Cities in North Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits

Durham, NC had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 59 cities in 2020, at 3,832. Eden, NC had the lowest, at 2. The median was 193 and the figure for North Carolina was 80,474. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest3,832Durham, NC

Lowest2Eden, NC

Median19359 cities

North Carolina80,474History

All 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	Durham, NC Estimated	3,832	+0.1%
2	Raleigh, NC Estimated	3,479	+188.2%
3	Winston-Salem, NC Estimated	1,582	+33.5%
4	Cary, NC Estimated	1,515	-0.5%
5	Greensboro, NC Estimated	1,438	+54.1%
6	Apex, NC Estimated	1,427	-25.6%
7	Leland, NC Estimated	1,047	+5.4%
8	Fuquay-Varina, NC Estimated	1,035	+35.5%
9	Wake Forest, NC Estimated	860	+26.3%
10	Burlington, NC Estimated	851	+27%
11	Holly Springs, NC Estimated	816	+8.1%
12	Wendell, NC Estimated	702	+104.1%
13	Morrisville, NC Estimated	662	-3.5%
14	Clayton, NC Estimated	657	+11.4%
15	Gastonia, NC Estimated	571	+62.2%
16	High Point, NC Estimated	512	+25.8%
17	Asheville, NC Estimated	474	+10.7%
18	Garner, NC Estimated	469	+28.1%
19	Zebulon, NC Estimated	407	+54.8%
20	Greenville, NC Estimated	349	-50.2%
21	Waxhaw, NC Estimated	348	+20.4%
22	New Bern, NC Estimated	330	+63.4%
23	Mebane, NC Estimated	315	+28%
24	Fayetteville, NC Estimated	291	-44.3%
25	Wilson, NC Estimated	283	+180.2%
26	Monroe, NC Estimated	255	+235.5%
27	Kernersville, NC Estimated	251	+26.1%
28	Aberdeen, NC Estimated	203	+11.5%
29	Rolesville, NC Estimated	199	+36.3%
30	Southern Pines, NC Estimated	193	+9.7%
31	Pinehurst, NC Estimated	171	+11.8%
32	Chapel Hill, NC Estimated	151	+132.3%
33	Sanford, NC Estimated	145	+42.2%
34	Graham, NC Estimated	133	+37.1%
35	Knightdale, NC Estimated	128	-7.9%
36	Havelock, NC Estimated	104	+15.6%
37	Jacksonville, NC Estimated	101	+320.8%
38	Kings Mountain, NC Estimated	98	+145%
39	Morganton, NC Estimated	90	+4.7%
40	Asheboro, NC Estimated	85	+63.5%
41	Elizabeth City, NC Estimated	77	+16.7%
42	Morehead City, NC Estimated	75	-22.7%
43	Goldsboro, NC Estimated	68	+65.9%
44	Thomasville, NC Estimated	63	+37%
45	Rocky Mount, NC Estimated	57	+470%
46	Winterville, NC Estimated	52	-38.1%
47	Lexington, NC Estimated	41	-63.7%
48	Hope Mills, NC Estimated	35	+337.5%
49	Waynesville, NC Estimated	33	-87.2%
50	Shelby, NC Estimated	27	+200%
51	Carrboro, NC Estimated	22	-52.2%
51	Tarboro, NC Estimated	22	+144.4%
53	Roanoke Rapids, NC Estimated	16	+220%
54	Boone, NC Estimated	12	-96%
55	Reidsville, NC Estimated	11	-38.9%
56	Kinston, NC Estimated	10	+25%
57	Lumberton, NC Estimated	9	+12.5%
58	Spring Lake, NC Estimated	3	-40%
59	Eden, NC Estimated	2	-71.4%

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 2020 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/South%20Region/so2020a.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 North Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in North Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, 3 May 2021, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/north-carolina-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 North Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/north-carolina-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 North Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/north-carolina-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_north_carolina_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 North Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits, 2020}},
  year = {2021},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/north-carolina-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/South\%20Region/so2020a.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 North Carolina 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/South%20Region/so2020a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/north-carolina-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/north-carolina-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/South%20Region/so2020a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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

rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_units","level":"municipality","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
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Questions

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

Durham, NC, with 3,832 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Eden, NC, with 2 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. 1 cities have no value for 2020 and are not ranked.