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 2023, at 1,528. South St. Paul, MN had the lowest, at 0. The median was 65 and the figure for Minnesota was 25,667. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest1,528Minneapolis, MN

Lowest0South St. Paul, MN

Median65103 cities

Minnesota25,667History

Top 40 cities, 2023

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2023 count	Change on 2022
1	Minneapolis, MN Estimated	1,528	-58.5%
2	St. Paul, MN Estimated	1,204	+3%
3	Rosemount, MN Estimated	1,148	+403.5%
4	Oakdale, MN Estimated	981	+200.9%
5	Rochester, MN Estimated	792	-26.7%
6	Lakeville, MN Estimated	712	-0.1%
7	Chaska, MN Estimated	591	+20.6%
8	Shakopee, MN Estimated	572	-21.1%
9	Maple Grove, MN Estimated	535	-31.6%
10	Woodbury, MN Estimated	469	-37%
11	Hopkins, MN Estimated	453	+34.4%
12	Mankato, MN Estimated	396	+15.5%
13	Blaine, MN Estimated	393	-55.3%
14	Bloomington, MN Estimated	371	-33.2%
15	Moorhead, MN Estimated	335	+69.2%
16	Duluth, MN Estimated	326	+28.3%
17	Rogers, MN Estimated	317	+155.6%
18	Plymouth, MN Estimated	313	+213%
19	Cottage Grove, MN Estimated	290	-47.7%
20	Eden Prairie, MN Estimated	253	-16.2%
21	Brooklyn Park, MN Estimated	249	+1,456.3%
22	Cambridge, MN Estimated	247	+1,800%
23	Monticello, MN Estimated	237	+717.2%
23	St. Cloud, MN Estimated	237	-31.5%
25	Farmington, MN Estimated	223	+59.3%
26	Otsego, MN Estimated	219	-33%
27	St. Michael, MN Estimated	218	-44.4%
28	Dayton, MN Estimated	215	-48.4%
29	Victoria, MN Estimated	211	+52.9%
30	Hastings, MN Estimated	207	-8.8%
30	Shoreview, MN Estimated	207	+4,040%
32	Vadnais Heights, MN Estimated	191	+809.5%
33	Lake Elmo, MN Estimated	171	-8.6%
34	Fridley, MN Estimated	169	+8,350%
35	Willmar, MN Estimated	155	+52%
36	Owatonna, MN Estimated	143	-16.9%
37	Elk River, MN Estimated	141	-47.4%
38	West St. Paul, MN Estimated	138	+820%
39	Burnsville, MN Estimated	125	-72.9%
40	Little Canada, MN Estimated	116	+81.3%
41	Ramsey, MN Estimated	114	-9.5%
42	Hugo, MN Estimated	113	-0.9%
43	Lino Lakes, MN Estimated	112	-18.2%
44	Big Lake, MN Estimated	104	+15.6%
45	North Branch, MN Estimated	98	-27.9%
46	Inver Grove Heights, MN Estimated	97	-58.9%
47	Waconia, MN Estimated	93	-58.7%
48	Stillwater, MN Estimated	83	-3.5%
49	Winona, MN Estimated	76	+1,420%
50	Buffalo, MN Estimated	68	+100%
50	Prior Lake, MN Estimated	68	-35.2%
52	St. Peter, MN Estimated	65	-42.5%
53	Andover, MN Estimated	64	-37.9%
53	Bemidji, MN Estimated	64	+255.6%
53	St. Louis Park, MN Estimated	64	-93.1%
56	Crystal, MN Estimated	63	+1,160%
57	Edina, MN Estimated	61	-93%
58	Coon Rapids, MN Estimated	60	-82.7%
59	Champlin, MN Estimated	55	+19.6%
60	Savage, MN Estimated	39	-79.8%
61	Hutchinson, MN Estimated	38	+58.3%
62	Ham Lake, MN Estimated	37	-42.2%
63	Hermantown, MN Estimated	36	+38.5%
64	Alexandria, MN Estimated	35	-35.2%
64	Chanhassen, MN Estimated	35	-27.1%
66	Apple Valley, MN Estimated	34	-26.1%
67	Detroit Lakes, MN Estimated	32	-13.5%
68	Fergus Falls, MN Estimated	27	-20.6%
68	Minnetonka, MN Estimated	27	-93.2%
70	Faribault, MN Estimated	26	+4%
70	Northfield, MN Estimated	26	-46.9%
72	Forest Lake, MN Estimated	22	-29%
73	Marshall, MN Estimated	21	-63.2%
74	Roseville, MN Estimated	20	-79.4%
74	Sartell, MN Estimated	20	-13%
76	Brainerd, MN Estimated	19	-48.6%
77	New Brighton, MN Estimated	17	-10.5%
78	Sauk Rapids, MN Estimated	16	+14.3%
79	North Mankato, MN Estimated	15	-78.6%
80	East Bethel, MN Estimated	14	-30%
80	Red Wing, MN Estimated	14	-85.6%
82	Eagan, MN Estimated	13	-71.1%
82	Hibbing, MN Estimated	13	+116.7%
84	North St. Paul, MN Estimated	11	-54.2%
85	Austin, MN Estimated	10	-90%
85	Grand Rapids, MN Estimated	10	+100%
85	New Ulm, MN Estimated	10	-33.3%
88	White Bear Lake, MN Estimated	9	+28.6%
89	Anoka, MN Estimated	8	-78.9%
90	Worthington, MN Estimated	7	-46.2%
91	Mendota Heights, MN Estimated	6	-88.5%
92	Albert Lea, MN Estimated	5	+25%
92	Golden Valley, MN Estimated	5	-50%
94	Cloquet, MN Estimated	4	0%
95	Maplewood, MN Estimated	3	-98.1%
96	Brooklyn Center, MN Estimated	1	-50%
96	Columbia Heights, MN Estimated	1	-98.4%
96	Mounds View, MN Estimated	1	-99.2%
99	Fairmont, MN Estimated	0	-100%
99	New Hope, MN Estimated	0	-100%
99	Richfield, MN Estimated	0	-100%
99	Robbinsdale, MN Estimated	0	-100%
99	South St. Paul, 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/mw2023a.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, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2023a.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, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 24 Apr. 2024, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2023a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2023. 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, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2023a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2023.

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, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2023a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_minnesota_by_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  year = {2024},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2023a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2023. 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/mw2023a.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, 2023
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/04/24
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2023a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/minnesota-cities?period=2023.
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/mw2023a.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 1,528 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

South St. Paul, MN, with 0 in 2023.

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.