Cities in Missouri by housing units authorized by building permits

Kansas City, MO had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 76 cities in 2015, at 3,129. St. Ann, MO had the lowest, at 0. The median was 44 and the figure for Missouri was 18,344. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest3,129Kansas City, MO

Lowest0St. Ann, MO

Median4476 cities

Missouri18,344History

Top 40 cities, 2015

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2015 count	Change on 2014
1	Kansas City, MO Estimated	3,129	+14.4%
2	Columbia, MO Estimated	1,170	-1.1%
3	Springfield, MO Estimated	1,087	-2.6%
4	Wentzville, MO Estimated	664	+6.1%
5	O'Fallon, MO Estimated	550	+24.4%
6	St. Louis, MO Estimated	548	-27.7%
7	Lee's Summit, MO Estimated	522	-8.6%
8	Clayton, MO Estimated	490	+3,669.2%
9	Joplin, MO Estimated	274	+4.2%
10	Creve Coeur, MO Estimated	249	+20.9%
10	Warrensburg, MO Estimated	249	+245.8%
12	St. Peters, MO Estimated	200	-50.6%
13	Blue Springs, MO Estimated	184	-32.6%
14	Lake St. Louis, MO Estimated	176	+6.7%
15	St. Charles, MO Estimated	172	-56.5%
16	St. Joseph, MO Estimated	171	+185%
17	Union, MO Estimated	162	+200%
18	Raymore, MO Estimated	141	-11.3%
19	Dardenne Prairie, MO Estimated	140	+259%
20	Rolla, MO Estimated	134	+27.6%
21	Grain Valley, MO Estimated	133	+104.6%
22	Ozark, MO Estimated	125	+60.3%
23	Farmington, MO Estimated	122	+24.5%
24	Kearney, MO Estimated	117	+116.7%
25	Republic, MO Estimated	113	+36.1%
26	Troy, MO Estimated	108	+157.1%
27	Independence, MO Estimated	107	+67.2%
28	Nixa, MO Estimated	105	-25.5%
29	Cape Girardeau, MO Estimated	102	-11.3%
30	Jackson, MO Estimated	77	+6.9%
31	Gladstone, MO Estimated	74	+1,133.3%
32	Smithville, MO Estimated	70	+22.8%
33	Kirkwood, MO Estimated	65	+6.6%
34	Jefferson City, MO Estimated	62	-21.5%
35	Poplar Bluff, MO Estimated	56	+124%
36	Bolivar, MO Estimated	50	-15.3%
37	Webb City, MO Estimated	46	+7%
38	Jennings, MO Estimated	44	-10.2%
39	Festus, MO Estimated	43	-40.3%
40	Town and Country, MO Estimated	41	-25.5%
41	Marshall, MO Estimated	40	-2.4%
42	Branson, MO Estimated	33	0%
42	Maryville, MO Estimated	33	+22.2%
42	Sikeston, MO Estimated	33	-19.5%
45	Kirksville, MO Estimated	32	-40.7%
46	Washington, MO Estimated	29	0%
47	Arnold, MO Estimated	28	-22.2%
47	Mexico, MO Estimated	28	+1,300%
49	Fulton, MO Estimated	26	+225%
49	Monett, MO Estimated	26	+188.9%
49	Neosho, MO Estimated	26	+23.8%
52	Liberty, MO Estimated	22	-26.7%
53	Carthage, MO Estimated	20	-16.7%
53	Hannibal, MO Estimated	20	+11.1%
55	Lebanon, MO Estimated	18	+5.9%
55	Sedalia, MO Estimated	18	+5.9%
57	Ballwin, MO Estimated	17	-54.1%
57	Kennett, MO Estimated	17	+21.4%
59	Belton, MO Estimated	15	+15.4%
60	Moberly, MO Estimated	13	-7.1%
61	West Plains, MO Estimated	12	-36.8%
62	Webster Groves, MO Estimated	11	-21.4%
63	Ellisville, MO Estimated	10	-56.5%
63	Eureka, MO Estimated	10	-56.5%
63	Hazelwood, MO Estimated	10	+66.7%
66	Harrisonville, MO Estimated	8	+60%
67	University City, MO Estimated	6	+100%
68	Raytown, MO Estimated	3	-50%
69	Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO Estimated	1	0%
69	Bridgeton, MO Estimated	1	-83.3%
69	Excelsior Springs, MO Estimated	1	-50%
69	Florissant, MO Estimated	1	0%
69	Overland, MO Estimated	1	n/a
74	Ferguson, MO Estimated	0	n/a
74	Maryland Heights, MO Estimated	0	n/a
74	St. Ann, MO Estimated	0	n/a

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. 1 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2015 and are left out rather than filled from another source. 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/mw2015a.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. (2016). Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation (Cities in Missouri by housing units authorized by building permits, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2015a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Missouri by housing units authorized by building permits, 2015. U.S. Census Bureau, 30 Sept. 2016, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2015a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2016. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Cities in Missouri by housing units authorized by building permits, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2015a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2016) Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Missouri by housing units authorized by building permits, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2015a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_missouri_by_2015,
  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 Missouri by housing units authorized by building permits, 2015}},
  year = {2016},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2015a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2015. 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/mw2015a.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 Missouri by housing units authorized by building permits, 2015
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/09/30
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2015a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2015.
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/mw2015a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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

rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_units","level":"municipality","within":"Missouri","limit":10}
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Questions

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

Kansas City, MO, with 3,129 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

St. Ann, MO, with 0 in 2015.

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. 1 cities have no value for 2015 and are not ranked.