Counties in Minnesota by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025

Name: Counties in Minnesota by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025
Creator: U.S. Census Bureau
License: Public domain (US federal government work, citation requested)

Hennepin County had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 87 counties in 2025, at 3,491. Red Lake County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 64. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest3,491Hennepin County

Lowest0Red Lake County

Median6487 counties

Top 40 counties, 2025

CSV Chart (SVG)

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2025 count	Change on 2024
1	Hennepin County Estimated	3,491	-10.9%
2	Washington County Estimated	2,382	+70.5%
3	Dakota County Estimated	2,330	+8.6%
4	Wright County Estimated	1,156	-8.5%
5	Carver County Estimated	960	+29%
6	Scott County Estimated	883	+26.3%
7	Anoka County Estimated	774	-27.1%
8	Ramsey County Estimated	708	-34.7%
9	Stearns County Estimated	648	+13.3%
10	Crow Wing County Estimated	625	+45%
11	Olmsted County Estimated	542	-56.3%
12	St. Louis County Estimated	412	-35.3%
13	Clay County Estimated	344	+27.9%
14	Douglas County Estimated	319	+11.9%
14	Sherburne County Estimated	319	-4.5%
16	Isanti County Estimated	276	+43.8%
17	Blue Earth County Estimated	274	+1.1%
18	Cass County Estimated	271	-7.8%
19	Itasca County Estimated	249	+100.8%
20	Chisago County Estimated	240	-33.7%
21	Aitkin County Estimated	214	+58.5%
22	Pine County Estimated	213	-11.6%
23	McLeod County Estimated	206	+312%
24	Becker County Estimated	182	+20.5%
25	Beltrami County Estimated	168	+7.7%
26	Morrison County Estimated	156	-21.6%
27	Carlton County Estimated	155	+23%
28	Benton County Estimated	139	+69.5%
29	Mower County Estimated	136	+147.3%
30	Mille Lacs County Estimated	103	-36.4%
31	Rice County Estimated	100	+4.2%
32	Nobles County Estimated	94	+422.2%
33	Goodhue County Estimated	84	-2.3%
33	Todd County Estimated	84	-50.3%
35	Dodge County Estimated	83	-26.5%
35	Kanabec County Estimated	83	+50.9%
35	Lake County Estimated	83	+10.7%
38	Nicollet County Estimated	82	-22.6%
38	Wadena County Estimated	82	+43.9%
40	Stevens County Estimated	74	+825%
41	Kandiyohi County Estimated	73	-62.4%
42	Otter Tail County Estimated	72	-19.1%
43	Le Sueur County Estimated	67	+21.8%
44	Cook County Estimated	64	+3.2%
45	Jackson County Estimated	62	+21.6%
45	Waseca County Estimated	62	+148%
47	Fillmore County Estimated	58	-14.7%
48	Steele County Estimated	54	+92.9%
49	Wabasha County Estimated	51	-20.3%
50	Meeker County Estimated	48	-32.4%
51	Polk County Estimated	42	-4.5%
51	Winona County Estimated	42	+2.4%
53	Yellow Medicine County Estimated	40	+2.6%
54	Houston County Estimated	37	-15.9%
55	Swift County Estimated	34	+54.5%
56	Brown County Estimated	33	-5.7%
56	Koochiching County Estimated	33	+22.2%
56	Pope County Estimated	33	-10.8%
59	Sibley County Estimated	28	+21.7%
60	Hubbard County Estimated	25	0%
60	Lake of the Woods County Estimated	25	+92.3%
62	Lyon County Estimated	23	-75%
63	Roseau County Estimated	21	-4.5%
64	Murray County Estimated	18	-18.2%
65	Lincoln County Estimated	17	+6.3%
66	Rock County Estimated	16	-76.5%
67	Freeborn County Estimated	13	-18.8%
67	Martin County Estimated	13	-51.9%
67	Pipestone County Estimated	13	+62.5%
70	Chippewa County Estimated	11	-8.3%
70	Watonwan County Estimated	11	+57.1%
72	Cottonwood County Estimated	10	+25%
72	Norman County Estimated	10	+66.7%
72	Renville County Estimated	10	-52.4%
75	Wilkin County Estimated	9	+12.5%
76	Grant County Estimated	7	+250%
76	Kittson County Estimated	7	+75%
76	Redwood County Estimated	7	-53.3%
79	Faribault County Estimated	6	-25%
79	Lac qui Parle County Estimated	6	+100%
79	Traverse County Estimated	6	+50%
82	Marshall County Estimated	3	+50%
83	Big Stone County Estimated	2	-33.3%
84	Pennington County Estimated	1	-90%
85	Clearwater County Estimated	0	-100%
85	Mahnomen County Estimated	0	n/a
85	Red Lake County Estimated	0	n/a

Other periods

2025
2024
2023

About this ranking

Annual number of new privately owned housing units authorized by building permits, from the US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.

Final annual county estimates include imputation for missing reports. Counts housing units, not buildings, starts, completions or sales. Covers permit-issuing areas; areas where permits are not required are outside the survey. Not seasonally adjusted or expressed as an annualized monthly rate. The total is the sum of units in the four published structure categories; inputs are retained.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual county estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/County/co2025a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

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Rank Counties in Minnesota by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

Which county has the highest housing units authorized by building permits?

Hennepin County, with 3,491 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Red Lake County, with 0 in 2025.

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 county estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized, including imputation. Retrieved 2026-10-10.