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 2024, at 2,878. St. Ann, MO had the lowest, at 0. The median was 56 and the figure for Missouri was 18,464. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest2,878Kansas City, MO

Lowest0St. Ann, MO

Median5677 cities

Missouri18,464History

Top 40 cities, 2024

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2024 count	Change on 2023
1	Kansas City, MO Estimated	2,878	+133.2%
2	Columbia, MO Estimated	1,010	+173%
3	Republic, MO Estimated	532	+8.8%
4	Lee's Summit, MO Estimated	498	-29.4%
5	O'Fallon, MO Estimated	484	+17.5%
6	Wentzville, MO Estimated	391	+40.6%
7	St. Louis, MO Estimated	294	+5.8%
8	University City, MO Estimated	262	+8,633.3%
9	Dardenne Prairie, MO Estimated	259	+24.5%
10	Raymore, MO Estimated	237	+31.7%
11	Washington, MO Estimated	230	+248.5%
12	Blue Springs, MO Estimated	224	+39.1%
13	Joplin, MO Estimated	209	-15.7%
14	Clayton, MO Estimated	196	+3,820%
15	St. Charles, MO Estimated	195	-25%
16	St. Peters, MO Estimated	194	-76.6%
17	Nixa, MO Estimated	192	-55%
18	Ozark, MO Estimated	189	+11.2%
19	Bolivar, MO Estimated	188	+141%
20	Festus, MO Estimated	146	-5.2%
21	Union, MO Estimated	141	+38.2%
22	Rolla, MO Estimated	136	+38.8%
23	Springfield, MO Estimated	127	+18.7%
24	Branson, MO Estimated	100	+8.7%
25	Sedalia, MO Estimated	99	-11.6%
26	Carthage, MO Estimated	97	+49.2%
27	Smithville, MO Estimated	92	+178.8%
28	Neosho, MO Estimated	91	-7.1%
29	Belton, MO Estimated	88	+175%
30	Eureka, MO Estimated	86	+59.3%
31	Farmington, MO Estimated	77	-83.4%
31	Liberty, MO Estimated	77	+1.3%
33	Jennings, MO Estimated	70	-16.7%
34	Warrensburg, MO Estimated	64	+88.2%
35	Poplar Bluff, MO Estimated	63	+142.3%
36	Lebanon, MO Estimated	61	-29.9%
37	Excelsior Springs, MO Estimated	59	+391.7%
38	Troy, MO Estimated	58	-7.9%
39	Independence, MO Estimated	56	-3.4%
40	Kirkwood, MO Estimated	54	+35%
41	West Plains, MO Estimated	48	-37.7%
42	Cape Girardeau, MO Estimated	46	+17.9%
43	Kearney, MO Estimated	43	+87%
44	Monett, MO Estimated	37	+516.7%
45	Jackson, MO Estimated	34	-12.8%
46	St. Joseph, MO Estimated	30	-31.8%
47	Lake St. Louis, MO Estimated	29	-86.8%
48	Florissant, MO Estimated	28	n/a
48	Grain Valley, MO Estimated	28	-53.3%
50	Kennett, MO Estimated	27	+8%
51	Jefferson City, MO Estimated	25	+25%
51	Moberly, MO Estimated	25	-67.9%
53	Mexico, MO Estimated	24	+14.3%
54	Webb City, MO Estimated	22	-52.2%
55	Arnold, MO Estimated	19	+18.8%
56	Kirksville, MO Estimated	18	0%
56	Town and Country, MO Estimated	18	+5.9%
58	Fulton, MO Estimated	15	0%
58	Sikeston, MO Estimated	15	-31.8%
60	Creve Coeur, MO Estimated	13	+225%
60	Webster Groves, MO Estimated	13	+44.4%
62	Harrisonville, MO Estimated	11	-50%
63	Marshall, MO Estimated	9	+50%
63	Maryville, MO Estimated	9	-25%
63	Raytown, MO Estimated	9	+125%
66	Grandview, MO Estimated	8	0%
67	Maryland Heights, MO Estimated	6	n/a
68	Gladstone, MO Estimated	3	-50%
69	Bridgeton, MO Estimated	2	n/a
69	Overland, MO Estimated	2	-66.7%
71	Ballwin, MO Estimated	1	-66.7%
71	Ellisville, MO Estimated	1	-99.6%
71	Hazelwood, MO Estimated	1	-88.9%
74	Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO Estimated	0	n/a
74	Ferguson, MO Estimated	0	n/a
74	Hannibal, MO Estimated	0	n/a
74	St. Ann, MO Estimated	0	-100%

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/mw2024a.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. (2025). 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, 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2024a.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, 2024. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2025, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2024a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2024. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. 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, 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2024a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2024.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) 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, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2024a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_missouri_by_2024,
  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, 2024}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2024a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2024. 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/mw2024a.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, 2024
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2024a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/missouri-cities?period=2024.
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/mw2024a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

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

Kansas City, MO, with 2,878 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

St. Ann, MO, with 0 in 2024.

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.