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 2016, at 2,908. Robbinsdale, MN had the lowest, at 1. The median was 60 and the figure for Minnesota was 21,449. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest2,908Minneapolis, MN

Lowest1Robbinsdale, MN

Median60103 cities

Minnesota21,449History

Top 40 cities, 2016

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2016 count	Change on 2015
1	Minneapolis, MN Estimated	2,908	+95.3%
2	Rochester, MN Estimated	1,396	-4.8%
3	St. Paul, MN Estimated	930	+0.8%
4	Lakeville, MN Estimated	563	+34%
5	Moorhead, MN Estimated	487	-3.9%
6	Maple Grove, MN Estimated	399	+0.5%
7	Woodbury, MN Estimated	393	-5.8%
8	Blaine, MN Estimated	390	+29.6%
9	Plymouth, MN Estimated	303	-33.4%
10	St. Cloud, MN Estimated	293	+9.7%
11	Cottage Grove, MN Estimated	282	+333.8%
12	Bemidji, MN Estimated	276	+193.6%
13	Hopkins, MN Estimated	242	+24,100%
14	Champlin, MN Estimated	234	+143.8%
15	Mankato, MN Estimated	221	-59.1%
16	Otsego, MN Estimated	220	+6.3%
17	Roseville, MN Estimated	210	+1,300%
18	Sartell, MN Estimated	208	+13.7%
19	Columbia Heights, MN Estimated	204	+2,166.7%
20	Minnetonka, MN Estimated	200	-23.7%
21	Chaska, MN Estimated	185	-32.5%
22	Prior Lake, MN Estimated	168	+35.5%
23	Savage, MN Estimated	165	+94.1%
24	Maplewood, MN Estimated	164	+1,390.9%
25	Apple Valley, MN Estimated	161	-59.8%
26	Edina, MN Estimated	158	-67.9%
26	Sauk Rapids, MN Estimated	158	+32.8%
28	Brooklyn Park, MN Estimated	139	+3.7%
29	Rosemount, MN Estimated	138	-20.2%
29	Victoria, MN Estimated	138	+62.4%
31	Farmington, MN Estimated	136	+147.3%
32	St. Michael, MN Estimated	123	+251.4%
33	Dayton, MN Estimated	122	+62.7%
34	Forest Lake, MN Estimated	110	+35.8%
35	Fridley, MN Estimated	109	+2,625%
36	Waconia, MN Estimated	107	+12.6%
37	Andover, MN Estimated	103	+39.2%
38	Duluth, MN Estimated	102	-74.3%
39	Lino Lakes, MN Estimated	100	+112.8%
40	Hugo, MN Estimated	99	+43.5%
41	Inver Grove Heights, MN Estimated	95	+187.9%
42	Big Lake, MN Estimated	94	+54.1%
43	Eagan, MN Estimated	88	+79.6%
43	Grand Rapids, MN Estimated	88	-8.3%
45	Ramsey, MN Estimated	86	-30.1%
46	Alexandria, MN Estimated	80	-57.4%
47	Fergus Falls, MN Estimated	76	+24.6%
48	Elk River, MN Estimated	75	+2.7%
48	Red Wing, MN Estimated	75	+316.7%
50	St. Peter, MN Estimated	70	+141.4%
51	Ham Lake, MN Estimated	67	+19.6%
52	Monticello, MN Estimated	60	+46.3%
53	Worthington, MN Estimated	56	+833.3%
54	Vadnais Heights, MN Estimated	51	+218.8%
55	Eden Prairie, MN Estimated	50	-31.5%
55	Rogers, MN Estimated	50	0%
55	Shakopee, MN Estimated	50	-66%
58	Cambridge, MN Estimated	49	-40.2%
58	North Branch, MN Estimated	49	+53.1%
60	Chanhassen, MN Estimated	48	-53.8%
61	Hermantown, MN Estimated	46	+27.8%
62	Lake Elmo, MN Estimated	44	+10%
62	New Brighton, MN Estimated	44	-20%
64	Buffalo, MN Estimated	41	+7.9%
65	Detroit Lakes, MN Estimated	40	0%
66	East Bethel, MN Estimated	37	+76.2%
66	Owatonna, MN Estimated	37	-26%
66	Willmar, MN Estimated	37	+85%
69	New Hope, MN Estimated	34	+240%
70	Northfield, MN Estimated	32	+3.2%
70	Stillwater, MN Estimated	32	+146.2%
72	Anoka, MN Estimated	30	+15.4%
72	Hutchinson, MN Estimated	30	+42.9%
74	Faribault, MN Estimated	29	+7.4%
75	Mendota Heights, MN Estimated	28	+33.3%
76	Burnsville, MN Estimated	26	-46.9%
77	Hastings, MN Estimated	22	+10%
78	Coon Rapids, MN Estimated	21	-27.6%
78	North Mankato, MN Estimated	21	-70.8%
80	New Ulm, MN Estimated	19	0%
81	Golden Valley, MN Estimated	17	-22.7%
81	Marshall, MN Estimated	17	+142.9%
83	Brainerd, MN Estimated	15	+36.4%
83	Crystal, MN Estimated	15	+15.4%
83	Shoreview, MN Estimated	15	-21.1%
86	Bloomington, MN Estimated	14	-12.5%
87	Winona, MN Estimated	13	-77.6%
88	West St. Paul, MN Estimated	12	+100%
89	Austin, MN Estimated	11	0%
90	Hibbing, MN Estimated	10	+42.9%
90	North St. Paul, MN Estimated	10	+233.3%
92	Albert Lea, MN Estimated	9	-92.4%
92	White Bear Lake, MN Estimated	9	-94.8%
94	Little Canada, MN Estimated	8	-33.3%
95	Oakdale, MN Estimated	6	-45.5%
95	Richfield, MN Estimated	6	0%
95	St. Louis Park, MN Estimated	6	-98.5%
98	Mounds View, MN Estimated	4	-71.4%
98	South St. Paul, MN Estimated	4	+33.3%
100	Cloquet, MN Estimated	3	-62.5%
101	Fairmont, MN Estimated	2	n/a
102	Brooklyn Center, MN Estimated	1	-90%
102	Robbinsdale, MN Estimated	1	-85.7%

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/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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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/minnesota-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 Minnesota 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/minnesota-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 Minnesota 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/minnesota-cities?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_minnesota_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 Minnesota 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/minnesota-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 Minnesota 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/minnesota-cities?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-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  -

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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 2,908 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Robbinsdale, MN, with 1 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.