64Burton, MI: 62 countBurton, MI62Southfield, MI: 62 countSouthfield, MI62Westland, MI: 58 countWestland, MI58Norton Shores, MI: 55 countNorton Shores, MI55Saginaw, MI: 50 countSaginaw, MI50Berkley, MI: 46 countBerkley, MI46Romulus, MI: 39 countRomulus, MI39Dearborn, MI: 36 countDearborn, MI36Livonia, MI: 36 countLivonia, MI36Wixom, MI: 36 countWixom, MI36Farmington, MI: 34 countFarmington, MI34Walker, MI: 31 countWalker, MI31Pontiac, MI: 30 countPontiac, MI30St. Clair Shores, MI: 30 countSt. Clair Shores, MI30Kalamazoo, MI: 26 countKalamazoo, MI26Mount Pleasant, MI: 26 countMount Pleasant, MI26Ann Arbor, MI: 25 countAnn Arbor, MI25Flat Rock, MI: 25 countFlat Rock, MI25Taylor, MI: 24 countTaylor, MI24South Lyon, MI: 22 countSouth Lyon, MI22Farmington Hills, MI: 19 countFarmington Hills, MI19Fenton, MI: 19 countFenton, MI19Muskegon, MI: 19 countMuskegon, MI19New Baltimore, MI: 16 countNew Baltimore, MI16Holland, MI: 14 countHolland, MI14Grand Rapids, MI: 1,398 countGrand Rapids, MI1,398Lansing, MI: 507 countLansing, MI507Detroit, MI: 409 countDetroit, MI409Rochester Hills, MI: 334 countRochester Hills, MI334Auburn Hills, MI: 247 countAuburn Hills, MI247Wyoming, MI: 227 countWyoming, MI227Novi, MI: 184 countNovi, MI184Portage, MI: 171 countPortage, MI171Sterling Heights, MI: 156 countSterling Heights, MI156Midland, MI: 148 countMidland, MI148Royal Oak, MI: 134 countRoyal Oak, MI134Troy, MI: 114 countTroy, MI114Birmingham, MI: 86 countBirmingham, MI86Warren, MI: 72 countWarren, MI72Kentwood, MI: 64 countKentwood, MI64Burton, MI: 62 countBurton, MI62Southfield, MI: 62 countSouthfield, MI62Westland, MI: 58 countWestland, MI58Norton Shores, MI: 55 countNorton Shores, MI55Saginaw, MI: 50 countSaginaw, MI50Berkley, MI: 46 countBerkley, MI46Romulus, MI: 39 countRomulus, MI39Dearborn, MI: 36 countDearborn, MI36Livonia, MI: 36 countLivonia, MI36Wixom, MI: 36 countWixom, MI36Farmington, MI: 34 countFarmington, MI34Walker, MI: 31 countWalker, MI31Pontiac, MI: 30 countPontiac, MI30St. Clair Shores, MI: 30 countSt. Clair Shores, MI30Kalamazoo, MI: 26 countKalamazoo, MI26Mount Pleasant, MI: 26 countMount Pleasant, MI26Ann Arbor, MI: 25 countAnn Arbor, MI25Flat Rock, MI: 25 countFlat Rock, MI25Taylor, MI: 24 countTaylor, MI24South Lyon, MI: 22 countSouth Lyon, MI22Farmington Hills, MI: 19 countFarmington Hills, MI19Fenton, MI: 19 countFenton, MI19Muskegon, MI: 19 countMuskegon, MI19New Baltimore, MI: 16 countNew Baltimore, MI16Holland, MI: 14 countHolland, MI14
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2016
count		Change on 2015
1Grand Rapids, MI Estimated1,398+207.3%
2Lansing, MI Estimated507+10%
3Detroit, MI Estimated409-35.2%
4Rochester Hills, MI Estimated334+271.1%
5Auburn Hills, MI Estimated247+488.1%
6Wyoming, MI Estimated227+266.1%
7Novi, MI Estimated184-36.3%
8Portage, MI Estimated171+78.1%
9Sterling Heights, MI Estimated156-41.8%
10Midland, MI Estimated148+146.7%
11Royal Oak, MI Estimated134-16.3%
12Troy, MI Estimated114-55.1%
13Birmingham, MI Estimated86-26.5%
14Warren, MI Estimated72+46.9%
15Kentwood, MI Estimated64-31.2%
16Burton, MI Estimated62+82.4%
16Southfield, MI Estimated62+588.9%
18Westland, MI Estimated58-10.8%
19Norton Shores, MI Estimated55+7.8%
20Saginaw, MI Estimated50-9.1%
21Berkley, MI Estimated46+43.8%
22Romulus, MI Estimated39+160%
23Dearborn, MI Estimated36+125%
23Livonia, MI Estimated36-2.7%
23Wixom, MI Estimated36+44%
26Farmington, MI Estimated34+161.5%
27Walker, MI Estimated31-8.8%
28Pontiac, MI Estimated30+275%
28St. Clair Shores, MI Estimated30+87.5%
30Kalamazoo, MI Estimated26-18.8%
30Mount Pleasant, MI Estimated26-58.1%
32Ann Arbor, MI Estimated25+47.1%
32Flat Rock, MI Estimated25+66.7%
34Taylor, MI Estimated24-17.2%
35South Lyon, MI Estimated22+100%
36Farmington Hills, MI Estimated19-9.5%
36Fenton, MI Estimated19+375%
36Muskegon, MI Estimated19-42.4%
