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 2020, at 2,450. St. Ann, MO had the lowest, at 0. The median was 43 and the figure for Missouri was 19,839. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest2,450Kansas City, MO

Lowest0St. Ann, MO

Median4377 cities

Missouri19,839History

Top 40 cities, 2020

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2020 count	Change on 2019
1	Kansas City, MO Estimated	2,450	+63.6%
2	O'Fallon, MO Estimated	1,067	+86.9%
3	Lee's Summit, MO Estimated	987	-9.9%
4	Raymore, MO Estimated	555	+299.3%
5	Blue Springs, MO Estimated	546	+30.9%
6	Columbia, MO Estimated	522	+3.6%
7	Springfield, MO Estimated	442	+234.8%
8	St. Louis, MO Estimated	422	+10.8%
9	St. Peters, MO Estimated	407	+730.6%
10	St. Charles, MO Estimated	406	-22.2%
11	Wentzville, MO Estimated	332	-40.5%
12	Independence, MO Estimated	326	-15.1%
12	Joplin, MO Estimated	326	+34.2%
14	Lake St. Louis, MO Estimated	300	+69.5%
15	Nixa, MO Estimated	214	-27.9%
16	Belton, MO Estimated	203	+141.7%
17	Eureka, MO Estimated	200	+34.2%
18	St. Joseph, MO Estimated	194	+35.7%
19	Grain Valley, MO Estimated	189	+30.3%
20	Republic, MO Estimated	166	-27.2%
21	Ozark, MO Estimated	162	-16.1%
22	Webb City, MO Estimated	158	+14.5%
23	Washington, MO Estimated	156	+43.1%
24	Troy, MO Estimated	155	+2.6%
25	Kearney, MO Estimated	125	+76.1%
26	Branson, MO Estimated	123	+30.9%
26	Cape Girardeau, MO Estimated	123	-84.1%
28	Festus, MO Estimated	100	+112.8%
29	Dardenne Prairie, MO Estimated	96	+152.6%
30	Farmington, MO Estimated	88	+158.8%
31	Union, MO Estimated	76	+15.2%
32	Kirkwood, MO Estimated	75	+2.7%
33	Carthage, MO Estimated	74	+19.4%
34	Liberty, MO Estimated	71	+77.5%
35	Jefferson City, MO Estimated	56	+1.8%
36	Smithville, MO Estimated	50	-2%
37	Jennings, MO Estimated	49	-16.9%
38	Lebanon, MO Estimated	43	+72%
38	Moberly, MO Estimated	43	+43.3%
40	Arnold, MO Estimated	40	+33.3%
41	Kirksville, MO Estimated	30	-28.6%
42	Neosho, MO Estimated	29	+7.4%
43	Warrensburg, MO Estimated	28	-67.8%
44	Bolivar, MO Estimated	26	+52.9%
44	Bridgeton, MO Estimated	26	n/a
46	Rolla, MO Estimated	25	-70.2%
47	Excelsior Springs, MO Estimated	24	+71.4%
48	Monett, MO Estimated	23	-8%
48	Sikeston, MO Estimated	23	+64.3%
48	Town and Country, MO Estimated	23	-4.2%
51	Kennett, MO Estimated	21	+10.5%
52	Jackson, MO Estimated	18	-18.2%
52	Poplar Bluff, MO Estimated	18	+80%
52	Webster Groves, MO Estimated	18	-73.9%
52	West Plains, MO Estimated	18	-47.1%
56	Fulton, MO Estimated	17	+6.3%
57	Clayton, MO Estimated	15	-51.6%
57	Mexico, MO Estimated	15	-44.4%
59	Ellisville, MO Estimated	13	+225%
60	Harrisonville, MO Estimated	12	+20%
61	Sedalia, MO Estimated	10	-47.4%
62	Creve Coeur, MO Estimated	9	-57.1%
62	Grandview, MO Estimated	9	+80%
64	Gladstone, MO Estimated	8	+33.3%
64	Raytown, MO Estimated	8	+14.3%
66	Ballwin, MO Estimated	7	-79.4%
66	Maryville, MO Estimated	7	-74.1%
68	University City, MO Estimated	4	0%
69	Florissant, MO Estimated	2	n/a
69	Marshall, MO Estimated	2	-33.3%
69	Maryland Heights, MO Estimated	2	0%
72	Hazelwood, MO Estimated	1	n/a
72	Overland, MO Estimated	1	0%
74	Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO Estimated	0	n/a
74	Ferguson, MO Estimated	0	n/a
74	Hannibal, MO Estimated	0	-100%
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. 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/mw2020a.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. (2021). 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, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.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, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, 3 May 2021, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2021. 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, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2021) 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, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_missouri_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  year = {2021},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2020. 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/mw2020a.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, 2020
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/05/03
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2020.
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/mw2020a.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 2,450 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

St. Ann, MO, with 0 in 2020.

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.