Data / Rankings / Housing units authorized by building permits / Counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits

Wake County had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 100 counties in 2023, at 17,389. Washington County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 245. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest17,389Wake County
Lowest0Washington County
Median245100 counties

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Wake CountyWake County: 17,389 count17,389Mecklenburg CountyMecklenburg County: 14,435 count14,435Brunswick CountyBrunswick County: 6,663 count6,663Durham CountyDurham County: 4,819 count4,819Iredell CountyIredell County: 4,354 count4,354Forsyth CountyForsyth County: 3,454 count3,454New Hanover CountyNew Hanover County: 2,883 count2,883Guilford CountyGuilford County: 2,781 count2,781Alamance CountyAlamance County: 2,730 count2,730Buncombe CountyBuncombe County: 2,594 count2,594Johnston CountyJohnston County: 2,387 count2,387Union CountyUnion County: 2,309 count2,309Cabarrus CountyCabarrus County: 2,270 count2,270Catawba CountyCatawba County: 1,592 count1,592Gaston CountyGaston County: 1,578 count1,578Onslow CountyOnslow County: 1,419 count1,419Pitt CountyPitt County: 1,374 count1,374Harnett CountyHarnett County: 1,086 count1,086Pender CountyPender County: 1,082 count1,082Davidson CountyDavidson County: 1,077 count1,077Orange CountyOrange County: 1,011 count1,011Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 1,003 count1,003Chatham CountyChatham County: 971 count971Moore CountyMoore County: 872 count872Franklin CountyFranklin County: 843 count843Henderson CountyHenderson County: 775 count775Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 677 count677Cleveland CountyCleveland County: 641 count641Rowan CountyRowan County: 592 count592Lee CountyLee County: 541 count541Wayne CountyWayne County: 538 count538Nash CountyNash County: 535 count535Carteret CountyCarteret County: 524 count524Hoke CountyHoke County: 487 count487Watauga CountyWatauga County: 469 count469Randolph CountyRandolph County: 447 count447Currituck CountyCurrituck County: 437 count437Burke CountyBurke County: 432 count432Dare CountyDare County: 430 count430Craven CountyCraven County: 419 count419
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
count
1Wake County Estimated17,389
2Mecklenburg County Estimated14,435
3Brunswick County Estimated6,663
4Durham County Estimated4,819
5Iredell County Estimated4,354
6Forsyth County Estimated3,454
7New Hanover County Estimated2,883
8Guilford County Estimated2,781
9Alamance County Estimated2,730
10Buncombe County Estimated2,594
11Johnston County Estimated2,387
12Union County Estimated2,309
13Cabarrus County Estimated2,270
14Catawba County Estimated1,592
15Gaston County Estimated1,578
16Onslow County Estimated1,419
17Pitt County Estimated1,374
18Harnett County Estimated1,086
19Pender County Estimated1,082
20Davidson County Estimated1,077
21Orange County Estimated1,011
22Cumberland County Estimated1,003
23Chatham County Estimated971
24Moore County Estimated872
25Franklin County Estimated843
26Henderson County Estimated775
27Lincoln County Estimated677
28Cleveland County Estimated641
29Rowan County Estimated592
30Lee County Estimated541
31Wayne County Estimated538
32Nash County Estimated535
33Carteret County Estimated524
34Hoke County Estimated487
35Watauga County Estimated469
36Randolph County Estimated447
37Currituck County Estimated437
38Burke County Estimated432
39Dare County Estimated430
40Craven County Estimated419
41Wilson County Estimated373
42Robeson County Estimated361
43Stanly County Estimated349
44Madison County Estimated283
45Cherokee County Estimated280
46Rockingham County Estimated279
47Haywood County Estimated274
48Beaufort County Estimated248
48Warren County Estimated248
50Caldwell County Estimated246
51Rutherford County Estimated244
52Davie County Estimated239
53Jackson County Estimated235
54Granville County Estimated219
55Transylvania County Estimated213
56Surry County Estimated210
57Stokes County Estimated191
58Person County Estimated190
59McDowell County Estimated186
60Macon County Estimated182
61Lenoir County Estimated171
62Sampson County Estimated169
63Ashe County Estimated166
64Avery County Estimated155
65Pasquotank County Estimated153
65Polk County Estimated153
67Wilkes County Estimated141
68Montgomery County Estimated134
69Clay County Estimated128
70Yadkin County Estimated113
71Duplin County Estimated110
72Alexander County Estimated109
73Yancey County Estimated99
74Pamlico County Estimated93
75Swain County Estimated89
76Alleghany County Estimated83
77Edgecombe County Estimated79
78Bladen County Estimated73
79Vance County Estimated72
80Camden County Estimated65
81Halifax County Estimated56
82Anson County Estimated52
83Chowan County Estimated45
83Perquimans County Estimated45
85Richmond County Estimated44
86Caswell County Estimated43
86Scotland County Estimated43
88Mitchell County Estimated39
89Bertie County Estimated28
89Jones County Estimated28
91Greene County Estimated23
92Northampton County Estimated18
93Hyde County Estimated15
94Columbus County Estimated13
94Gates County Estimated13
94Graham County Estimated13
97Tyrrell County Estimated7
98Hertford County Estimated3
99Martin County Estimated0
99Washington County Estimated0

Other periods

About this ranking

Annual number of new privately owned housing units authorized by building permits, from the US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.

Final annual county estimates include imputation for missing reports. Counts housing units, not buildings, starts, completions or sales. Covers permit-issuing areas; areas where permits are not required are outside the survey. Not seasonally adjusted or expressed as an annualized monthly rate. The total is the sum of units in the four published structure categories; inputs are retained.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual county estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/County/co2023a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

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Questions

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

Wake County, with 17,389 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Washington County, 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 county estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized, including imputation. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings