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 2018, at 3,625. New Hope, MN had the lowest, at 0. The median was 68 and the figure for Minnesota was 25,673. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest3,625Minneapolis, MN

Lowest0New Hope, MN

Median68103 cities

Minnesota25,673History

Top 40 cities, 2018

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2018 count	Change on 2017
1	Minneapolis, MN Estimated	3,625	+60.8%
2	Rochester, MN Estimated	1,415	+34.3%
3	St. Paul, MN Estimated	706	+128.5%
4	Woodbury, MN Estimated	682	+5.2%
5	Lakeville, MN Estimated	604	-28.5%
6	Maple Grove, MN Estimated	500	+34.8%
7	Apple Valley, MN Estimated	498	-36.5%
8	Eden Prairie, MN Estimated	409	+581.7%
9	Plymouth, MN Estimated	374	-33.1%
10	Chanhassen, MN Estimated	373	+456.7%
11	Edina, MN Estimated	359	+2.9%
12	Mankato, MN Estimated	335	-0.9%
13	Moorhead, MN Estimated	329	+101.8%
14	Forest Lake, MN Estimated	318	+100%
15	Ramsey, MN Estimated	313	+107.3%
16	Otsego, MN Estimated	305	+43.9%
17	Richfield, MN Estimated	291	+29,000%
18	Savage, MN Estimated	284	+39.2%
19	Coon Rapids, MN Estimated	277	+592.5%
20	Blaine, MN Estimated	259	-20.8%
21	Rosemount, MN Estimated	253	+90.2%
22	Minnetonka, MN Estimated	240	-51.4%
23	Duluth, MN Estimated	206	+3.5%
24	Chaska, MN Estimated	195	+89.3%
25	Cottage Grove, MN Estimated	184	+4%
26	Prior Lake, MN Estimated	182	-28.1%
27	Shakopee, MN Estimated	179	-37.8%
28	West St. Paul, MN Estimated	178	+1,680%
29	Victoria, MN Estimated	172	-9.9%
30	Lino Lakes, MN Estimated	160	+20.3%
31	Burnsville, MN Estimated	156	+766.7%
31	Sauk Rapids, MN Estimated	156	+437.9%
33	Dayton, MN Estimated	153	-19%
34	Elk River, MN Estimated	152	+35.7%
34	Rogers, MN Estimated	152	+111.1%
36	Golden Valley, MN Estimated	137	-9.9%
37	Stillwater, MN Estimated	133	+232.5%
38	Cambridge, MN Estimated	132	+76%
39	Owatonna, MN Estimated	131	+24.8%
40	Inver Grove Heights, MN Estimated	130	+18.2%
41	Brooklyn Park, MN Estimated	124	+6.9%
41	Hugo, MN Estimated	124	+57%
43	Sartell, MN Estimated	122	-51.8%
44	St. Michael, MN Estimated	116	+9.4%
45	St. Cloud, MN Estimated	109	-2.7%
46	Hastings, MN Estimated	103	+243.3%
47	Winona, MN Estimated	88	+300%
48	Fridley, MN Estimated	83	n/a
49	Roseville, MN Estimated	77	+97.4%
50	Willmar, MN Estimated	75	+50%
51	North Branch, MN Estimated	73	+73.8%
52	Mounds View, MN Estimated	68	+172%
53	Ham Lake, MN Estimated	67	+9.8%
54	Alexandria, MN Estimated	64	-30.4%
55	Andover, MN Estimated	60	-36.2%
56	Buffalo, MN Estimated	59	+40.5%
57	Marshall, MN Estimated	55	+129.2%
58	Big Lake, MN Estimated	50	-5.7%
59	Monticello, MN Estimated	49	-5.8%
59	Waconia, MN Estimated	49	-25.8%
61	Austin, MN Estimated	48	+242.9%
62	Hutchinson, MN Estimated	46	-45.9%
63	Lake Elmo, MN Estimated	45	-4.3%
64	Cloquet, MN Estimated	44	+193.3%
64	Detroit Lakes, MN Estimated	44	-20%
64	Northfield, MN Estimated	44	+25.7%
67	Bemidji, MN Estimated	43	+7.5%
67	Eagan, MN Estimated	43	-52.7%
69	North Mankato, MN Estimated	42	-25%
70	Brainerd, MN Estimated	41	+24.2%
71	Champlin, MN Estimated	38	-74.5%
72	East Bethel, MN Estimated	37	0%
73	Anoka, MN Estimated	36	-10%
73	Farmington, MN Estimated	36	-18.2%
75	New Ulm, MN Estimated	34	-46.9%
75	North St. Paul, MN Estimated	34	+580%
77	Hermantown, MN Estimated	33	-2.9%
78	Vadnais Heights, MN Estimated	29	+2,800%
79	Faribault, MN Estimated	27	-18.2%
80	Red Wing, MN Estimated	24	+4.3%
81	Mendota Heights, MN Estimated	21	-12.5%
82	St. Peter, MN Estimated	19	-13.6%
83	Crystal, MN Estimated	13	-31.6%
84	Albert Lea, MN Estimated	12	-7.7%
84	Grand Rapids, MN Estimated	12	+20%
86	Hibbing, MN Estimated	11	0%
86	White Bear Lake, MN Estimated	11	0%
88	Fairmont, MN Estimated	9	0%
89	Shoreview, MN Estimated	8	-94.7%
89	Worthington, MN Estimated	8	-81%
91	Bloomington, MN Estimated	7	+40%
91	Columbia Heights, MN Estimated	7	-95.5%
91	Fergus Falls, MN Estimated	7	-12.5%
91	Maplewood, MN Estimated	7	+75%
95	Robbinsdale, MN Estimated	6	+50%
96	Brooklyn Center, MN Estimated	5	+66.7%
96	South St. Paul, MN Estimated	5	0%
98	Oakdale, MN Estimated	2	-60%
99	Little Canada, MN Estimated	1	-88.9%
99	St. Louis Park, MN Estimated	1	-99.1%
101	Hopkins, MN Estimated	0	-100%
101	New Brighton, MN Estimated	0	-100%
101	New Hope, 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/mw2018a.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. (2019). 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, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2018a.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, 2018. U.S. Census Bureau, 20 June 2019, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2018a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2019. 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, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2018a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2019) 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, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2018a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_minnesota_by_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  year = {2019},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2018a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2018. 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/mw2018a.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, 2018
PY  - 2019
DA  - 2019/06/20
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2018a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2018.
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/mw2018a.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 3,625 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

New Hope, MN, with 0 in 2018.

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.