Counties in Minnesota by housing units authorized by building permits

Name: Counties in Minnesota by housing units authorized by building permits, 2023
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 2023, at 5,646. Mahnomen County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 55. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest5,646Hennepin County

Lowest0Mahnomen County

Median5587 counties

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSV Chart (SVG)

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2023 count
1	Hennepin County Estimated	5,646
2	Dakota County Estimated	2,718
3	Washington County Estimated	2,263
4	Ramsey County Estimated	1,806
5	Wright County Estimated	1,234
6	Carver County Estimated	1,083
7	Anoka County Estimated	1,059
8	Olmsted County Estimated	1,002
9	Scott County Estimated	887
10	Crow Wing County Estimated	809
11	Stearns County Estimated	618
12	St. Louis County Estimated	570
13	Blue Earth County Estimated	472
14	Sherburne County Estimated	434
15	Clay County Estimated	402
16	Isanti County Estimated	388
17	Cass County Estimated	277
18	Kandiyohi County Estimated	217
19	Beltrami County Estimated	210
20	Pine County Estimated	190
21	Chisago County Estimated	189
22	Morrison County Estimated	187
23	Douglas County Estimated	179
24	Otter Tail County Estimated	164
25	Steele County Estimated	148
26	Becker County Estimated	146
27	Aitkin County Estimated	145
28	Itasca County Estimated	142
29	Rice County Estimated	116
30	Todd County Estimated	109
31	Winona County Estimated	107
32	Carlton County Estimated	90
32	Hubbard County Estimated	90
34	Nicollet County Estimated	89
35	McLeod County Estimated	78
36	Le Sueur County Estimated	77
37	Fillmore County Estimated	74
38	Lake County Estimated	72
39	Meeker County Estimated	65
40	Mille Lacs County Estimated	64
41	Benton County Estimated	63
41	Rock County Estimated	63
43	Cook County Estimated	56
44	Polk County Estimated	55
45	Wabasha County Estimated	54
46	Goodhue County Estimated	50
47	Kanabec County Estimated	47
48	Wadena County Estimated	46
49	Dodge County Estimated	44
50	Pope County Estimated	42
51	Houston County Estimated	37
52	Mower County Estimated	35
53	Roseau County Estimated	34
54	Waseca County Estimated	33
55	Lyon County Estimated	32
56	Koochiching County Estimated	29
56	Sibley County Estimated	29
58	Brown County Estimated	22
58	Murray County Estimated	22
58	Redwood County Estimated	22
61	Lake of the Woods County Estimated	19
61	Nobles County Estimated	19
63	Watonwan County Estimated	18
63	Wilkin County Estimated	18
65	Lincoln County Estimated	16
66	Chippewa County Estimated	12
66	Freeborn County Estimated	12
68	Renville County Estimated	11
68	Swift County Estimated	11
70	Cottonwood County Estimated	10
70	Lac qui Parle County Estimated	10
72	Martin County Estimated	9
72	Pipestone County Estimated	9
72	Yellow Medicine County Estimated	9
75	Norman County Estimated	8
75	Pennington County Estimated	8
77	Big Stone County Estimated	7
78	Faribault County Estimated	5
78	Jackson County Estimated	5
78	Traverse County Estimated	5
81	Kittson County Estimated	4
81	Marshall County Estimated	4
83	Stevens County Estimated	3
84	Red Lake County Estimated	2
85	Clearwater County Estimated	1
85	Grant County Estimated	1
87	Mahnomen County Estimated	0

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/co2023a.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 5,646 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

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