Cities in New Jersey by housing units authorized by building permits

Jersey City, NJ had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 117 cities in 2020, at 3,552. Wanaque, NJ had the lowest, at 0. The median was 36 and the figure for New Jersey was 36,146. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest3,552Jersey City, NJ

Lowest0Wanaque, NJ

Median36117 cities

New Jersey36,146History

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	Jersey City, NJ Estimated	3,552	-24%
2	Newark, NJ Estimated	1,494	+164.9%
3	Harrison, NJ Estimated	1,089	-15.5%
4	Long Branch, NJ Estimated	1,062	+130.9%
5	Bayonne, NJ Estimated	878	-23.2%
6	Secaucus, NJ Estimated	643	+2,822.7%
7	Paterson, NJ Estimated	590	+22.2%
8	Somerville, NJ Estimated	536	+18.1%
9	Elizabeth, NJ Estimated	509	-7.5%
10	South Amboy, NJ Estimated	467	+2,494.4%
11	Hackensack, NJ Estimated	416	-46.9%
12	West New York, NJ Estimated	409	+165.6%
13	Montvale, NJ Estimated	331	+1,041.4%
14	East Orange, NJ Estimated	252	-47.9%
15	Rahway, NJ Estimated	238	-10.9%
16	Tinton Falls, NJ Estimated	232	+262.5%
17	Roselle Park, NJ Estimated	220	n/a
18	Dover, NJ Estimated	217	0%
19	New Brunswick, NJ Estimated	209	-19%
20	Edgewater, NJ Estimated	195	+473.5%
21	Florham Park, NJ Estimated	182	-31.3%
22	Fair Lawn, NJ Estimated	172	-11.3%
22	Ocean City, NJ Estimated	172	-16.5%
24	Linden, NJ Estimated	158	-55.5%
25	Atlantic City, NJ Estimated	154	+5.5%
26	Bound Brook, NJ Estimated	138	-50.4%
26	Franklin Lakes, NJ Estimated	138	+81.6%
28	Tenafly, NJ Estimated	121	+128.3%
29	Ridgewood, NJ Estimated	112	-34.1%
30	Fort Lee, NJ Estimated	109	-41.4%
31	Passaic, NJ Estimated	105	+69.4%
32	Roselle, NJ Estimated	101	+173%
33	Wood-Ridge, NJ Estimated	97	+73.2%
34	Morristown, NJ Estimated	96	+54.8%
35	Hoboken, NJ Estimated	95	-45.7%
36	Union City, NJ Estimated	74	+25.4%
36	Waldwick, NJ Estimated	74	-28.2%
38	Palisades Park, NJ Estimated	73	-49.3%
39	Vineland, NJ Estimated	72	-28%
40	Lindenwold, NJ Estimated	71	-13.4%
41	Plainfield, NJ Estimated	69	-4.2%
42	River Edge, NJ Estimated	68	-11.7%
43	Point Pleasant, NJ Estimated	67	+59.5%
44	Hawthorne, NJ Estimated	61	+3.4%
45	Trenton, NJ Estimated	57	-14.9%
46	Ridgefield Park, NJ Estimated	56	+9.8%
47	Pompton Lakes, NJ Estimated	54	-43.8%
48	Garfield, NJ Estimated	53	+60.6%
49	Cliffside Park, NJ Estimated	49	-34.7%
49	Englewood, NJ Estimated	49	+16.7%
49	Guttenberg, NJ Estimated	49	+22.5%
49	North Arlington, NJ Estimated	49	+308.3%
53	Sayreville, NJ Estimated	47	-31.9%
54	New Milford, NJ Estimated	46	+4.5%
55	Summit, NJ Estimated	45	+32.4%
56	Paramus, NJ Estimated	41	+20.6%
57	Dumont, NJ Estimated	40	-65.5%
58	Westfield, NJ Estimated	39	-29.1%
59	Elmwood Park, NJ Estimated	36	+12.5%
60	Clifton, NJ Estimated	33	+135.7%
60	Madison, NJ Estimated	33	+37.5%
62	Asbury Park, NJ Estimated	32	+300%
63	South Plainfield, NJ Estimated	31	+19.2%
64	Chatham, NJ Estimated	27	+50%
64	Fairview, NJ Estimated	27	-89.6%
66	Metuchen, NJ Estimated	26	+73.3%
67	Manville, NJ Estimated	25	+1,150%
68	South River, NJ Estimated	22	+10%
69	Ridgefield, NJ Estimated	20	+42.9%
70	Princeton, NJ Estimated	16	n/a
71	Hasbrouck Heights, NJ Estimated	15	+200%
72	Little Ferry, NJ Estimated	14	+180%
73	Camden, NJ Estimated	13	-90.8%
73	Hammonton, NJ Estimated	13	-75.9%
73	Middlesex, NJ Estimated	13	-7.1%
73	Perth Amboy, NJ Estimated	13	-89.3%
73	Ringwood, NJ Estimated	13	+18.2%
73	Somers Point, NJ Estimated	13	+18.2%
