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 2019, at 4,813. Oakdale, MN had the lowest, at 0. The median was 77 and the figure for Minnesota was 28,586. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest4,813Minneapolis, MN

Lowest0Oakdale, MN

Median77103 cities

Minnesota28,586History

Top 40 cities, 2019

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2019 count	Change on 2018
1	Minneapolis, MN Estimated	4,813	+32.8%
2	St. Paul, MN Estimated	1,575	+123.1%
3	Lakeville, MN Estimated	955	+58.1%
4	Minnetonka, MN Estimated	953	+297.1%
5	Shakopee, MN Estimated	783	+337.4%
6	Rochester, MN Estimated	774	-45.3%
7	Woodbury, MN Estimated	695	+1.9%
8	Burnsville, MN Estimated	552	+253.8%
9	Maple Grove, MN Estimated	461	-7.8%
10	St. Louis Park, MN Estimated	442	+44,100%
11	Blaine, MN Estimated	441	+70.3%
12	Duluth, MN Estimated	440	+113.6%
13	Plymouth, MN Estimated	391	+4.5%
14	Bloomington, MN Estimated	378	+5,300%
15	Savage, MN Estimated	362	+27.5%
16	Eden Prairie, MN Estimated	352	-13.9%
17	Otsego, MN Estimated	335	+9.8%
18	Cottage Grove, MN Estimated	293	+59.2%
19	Dayton, MN Estimated	290	+89.5%
19	Ramsey, MN Estimated	290	-7.3%
21	Rosemount, MN Estimated	274	+8.3%
22	Moorhead, MN Estimated	206	-37.4%
23	Buffalo, MN Estimated	200	+239%
24	Prior Lake, MN Estimated	197	+8.2%
25	Forest Lake, MN Estimated	192	-39.6%
26	Roseville, MN Estimated	173	+124.7%
27	New Brighton, MN Estimated	172	n/a
28	Victoria, MN Estimated	163	-5.2%
29	Edina, MN Estimated	162	-54.9%
29	Shoreview, MN Estimated	162	+1,925%
31	Sauk Rapids, MN Estimated	161	+3.2%
32	Maplewood, MN Estimated	158	+2,157.1%
32	Vadnais Heights, MN Estimated	158	+444.8%
34	Inver Grove Heights, MN Estimated	146	+12.3%
35	Mounds View, MN Estimated	137	+101.5%
36	Mankato, MN Estimated	134	-60%
37	Red Wing, MN Estimated	127	+429.2%
38	Elk River, MN Estimated	125	-17.8%
39	Richfield, MN Estimated	120	-58.8%
40	St. Michael, MN Estimated	118	+1.7%
41	Andover, MN Estimated	116	+93.3%
42	Big Lake, MN Estimated	115	+130%
43	Lino Lakes, MN Estimated	114	-28.7%
44	Chaska, MN Estimated	113	-42.1%
45	Rogers, MN Estimated	106	-30.3%
46	Hugo, MN Estimated	104	-16.1%
47	Brooklyn Park, MN Estimated	99	-20.2%
48	Austin, MN Estimated	96	+100%
49	St. Cloud, MN Estimated	88	-19.3%
50	Willmar, MN Estimated	86	+14.7%
51	Stillwater, MN Estimated	78	-41.4%
52	Cloquet, MN Estimated	77	+75%
53	Mendota Heights, MN Estimated	75	+257.1%
54	Hastings, MN Estimated	74	-28.2%
55	Cambridge, MN Estimated	70	-47%
56	Marshall, MN Estimated	69	+25.5%
57	Ham Lake, MN Estimated	65	-3%
58	Owatonna, MN Estimated	63	-51.9%
59	Faribault, MN Estimated	61	+125.9%
59	Hutchinson, MN Estimated	61	+32.6%
61	Chanhassen, MN Estimated	59	-84.2%
62	Monticello, MN Estimated	57	+16.3%
63	Alexandria, MN Estimated	54	-15.6%
63	Sartell, MN Estimated	54	-55.7%
65	North Branch, MN Estimated	49	-32.9%
66	Detroit Lakes, MN Estimated	46	+4.5%
67	North St. Paul, MN Estimated	44	+29.4%
67	Winona, MN Estimated	44	-50%
69	Champlin, MN Estimated	43	+13.2%
70	Lake Elmo, MN Estimated	42	-6.7%
71	Fridley, MN Estimated	39	-53%
71	Northfield, MN Estimated	39	-11.4%
73	Farmington, MN Estimated	38	+5.6%
74	Brainerd, MN Estimated	37	-9.8%
75	Eagan, MN Estimated	35	-18.6%
76	Hermantown, MN Estimated	32	-3%
76	New Ulm, MN Estimated	32	-5.9%
76	North Mankato, MN Estimated	32	-23.8%
79	Apple Valley, MN Estimated	29	-94.2%
80	East Bethel, MN Estimated	27	-27%
81	Bemidji, MN Estimated	21	-51.2%
82	Waconia, MN Estimated	20	-59.2%
83	Coon Rapids, MN Estimated	17	-93.9%
83	Fergus Falls, MN Estimated	17	+142.9%
85	Golden Valley, MN Estimated	13	-90.5%
85	White Bear Lake, MN Estimated	13	+18.2%
87	Hibbing, MN Estimated	11	0%
88	Worthington, MN Estimated	10	+25%
89	Grand Rapids, MN Estimated	8	-33.3%
89	South St. Paul, MN Estimated	8	+60%
91	New Hope, MN Estimated	7	n/a
92	Crystal, MN Estimated	6	-53.8%
92	St. Peter, MN Estimated	6	-68.4%
94	Albert Lea, MN Estimated	5	-58.3%
94	West St. Paul, MN Estimated	5	-97.2%
96	Hopkins, MN Estimated	4	n/a
97	Brooklyn Center, MN Estimated	3	-40%
97	Columbia Heights, MN Estimated	3	-57.1%
97	Fairmont, MN Estimated	3	-66.7%
97	Robbinsdale, MN Estimated	3	-50%
101	Anoka, MN Estimated	1	-97.2%
101	Little Canada, MN Estimated	1	0%
103	Oakdale, 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/mw2019a.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. (2020). 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, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2019a.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, 2019. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2020, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2019a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. 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, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2019a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2019.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2020) 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, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2019a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_minnesota_by_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  year = {2020},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2019a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2019. 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/mw2019a.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, 2019
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2019a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2019.
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/mw2019a.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 4,813 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Oakdale, MN, with 0 in 2019.

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.