Cities in North Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits

Raleigh, NC had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 60 cities in 2023, at 6,388. Mooresville, NC had the lowest, at 0. The median was 189 and the figure for North Carolina was 98,853. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest6,388Raleigh, NC

Lowest0Mooresville, NC

Median18960 cities

North Carolina98,853History

All cities, 2023

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2023 count	Change on 2022
1	Raleigh, NC Estimated	6,388	-26%
2	Durham, NC Estimated	4,365	-0%
3	Winston-Salem, NC Estimated	2,141	-21.3%
4	Garner, NC Estimated	1,908	+114.1%
5	Leland, NC Estimated	1,886	+74.6%
6	Greensboro, NC Estimated	1,767	+54.6%
7	Apex, NC Estimated	1,517	+40.6%
8	Cary, NC Estimated	1,275	-13.1%
9	Wake Forest, NC Estimated	1,105	+46.6%
10	Fuquay-Varina, NC Estimated	1,089	-48.9%
11	Wendell, NC Estimated	1,054	+12%
12	Greenville, NC Estimated	1,014	+87.1%
13	Holly Springs, NC Estimated	918	+88.1%
14	Burlington, NC Estimated	845	+94.7%
14	Monroe, NC Estimated	845	+29%
16	Chapel Hill, NC Estimated	739	+269.5%
17	Knightdale, NC Estimated	656	+62%
18	Graham, NC Estimated	546	+140.5%
19	Fayetteville, NC Estimated	515	-20.6%
20	Clayton, NC Estimated	504	+66.3%
21	High Point, NC Estimated	477	-28.4%
22	Zebulon, NC Estimated	475	+20.9%
23	Shelby, NC Estimated	442	+375.3%
24	Asheville, NC Estimated	429	-16%
25	Kernersville, NC Estimated	399	+133.3%
26	Sanford, NC Estimated	356	+91.4%
27	Morrisville, NC Estimated	342	-8.3%
28	Mebane, NC Estimated	275	-14.9%
29	New Bern, NC Estimated	239	-32.7%
30	Rolesville, NC Estimated	198	-34.7%
31	Wilson, NC Estimated	179	-50.8%
32	Southern Pines, NC Estimated	164	-5.2%
33	Goldsboro, NC Estimated	152	-5.6%
34	Asheboro, NC Estimated	119	+60.8%
35	Morganton, NC Estimated	110	-21.4%
36	Rocky Mount, NC Estimated	98	+18.1%
37	Lexington, NC Estimated	79	+3.9%
38	Waynesville, NC Estimated	71	+65.1%
39	Hope Mills, NC Estimated	69	-30.3%
40	Morehead City, NC Estimated	65	-11%
41	Elizabeth City, NC Estimated	64	-27.3%
41	Thomasville, NC Estimated	64	-11.1%
43	Pinehurst, NC Estimated	59	-7.8%
44	Aberdeen, NC Estimated	49	-55.9%
45	Winterville, NC Estimated	47	-4.1%
46	Spring Lake, NC Estimated	46	+4,500%
47	Jacksonville, NC Estimated	42	-58.8%
48	Tarboro, NC Estimated	37	-43.9%
49	Carrboro, NC Estimated	30	-30.2%
50	Kings Mountain, NC Estimated	27	-66.7%
51	Reidsville, NC Estimated	15	-46.4%
52	Kinston, NC Estimated	14	-89.1%
52	Waxhaw, NC Estimated	14	-90.2%
54	Eden, NC Estimated	10	+42.9%
54	Lumberton, NC Estimated	10	-16.7%
56	Boone, NC Estimated	8	-96.3%
57	Roanoke Rapids, NC Estimated	4	-69.2%
58	Havelock, NC Estimated	2	-96.9%
59	Gastonia, NC Estimated	0	-100%
59	Mooresville, NC 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. 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/so2023a.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. (2024). 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, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.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, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 24 Apr. 2024, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/north-carolina-cities?period=2023. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2024. 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, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/north-carolina-cities?period=2023.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2024) 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, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/north-carolina-cities?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_north_carolina_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  year = {2024},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/north-carolina-cities?period=2023. 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/so2023a.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, 2023
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/04/24
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/north-carolina-cities?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/north-carolina-cities?period=2023.
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/so2023a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

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

Raleigh, NC, with 6,388 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Mooresville, NC, with 0 in 2023.

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.