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 2022, at 3,681. Robbinsdale, MN had the lowest, at 1. The median was 97 and the figure for Minnesota was 31,126. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest3,681Minneapolis, MN

Lowest1Robbinsdale, MN

Median97103 cities

Minnesota31,126History

Top 40 cities, 2022

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2022 count	Change on 2021
1	Minneapolis, MN Estimated	3,681	+15.7%
2	St. Paul, MN Estimated	1,169	-44.9%
3	Rochester, MN Estimated	1,081	+73%
4	St. Louis Park, MN Estimated	926	+178.9%
5	Blaine, MN Estimated	880	+44.3%
6	Edina, MN Estimated	870	+752.9%
7	Maple Grove, MN Estimated	782	+32.5%
8	Woodbury, MN Estimated	745	-19.6%
9	Shakopee, MN Estimated	725	+22.3%
10	Lakeville, MN Estimated	713	-36.3%
11	Bloomington, MN Estimated	555	+650%
12	Cottage Grove, MN Estimated	554	-6.1%
13	Chaska, MN Estimated	490	+115.9%
14	Burnsville, MN Estimated	462	-0.4%
15	Dayton, MN Estimated	417	-8.4%
16	Minnetonka, MN Estimated	396	+75.2%
17	St. Michael, MN Estimated	392	-0.8%
18	Coon Rapids, MN Estimated	347	+468.9%
19	St. Cloud, MN Estimated	346	+170.3%
20	Mankato, MN Estimated	343	+29.9%
21	Hopkins, MN Estimated	337	+683.7%
22	Otsego, MN Estimated	327	-24.1%
23	Oakdale, MN Estimated	326	+552%
24	Eden Prairie, MN Estimated	302	+6.7%
25	Elk River, MN Estimated	268	+34.7%
26	Duluth, MN Estimated	254	+80.1%
27	Inver Grove Heights, MN Estimated	236	-24.1%
28	Rosemount, MN Estimated	228	-32.9%
29	Hastings, MN Estimated	227	+567.6%
30	Waconia, MN Estimated	225	+27.1%
31	Moorhead, MN Estimated	198	-30.3%
32	Savage, MN Estimated	193	+107.5%
33	Lake Elmo, MN Estimated	187	-31.5%
34	Richfield, MN Estimated	177	-62%
35	Owatonna, MN Estimated	172	+42.1%
36	Maplewood, MN Estimated	155	+3,775%
37	Farmington, MN Estimated	140	+18.6%
38	Victoria, MN Estimated	138	-3.5%
39	Lino Lakes, MN Estimated	137	-47.7%
40	North Branch, MN Estimated	136	-33.7%
41	Ramsey, MN Estimated	126	-31.1%
42	Rogers, MN Estimated	124	-15.1%
43	Mounds View, MN Estimated	120	n/a
44	Hugo, MN Estimated	114	-40.6%
45	St. Peter, MN Estimated	113	+34.5%
46	South St. Paul, MN Estimated	112	-28.2%
47	Prior Lake, MN Estimated	105	-20.5%
48	Andover, MN Estimated	103	-26.4%
49	Willmar, MN Estimated	102	-54.7%
50	Austin, MN Estimated	100	+614.3%
50	Plymouth, MN Estimated	100	-53.9%
52	Red Wing, MN Estimated	97	+470.6%
52	Roseville, MN Estimated	97	-69.2%
54	Big Lake, MN Estimated	90	+4.7%
55	Stillwater, MN Estimated	86	+120.5%
56	North Mankato, MN Estimated	70	+18.6%
57	Ham Lake, MN Estimated	64	-4.5%
57	Little Canada, MN Estimated	64	n/a
59	Columbia Heights, MN Estimated	63	-78.8%
60	Marshall, MN Estimated	57	-3.4%
61	Alexandria, MN Estimated	54	-74.3%
62	Mendota Heights, MN Estimated	52	+246.7%
63	Northfield, MN Estimated	49	-42.4%
64	Chanhassen, MN Estimated	48	-76.9%
65	Apple Valley, MN Estimated	46	-80.4%
65	Champlin, MN Estimated	46	-23.3%
67	Eagan, MN Estimated	45	+36.4%
68	Anoka, MN Estimated	38	-70.1%
69	Brainerd, MN Estimated	37	+8.8%
69	Detroit Lakes, MN Estimated	37	-24.5%
71	Buffalo, MN Estimated	34	-57.5%
71	Fergus Falls, MN Estimated	34	+126.7%
73	Forest Lake, MN Estimated	31	-84.7%
74	Monticello, MN Estimated	29	-77.9%
75	Hermantown, MN Estimated	26	-21.2%
76	Faribault, MN Estimated	25	-16.7%
77	Hutchinson, MN Estimated	24	-66.2%
77	North St. Paul, MN Estimated	24	-84.8%
79	Sartell, MN Estimated	23	-75.8%
80	Vadnais Heights, MN Estimated	21	-88.5%
81	East Bethel, MN Estimated	20	-82.3%
82	New Brighton, MN Estimated	19	-32.1%
83	Bemidji, MN Estimated	18	-89%
84	Brooklyn Park, MN Estimated	16	-92.7%
85	New Ulm, MN Estimated	15	-6.3%
85	West St. Paul, MN Estimated	15	-97.6%
87	Sauk Rapids, MN Estimated	14	-30%
88	Cambridge, MN Estimated	13	-95.4%
88	Worthington, MN Estimated	13	+116.7%
90	Golden Valley, MN Estimated	10	+25%
91	White Bear Lake, MN Estimated	7	-30%
92	Hibbing, MN Estimated	6	-14.3%
93	Crystal, MN Estimated	5	+25%
93	Grand Rapids, MN Estimated	5	-16.7%
93	Shoreview, MN Estimated	5	-98.2%
93	Winona, MN Estimated	5	-89.8%
97	Albert Lea, MN Estimated	4	-92.7%
97	Cloquet, MN Estimated	4	-71.4%
97	Fairmont, MN Estimated	4	-20%
100	Brooklyn Center, MN Estimated	2	0%
100	Fridley, MN Estimated	2	-98.5%
102	New Hope, MN Estimated	1	-88.9%
102	Robbinsdale, MN Estimated	1	-99.2%

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/mw2022a.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. (2024). 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, 2022) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2022a.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, 2022. U.S. Census Bureau, 2 Apr. 2024, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2022a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2022. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2024. 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, 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2022a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2022.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2024) 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, 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2022a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_minnesota_by_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  year = {2024},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2022a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2022. 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/mw2022a.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, 2022
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/04/02
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2022a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2022.
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/mw2022a.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 3,681 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Robbinsdale, MN, with 1 in 2022.

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.