Cities in Missouri by housing units authorized by building permits

Kansas City, MO had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 77 cities in 2016, at 3,340. St. Ann, MO had the lowest, at 0. The median was 43 and the figure for Missouri was 18,997. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest3,340Kansas City, MO

Lowest0St. Ann, MO

Median4377 cities

Missouri18,997History

Top 40 cities, 2016

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2016 count	Change on 2015
1	Kansas City, MO Estimated	3,340	+6.7%
2	St. Louis, MO Estimated	1,070	+95.3%
3	Columbia, MO Estimated	973	-16.8%
4	Wentzville, MO Estimated	775	+16.7%
5	Springfield, MO Estimated	620	-43%
6	St. Charles, MO Estimated	581	+237.8%
7	Lee's Summit, MO Estimated	527	+1%
8	O'Fallon, MO Estimated	509	-7.5%
9	Liberty, MO Estimated	319	+1,350%
10	Ozark, MO Estimated	271	+116.8%
11	Rolla, MO Estimated	224	+67.2%
12	Blue Springs, MO Estimated	223	+21.2%
13	Raymore, MO Estimated	217	+53.9%
14	Ellisville, MO Estimated	190	+1,800%
15	Joplin, MO Estimated	152	-44.5%
16	Clayton, MO Estimated	133	-72.9%
17	Farmington, MO Estimated	131	+7.4%
18	Smithville, MO Estimated	129	+84.3%
19	Nixa, MO Estimated	128	+21.9%
20	Union, MO Estimated	123	-24.1%
21	Republic, MO Estimated	117	+3.5%
22	Grain Valley, MO Estimated	111	-16.5%
22	Lake St. Louis, MO Estimated	111	-36.9%
24	Belton, MO Estimated	103	+586.7%
25	Kearney, MO Estimated	100	-14.5%
26	Jefferson City, MO Estimated	93	+50%
27	Creve Coeur, MO Estimated	92	-63.1%
28	Cape Girardeau, MO Estimated	91	-10.8%
29	St. Peters, MO Estimated	89	-55.5%
30	Independence, MO Estimated	83	-22.4%
31	Jackson, MO Estimated	81	+5.2%
32	Kirkwood, MO Estimated	79	+21.5%
33	Troy, MO Estimated	71	-34.3%
34	Kirksville, MO Estimated	64	+100%
35	St. Joseph, MO Estimated	58	-66.1%
36	Harrisonville, MO Estimated	52	+550%
37	Warrensburg, MO Estimated	50	-79.9%
38	Webb City, MO Estimated	48	+4.3%
39	Festus, MO Estimated	43	0%
40	Arnold, MO Estimated	39	+39.3%
41	Gladstone, MO Estimated	34	-54.1%
41	Mexico, MO Estimated	34	+21.4%
43	Branson, MO Estimated	33	0%
44	Neosho, MO Estimated	28	+7.7%
45	Carthage, MO Estimated	26	+30%
45	Eureka, MO Estimated	26	+160%
47	Town and Country, MO Estimated	24	-41.5%
47	West Plains, MO Estimated	24	+100%
49	Sikeston, MO Estimated	23	-30.3%
50	Dardenne Prairie, MO Estimated	22	-84.3%
51	Bolivar, MO Estimated	21	-58%
52	Hannibal, MO Estimated	20	0%
52	Washington, MO Estimated	20	-31%
54	Moberly, MO Estimated	18	+38.5%
55	Kennett, MO Estimated	17	0%
55	Maryville, MO Estimated	17	-48.5%
55	Webster Groves, MO Estimated	17	+54.5%
58	Lebanon, MO Estimated	15	-16.7%
58	Marshall, MO Estimated	15	-62.5%
60	Ballwin, MO Estimated	13	-23.5%
61	Sedalia, MO Estimated	12	-33.3%
62	University City, MO Estimated	11	+83.3%
63	Monett, MO Estimated	10	-61.5%
64	Excelsior Springs, MO Estimated	8	+700%
65	Bridgeton, MO Estimated	4	+300%
65	Hazelwood, MO Estimated	4	-60%
65	Raytown, MO Estimated	4	+33.3%
68	Jennings, MO Estimated	3	-93.2%
69	Florissant, MO Estimated	2	+100%
70	Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO Estimated	1	0%
70	Grandview, MO Estimated	1	n/a
70	Poplar Bluff, MO Estimated	1	-98.2%
73	Ferguson, MO Estimated	0	n/a
73	Fulton, MO Estimated	0	-100%
73	Maryland Heights, MO Estimated	0	n/a
73	Overland, MO Estimated	0	-100%
73	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. 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/mw2016a.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. (2017). 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, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.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, 2016. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2017, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2017. 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, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2016.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2017) 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, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_missouri_by_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  year = {2017},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2016. 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/mw2016a.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, 2016
PY  - 2017
DA  - 2017/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2016.
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/mw2016a.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 3,340 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

St. Ann, MO, with 0 in 2016.

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.