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 2021, at 3,232. Woodland Park, NJ had the lowest, at 0. The median was 43 and the figure for New Jersey was 37,094. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
Top 40 cities, 2021
Full ranking
| Rank | Cities | 2021 | Change on 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jersey City, NJ Estimated | 3,232 | -9% |
| 2 | Newark, NJ Estimated | 1,328 | -11.1% |
| 3 | Long Branch, NJ Estimated | 671 | -36.8% |
| 4 | Paterson, NJ Estimated | 665 | +12.7% |
| 5 | West New York, NJ Estimated | 639 | +56.2% |
| 6 | Harrison, NJ Estimated | 502 | -53.9% |
| 7 | Roselle Park, NJ Estimated | 498 | +126.4% |
| 8 | Bayonne, NJ Estimated | 371 | -57.7% |
| 9 | Plainfield, NJ Estimated | 279 | +304.3% |
| 10 | Florham Park, NJ Estimated | 260 | +42.9% |
| 11 | Bound Brook, NJ Estimated | 255 | +84.8% |
| 12 | South Amboy, NJ Estimated | 249 | -46.7% |
| 13 | East Orange, NJ Estimated | 246 | -2.4% |
| 14 | Roselle, NJ Estimated | 244 | +141.6% |
| 15 | Montvale, NJ Estimated | 233 | -29.6% |
| 16 | Fair Lawn, NJ Estimated | 222 | +29.1% |
| 17 | Ocean City, NJ Estimated | 218 | +26.7% |
| 18 | Elmwood Park, NJ Estimated | 213 | +491.7% |
| 19 | Rahway, NJ Estimated | 203 | -14.7% |
| 20 | Fort Lee, NJ Estimated | 178 | +63.3% |
| 21 | Franklin Lakes, NJ Estimated | 172 | +24.6% |
| 22 | New Brunswick, NJ Estimated | 169 | -19.1% |
| 23 | Atlantic City, NJ Estimated | 168 | +9.1% |
| 24 | Wood-Ridge, NJ Estimated | 167 | +72.2% |
| 25 | Fairview, NJ Estimated | 151 | +459.3% |
| 26 | Morristown, NJ Estimated | 127 | +32.3% |
| 26 | Somerville, NJ Estimated | 127 | -76.3% |
| 28 | Passaic, NJ Estimated | 119 | +13.3% |
| 29 | Sayreville, NJ Estimated | 111 | +136.2% |
| 30 | Union City, NJ Estimated | 110 | +48.6% |
| 31 | Ridgefield Park, NJ Estimated | 105 | +87.5% |
| 32 | Tenafly, NJ Estimated | 104 | -14% |
| 33 | Perth Amboy, NJ Estimated | 100 | +669.2% |
| 34 | South Plainfield, NJ Estimated | 98 | +216.1% |
| 35 | Glassboro, NJ Estimated | 93 | +3,000% |
| 35 | Hoboken, NJ Estimated | 93 | -2.1% |
| 37 | Elizabeth, NJ Estimated | 92 | -81.9% |
| 38 | Vineland, NJ Estimated | 90 | +25% |
| 39 | Garfield, NJ Estimated | 89 | +67.9% |
| 40 | Lindenwold, NJ Estimated | 86 | +21.1% |
| 41 | River Edge, NJ Estimated | 84 | +23.5% |
| 42 | Pompton Lakes, NJ Estimated | 77 | +42.6% |
| 43 | Rutherford, NJ Estimated | 76 | +985.7% |
| 43 | Waldwick, NJ Estimated | 76 | +2.7% |
| 45 | Trenton, NJ Estimated | 73 | +28.1% |
| 46 | Linden, NJ Estimated | 69 | -56.3% |
| 47 | Dumont, NJ Estimated | 67 | +67.5% |
| 48 | Hackensack, NJ Estimated | 66 | -84.1% |
| 48 | New Milford, NJ Estimated | 66 | +43.5% |
| 50 | Englewood, NJ Estimated | 60 | +22.4% |
| 51 | Cliffside Park, NJ Estimated | 58 | +18.4% |
| 52 | Hawthorne, NJ Estimated | 51 | -16.4% |
| 52 | Point Pleasant, NJ Estimated | 51 | -23.9% |
| 54 | Asbury Park, NJ Estimated | 50 | +56.3% |
| 54 | Paramus, NJ Estimated | 50 | +22% |
| 56 | Millville, NJ Estimated | 49 | +390% |
| 56 | North Arlington, NJ Estimated | 49 | 0% |
| 58 | Tinton Falls, NJ Estimated | 46 | -80.2% |
| 59 | Edgewater, NJ Estimated | 43 | -77.9% |
| 60 | Clifton, NJ Estimated | 40 | +21.2% |
| 61 | Madison, NJ Estimated | 38 | +15.2% |
| 62 | Palisades Park, NJ Estimated | 36 | -50.7% |
| 63 | Summit, NJ Estimated | 35 | -22.2% |
| 64 | Ridgewood, NJ Estimated | 30 | -73.2% |
| 65 | Manville, NJ Estimated | 29 | +16% |
| 65 | Westfield, NJ Estimated | 29 | -25.6% |
| 67 | Metuchen, NJ Estimated | 28 | +7.7% |
| 67 | Ridgefield, NJ Estimated | 28 | +40% |
| 69 | South River, NJ Estimated | 27 | +22.7% |
| 70 | Beachwood, NJ Estimated | 22 | +175% |
| 71 | Carteret, NJ Estimated | 19 | +137.5% |
| 71 | Ringwood, NJ Estimated | 19 | +46.2% |
| 73 | Haddonfield, NJ Estimated | 18 | +260% |
| 73 | Middlesex, NJ Estimated | 18 | +38.5% |
| 73 | Wanaque, NJ Estimated | 18 | |
| 76 | Eatontown, NJ Estimated | 17 | +1,600% |
| 77 | Hasbrouck Heights, NJ Estimated | 15 | 0% |
| 78 | Camden, NJ Estimated | 14 | +7.7% |
| 78 | Chatham, NJ Estimated | 14 | -48.1% |
| 78 | Hammonton, NJ Estimated | 14 | +7.7% |
| 78 | Somers Point, NJ Estimated | 14 | +7.7% |
| 82 | Westwood, NJ Estimated | 12 | +33.3% |
