Cities in New York by housing units authorized by building permits

New York, NY had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 88 cities in 2019, at 26,547. West Haverstraw, NY had the lowest, at 0. The median was 8 and the figure for New York was 45,219. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest26,547New York, NY

Lowest0West Haverstraw, NY

Median888 cities

New York45,219History

Top 40 cities, 2019

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2019 count	Change on 2018
1	New York, NY Estimated	26,547	+27%
2	New Rochelle, NY Estimated	1,284	+3,110%
3	Yonkers, NY Estimated	557	-8.5%
4	Kiryas Joel, NY Estimated	526	+65.9%
5	Ithaca, NY Estimated	424	+24.7%
6	Rochester, NY Estimated	346	-20.8%
7	White Plains, NY Estimated	316	+195.3%
8	Buffalo, NY Estimated	291	+13.7%
9	Mineola, NY Estimated	196	+2,700%
10	Elmira, NY Estimated	194	+28.5%
11	Saratoga Springs, NY Estimated	138	-50.5%
12	Corning, NY Estimated	133	+13,200%
13	Poughkeepsie, NY Estimated	118	+51.3%
14	Rome, NY Estimated	111	+26.1%
15	Middletown, NY Estimated	64	-3%
16	Plattsburgh, NY Estimated	63	+26%
17	Binghamton, NY Estimated	62	+29.2%
18	Harrison, NY Estimated	61	-86.6%
19	Oswego, NY Estimated	57	n/a
20	New Square, NY Estimated	52	+36.8%
21	Tonawanda, NY Estimated	41	+4,000%
22	Sleepy Hollow, NY Estimated	40	+300%
23	Woodbury, NY Estimated	33	-28.3%
24	Troy, NY Estimated	30	-50.8%
25	Dobbs Ferry, NY Estimated	27	+8%
26	Rye, NY Estimated	26	n/a
27	Beacon, NY Estimated	25	-77.1%
28	Spring Valley, NY Estimated	24	+9.1%
29	Geneva, NY Estimated	18	+500%
30	Long Beach, NY Estimated	17	-10.5%
30	Westbury, NY Estimated	17	+21.4%
32	Dunkirk, NY Estimated	16	-51.5%
32	Mamaroneck, NY Estimated	16	-27.3%
34	Cohoes, NY Estimated	13	-86.7%
35	Albany, NY Estimated	11	-89.2%
35	East Rockaway, NY Estimated	11	+175%
35	Freeport, NY Estimated	11	+266.7%
38	Haverstraw, NY Estimated	10	-9.1%
38	Hempstead, NY Estimated	10	n/a
38	Newburgh, NY Estimated	10	0%
38	Syracuse, NY Estimated	10	-92.1%
42	Lake Grove, NY Estimated	9	-25%
43	Canandaigua, NY Estimated	8	+33.3%
43	Great Neck, NY Estimated	8	0%
43	North Tonawanda, NY Estimated	8	-46.7%
43	Schenectady, NY Estimated	8	+300%
47	Glen Cove, NY Estimated	7	+75%
48	Patchogue, NY Estimated	6	+50%
49	Airmont, NY Estimated	5	-28.6%
49	Peekskill, NY Estimated	5	-94.7%
51	Depew, NY Estimated	3	+50%
51	Floral Park, NY Estimated	3	-25%
51	Kingston, NY Estimated	3	0%
51	Massapequa Park, NY Estimated	3	+200%
51	New Hyde Park, NY Estimated	3	n/a
51	Oneida, NY Estimated	3	+50%
51	Ossining, NY Estimated	3	+50%
51	Rockville Centre, NY Estimated	3	-25%
51	Valley Stream, NY Estimated	3	+50%
60	Babylon, NY Estimated	2	-60%
60	Lackawanna, NY Estimated	2	-50%
62	Amsterdam, NY Estimated	1	0%
62	Auburn, NY Estimated	1	n/a
62	Garden City, NY Estimated	1	-66.7%
62	Glens Falls, NY Estimated	1	-87.5%
62	Jamestown, NY Estimated	1	n/a
62	Lindenhurst, NY Estimated	1	-92.3%
62	Lynbrook, NY Estimated	1	n/a
69	Batavia, NY Estimated	0	n/a
69	Chestnut Ridge, NY Estimated	0	-100%
69	Cortland, NY Estimated	0	-100%
69	Endicott, NY Estimated	0	n/a
69	Fulton, NY Estimated	0	n/a
69	Gloversville, NY Estimated	0	n/a
69	Kenmore, NY Estimated	0	-100%
69	Lockport, NY Estimated	0	n/a
69	Mount Kisco, NY Estimated	0	-100%
69	Mount Vernon, NY Estimated	0	-100%
69	Niagara Falls, NY Estimated	0	n/a
69	Olean, NY Estimated	0	-100%
69	Oneonta, NY Estimated	0	n/a
69	Port Chester, NY Estimated	0	n/a
69	Suffern, NY Estimated	0	n/a
69	Tarrytown, NY Estimated	0	-100%
69	Utica, NY Estimated	0	n/a
69	Watertown, NY Estimated	0	n/a
69	Watervliet, NY Estimated	0	-100%
69	West Haverstraw, NY 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. 1 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2019 and are left out rather than filled from another source. 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/ne2019a.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. (2020). Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation (Cities in New York by housing units authorized by building permits, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2019a.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 York by housing units authorized by building permits, 2019. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2020, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2019a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-york-cities?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Cities in New York by housing units authorized by building permits, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2019a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-york-cities?period=2019.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2020) Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in New York by housing units authorized by building permits, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2019a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-york-cities?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_new_york_2019,
  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 York by housing units authorized by building permits, 2019}},
  year = {2020},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2019a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-york-cities?period=2019. 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/ne2019a.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 York by housing units authorized by building permits, 2019
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2019a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-york-cities?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/new-york-cities?period=2019.
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/ne2019a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank Cities in New York by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

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

New York, NY, with 26,547 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

West Haverstraw, NY, with 0 in 2019.

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. 1 cities have no value for 2019 and are not ranked.