79	Red Bank, NJ Estimated	11	-80.7%
80	Millville, NJ Estimated	10	-33.3%
81	Westwood, NJ Estimated	9	+125%
82	Beachwood, NJ Estimated	8	-27.3%
82	Carteret, NJ Estimated	8	-27.3%
82	Glen Rock, NJ Estimated	8	+60%
85	New Providence, NJ Estimated	7	-53.3%
85	Rutherford, NJ Estimated	7	+16.7%
87	Bergenfield, NJ Estimated	6	-88.2%
87	Hillsdale, NJ Estimated	6	-40%
87	Kinnelon, NJ Estimated	6	+50%
90	East Rutherford, NJ Estimated	5	-83.3%
90	Haddonfield, NJ Estimated	5	-64.3%
90	Pleasantville, NJ Estimated	5	+400%
93	Lincoln Park, NJ Estimated	4	+100%
93	North Plainfield, NJ Estimated	4	n/a
93	Wallington, NJ Estimated	4	-20%
96	Glassboro, NJ Estimated	3	-97.6%
96	Hopatcong, NJ Estimated	3	-50%
96	Oakland, NJ Estimated	3	-50%
96	Phillipsburg, NJ Estimated	3	-25%
96	Woodland Park, NJ Estimated	3	n/a
101	Bellmawr, NJ Estimated	2	+100%
101	Bridgeton, NJ Estimated	2	n/a
101	Highland Park, NJ Estimated	2	-99.5%
101	Kearny, NJ Estimated	2	n/a
101	Pine Hill, NJ Estimated	2	-33.3%
101	Woodbury, NJ Estimated	2	-33.3%
107	Eatontown, NJ Estimated	1	-90%
107	Hackettstown, NJ Estimated	1	n/a
107	Totowa, NJ Estimated	1	-99.6%
110	Burlington, NJ Estimated	0	-100%
110	Collingswood, NJ Estimated	0	n/a
110	Freehold, NJ Estimated	0	n/a
110	Gloucester City, NJ Estimated	0	n/a
110	Lodi, NJ Estimated	0	-100%
110	Maywood, NJ Estimated	0	-100%
110	Ramsey, NJ Estimated	0	-100%
110	Wanaque, NJ 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/Northeast%20Region/ne2020a.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 New Jersey by housing units authorized by building permits, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2020a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in New Jersey by housing units authorized by building permits, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, 3 May 2021, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2020a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-jersey-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 New Jersey by housing units authorized by building permits, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2020a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-jersey-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 New Jersey by housing units authorized by building permits, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2020a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-jersey-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_new_jersey_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 New Jersey by housing units authorized by building permits, 2020}},
  year = {2021},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2020a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-jersey-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/Northeast\%20Region/ne2020a.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 New Jersey 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/Northeast%20Region/ne2020a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-jersey-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-jersey-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/Northeast%20Region/ne2020a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

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

Jersey City, NJ, with 3,552 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Wanaque, NJ, 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.