| 83 | Kinnelon, NJ Estimated | 11 | +83.3% |
| 84 | Hillsdale, NJ Estimated | 9 | +50% |
| 85 | New Providence, NJ Estimated | 8 | +14.3% |
| 85 | Pleasantville, NJ Estimated | 8 | +60% |
| 87 | Bergenfield, NJ Estimated | 7 | +16.7% |
| 87 | Glen Rock, NJ Estimated | 7 | -12.5% |
| 87 | Hopatcong, NJ Estimated | 7 | +133.3% |
| 90 | Highland Park, NJ Estimated | 6 | +200% |
| 90 | Lincoln Park, NJ Estimated | 6 | +50% |
| 90 | North Plainfield, NJ Estimated | 6 | +50% |
| 93 | Little Ferry, NJ Estimated | 5 | -64.3% |
| 93 | Secaucus, NJ Estimated | 5 | -99.2% |
| 95 | Maywood, NJ Estimated | 4 | |
| 95 | Ramsey, NJ Estimated | 4 | |
| 95 | Red Bank, NJ Estimated | 4 | -63.6% |
| 98 | Dover, NJ Estimated | 3 | -98.6% |
| 98 | Oakland, NJ Estimated | 3 | 0% |
| 98 | Pine Hill, NJ Estimated | 3 | +50% |
| 98 | Woodbury, NJ Estimated | 3 | +50% |
| 102 | Phillipsburg, NJ Estimated | 2 | -33.3% |
| 103 | Bellmawr, NJ Estimated | 1 | -50% |
| 103 | East Rutherford, NJ Estimated | 1 | -80% |
| 103 | Freehold, NJ Estimated | 1 | |
| 103 | Hackettstown, NJ Estimated | 1 | 0% |
| 107 | Bridgeton, NJ Estimated | 0 | -100% |
| 107 | Burlington, NJ Estimated | 0 | |
| 107 | Collingswood, NJ Estimated | 0 | |
| 107 | Gloucester City, NJ Estimated | 0 | |
| 107 | Guttenberg, NJ Estimated | 0 | -100% |
| 107 | Kearny, NJ Estimated | 0 | -100% |
| 107 | Lodi, NJ Estimated | 0 | |
| 107 | Princeton, NJ Estimated | 0 | -100% |
| 107 | Totowa, NJ Estimated | 0 | -100% |
| 107 | Wallington, NJ Estimated | 0 | -100% |
| 107 | Woodland Park, 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/ne2021a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
APA 7
U.S. Census Bureau. (2022). 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, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.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, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 27 Apr. 2022, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-jersey-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
U.S. Census Bureau. 2022. 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, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-jersey-cities?period=2021.
Harvard
U.S. Census Bureau (2022) 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, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-jersey-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_new_jersey_2021,
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, 2021}},
year = {2022},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.txt},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-jersey-cities?period=2021. 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/ne2021a.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, 2021
PY - 2022
DA - 2022/04/27
PB - U.S. Census Bureau
DB - Invokely
UR - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.txt
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-jersey-cities?period=2021
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-jersey-cities?period=2021.
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/ne2021a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank Cities in New Jersey by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_units","level":"municipality","within":"New Jersey","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=building_permit_units&level=municipality&within=New%20Jersey&limit=10Questions
Which city has the highest housing units authorized by building permits?
Jersey City, NJ, with 3,232 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which city has the lowest housing units authorized by building permits?
Woodland Park, NJ, with 0 in 2021.
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.
Housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings
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Cities in New Jersey: more rankings
- Rent-burdened renter households (rent 30 percent or more of income)
- Housing vacancy rate, all vacant units (US)
- Homeownership rate (US, housing units)
- Households
- Residents who moved from another state in the past year
- School enrolment, children aged 3 and 4
- Asian population share
- Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over