39New Baltimore, MI Estimated16+45.5%
40Holland, MI Estimated140%
40Wyandotte, MI Estimated14+366.7%
42Fraser, MI Estimated12+33.3%
42Grand Haven, MI Estimated12+300%
42Rochester, MI Estimated12-62.5%
45Ferndale, MI Estimated11+37.5%
46Alpena, MI Estimated10n/a
47Battle Creek, MI Estimated9-18.2%
48Dearborn Heights, MI Estimated8-52.9%
49East Lansing, MI Estimated70%
50Grandville, MI Estimated6-14.3%
51Madison Heights, MI Estimated5-37.5%
52Oak Park, MI Estimated4+300%
52Southgate, MI Estimated4-71.4%
54Coldwater, MI Estimated30%
54Monroe, MI Estimated3-40%
54Port Huron, MI Estimated3-50%
54Riverview, MI Estimated30%
54Roseville, MI Estimated3-92.7%
59Beverly Hills, MI Estimated2n/a
59Garden City, MI Estimated2+100%
59Grosse Pointe Woods, MI Estimated2+100%
59Lincoln Park, MI Estimated2n/a
59Niles, MI Estimated20%
59Sault Ste. Marie, MI Estimated2+100%
59Woodhaven, MI Estimated2-33.3%
66Grosse Pointe Park, MI Estimated10%
66Jackson, MI Estimated1n/a
66Sturgis, MI Estimated1-92.9%
66Trenton, MI Estimated1-75%
70Adrian, MI Estimated0n/a
70Allen Park, MI Estimated0n/a
70Bay City, MI Estimated0-100%
70Clawson, MI Estimated0n/a
70Eastpointe, MI Estimated0-100%
70Flint, MI Estimated0n/a
70Hamtramck, MI Estimated0n/a
70Harper Woods, MI Estimated0n/a
70Hazel Park, MI Estimated0n/a
70Inkster, MI Estimated0n/a
70Melvindale, MI Estimated0n/a
70Mount Clemens, MI Estimated0n/a
70Owosso, MI Estimated0-100%
70Wayne, MI Estimated0-100%
70Ypsilanti, MI 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. 3 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2016 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/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.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. (2017). Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation (Cities in Michigan by housing units authorized by building permits, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Michigan by housing units authorized by building permits, 2016. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2017, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/michigan-cities?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2017. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Cities in Michigan by housing units authorized by building permits, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/michigan-cities?period=2016.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2017) Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Michigan by housing units authorized by building permits, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/michigan-cities?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_michigan_by_2016,
  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 Michigan by housing units authorized by building permits, 2016}},
  year = {2017},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/michigan-cities?period=2016. 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/Midwest\%20Region/mw2016a.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 Michigan by housing units authorized by building permits, 2016
PY  - 2017
DA  - 2017/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/michigan-cities?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/michigan-cities?period=2016.
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/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

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

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

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

Grand Rapids, MI, with 1,398 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Ypsilanti, MI, with 0 in 2016.

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. 3 cities have no value for 2016 and are not ranked.

Housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Cities in Michigan: more rankings