Cities in Minnesota by housing units authorized by building permits

Minneapolis, MN had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 103 cities in 2014, at 1,959. Fergus Falls, MN had the lowest, at 0. The median was 47 and the figure for Minnesota was 16,990. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest1,959Minneapolis, MN

Lowest0Fergus Falls, MN

Median47103 cities

Minnesota16,990History

Top 40 cities, 2014

count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2014 count	Change on 2013
1	Minneapolis, MN Estimated	1,959	-41%
2	Maple Grove, MN Estimated	502	-13.1%
3	St. Paul, MN Estimated	494	+558.7%
4	Rochester, MN Estimated	486	+32.4%
5	Savage, MN Estimated	439	+213.6%
6	Moorhead, MN Estimated	401	-1.5%
7	Apple Valley, MN Estimated	368	+484.1%
8	Lakeville, MN Estimated	347	-12.8%
9	Blaine, MN Estimated	343	+9.2%
10	Woodbury, MN Estimated	342	-11.6%
11	St. Louis Park, MN Estimated	328	+437.7%
12	Plymouth, MN Estimated	312	-32.6%
13	Edina, MN Estimated	231	+110%
14	Mankato, MN Estimated	222	-7.1%
15	St. Cloud, MN Estimated	217	+10.2%
16	Otsego, MN Estimated	188	-0.5%
17	Duluth, MN Estimated	180	+97.8%
18	Golden Valley, MN Estimated	178	+709.1%
18	Rosemount, MN Estimated	178	+85.4%
20	Eagan, MN Estimated	173	-7%
21	Chaska, MN Estimated	165	+11.5%
22	Shakopee, MN Estimated	160	+49.5%
23	Chanhassen, MN Estimated	153	-12.6%
24	Crystal, MN Estimated	138	+762.5%
25	Prior Lake, MN Estimated	125	-33.9%
26	Bemidji, MN Estimated	124	+85.1%
27	Inver Grove Heights, MN Estimated	118	+2.6%
28	Brooklyn Park, MN Estimated	114	-12.3%
29	Victoria, MN Estimated	110	-7.6%
30	New Hope, MN Estimated	100	+9,900%
31	Alexandria, MN Estimated	95	+33.8%
32	Cambridge, MN Estimated	94	+113.6%
33	Elk River, MN Estimated	90	+3.4%
34	Waconia, MN Estimated	84	-21.5%
35	Farmington, MN Estimated	83	-33.1%
36	Forest Lake, MN Estimated	79	-19.4%
37	Cottage Grove, MN Estimated	77	+35.1%
38	New Ulm, MN Estimated	73	-20.7%
39	Sartell, MN Estimated	72	+1.4%
40	Mounds View, MN Estimated	68	+1,260%
41	Ramsey, MN Estimated	66	-71.9%
42	Monticello, MN Estimated	65	+66.7%
43	Eden Prairie, MN Estimated	61	-77.5%
44	Worthington, MN Estimated	56	+1,300%
45	Ham Lake, MN Estimated	55	-5.2%
46	Grand Rapids, MN Estimated	53	-30.3%
46	Minnetonka, MN Estimated	53	-14.5%
48	Andover, MN Estimated	52	-46.9%
49	Rogers, MN Estimated	51	-62.5%
50	Hugo, MN Estimated	49	-3.9%
51	Buffalo, MN Estimated	47	+42.4%
51	North Mankato, MN Estimated	47	-16.1%
53	Sauk Rapids, MN Estimated	45	+32.4%
53	Stillwater, MN Estimated	45	+7.1%
55	Dayton, MN Estimated	43	+16.2%
55	Robbinsdale, MN Estimated	43	+230.8%
57	Hastings, MN Estimated	42	+13.5%
57	Hermantown, MN Estimated	42	+10.5%
59	Lake Elmo, MN Estimated	36	-12.2%
60	Detroit Lakes, MN Estimated	35	+2.9%
61	Burnsville, MN Estimated	34	+112.5%
61	North Branch, MN Estimated	34	-12.8%
61	St. Michael, MN Estimated	34	-43.3%
64	Lino Lakes, MN Estimated	33	+10%
65	Shoreview, MN Estimated	28	+460%
66	Northfield, MN Estimated	26	-43.5%
67	Maplewood, MN Estimated	25	+8.7%
68	Anoka, MN Estimated	24	+118.2%
69	Faribault, MN Estimated	23	-54%
69	Hutchinson, MN Estimated	23	+91.7%
71	Marshall, MN Estimated	22	-8.3%
72	Owatonna, MN Estimated	21	-36.4%
72	St. Peter, MN Estimated	21	-75.6%
74	Red Wing, MN Estimated	18	+157.1%
75	Mendota Heights, MN Estimated	17	+112.5%
75	Willmar, MN Estimated	17	+88.9%
77	East Bethel, MN Estimated	15	0%
78	Hibbing, MN Estimated	13	+85.7%
79	Coon Rapids, MN Estimated	12	-20%
79	Roseville, MN Estimated	12	0%
81	Austin, MN Estimated	11	-15.4%
81	Bloomington, MN Estimated	11	-50%
81	Columbia Heights, MN Estimated	11	+22.2%
84	Champlin, MN Estimated	10	0%
84	White Bear Lake, MN Estimated	10	-88.8%
84	Winona, MN Estimated	10	-60%
87	Albert Lea, MN Estimated	9	-25%
87	Big Lake, MN Estimated	9	+12.5%
89	Brainerd, MN Estimated	8	+60%
89	Cloquet, MN Estimated	8	-78.4%
91	Fridley, MN Estimated	7	-22.2%
91	New Brighton, MN Estimated	7	+133.3%
93	Little Canada, MN Estimated	6	-50%
93	Richfield, MN Estimated	6	-45.5%
93	South St. Paul, MN Estimated	6	+20%
96	Vadnais Heights, MN Estimated	5	-61.5%
97	Brooklyn Center, MN Estimated	4	n/a
98	Fairmont, MN Estimated	3	0%
98	Hopkins, MN Estimated	3	-78.6%
100	Oakdale, MN Estimated	2	-97.9%
100	West St. Paul, MN Estimated	2	-50%
102	North St. Paul, MN Estimated	1	-99.1%
103	Fergus Falls, MN Estimated	0	-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/Midwest%20Region/mw2014a.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. (2016). Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation (Cities in Minnesota by housing units authorized by building permits, 2014) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2014a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Minnesota by housing units authorized by building permits, 2014. U.S. Census Bureau, 30 Sept. 2016, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2014a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2014. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2016. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Cities in Minnesota by housing units authorized by building permits, 2014. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2014a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2014.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2016) Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Minnesota by housing units authorized by building permits, 2014 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2014a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2014 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_minnesota_by_2014,
  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 Minnesota by housing units authorized by building permits, 2014}},
  year = {2016},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2014a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2014. 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/mw2014a.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 Minnesota by housing units authorized by building permits, 2014
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/09/30
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2014a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2014.
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/mw2014a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank Cities in Minnesota by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_units","level":"municipality","within":"Minnesota","limit":10}
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Questions

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

Minneapolis, MN, with 1,959 in 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Fergus Falls, MN, with 0 in 2014.

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.