Data / Rankings / Housing units authorized by building permits / Cities in Oregon

Cities in Oregon by housing units authorized by building permits

Portland, OR had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 52 cities in 2021, at 3,028. Prineville, OR had the lowest, at 0. The median was 122 and the figure for Oregon was 21,916. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest3,028Portland, OR
Lowest0Prineville, OR
Median12252 cities
Oregon21,916History

All cities, 2021

Portland, OR: 3,028 countPortland, OR3,028Bend, OR: 1,457 countBend, OR1,457Eugene, OR: 1,398 countEugene, OR1,398Hillsboro, OR: 909 countHillsboro, OR909Salem, OR: 846 countSalem, OR846Redmond, OR: 650 countRedmond, OR650Woodburn, OR: 561 countWoodburn, OR561Medford, OR: 437 countMedford, OR437Gresham, OR: 399 countGresham, OR399Forest Grove, OR: 386 countForest Grove, OR386Happy Valley, OR: 381 countHappy Valley, OR381Cornelius, OR: 363 countCornelius, OR363Tigard, OR: 357 countTigard, OR357Milwaukie, OR: 286 countMilwaukie, OR286Newberg, OR: 269 countNewberg, OR269Tualatin, OR: 268 countTualatin, OR268Springfield, OR: 247 countSpringfield, OR247Lebanon, OR: 230 countLebanon, OR230Grants Pass, OR: 162 countGrants Pass, OR162Pendleton, OR: 157 countPendleton, OR157Corvallis, OR: 155 countCorvallis, OR155Dallas, OR: 152 countDallas, OR152McMinnville, OR: 143 countMcMinnville, OR143La Grande, OR: 132 countLa Grande, OR132Sandy, OR: 130 countSandy, OR130St. Helens, OR: 122 countSt. Helens, OR122Cottage Grove, OR: 121 countCottage Grove, OR121Wilsonville, OR: 117 countWilsonville, OR117Central Point, OR: 113 countCentral Point, OR113Hermiston, OR: 113 countHermiston, OR113Albany, OR: 110 countAlbany, OR110Beaverton, OR: 110 countBeaverton, OR110Ashland, OR: 90 countAshland, OR90Sweet Home, OR: 82 countSweet Home, OR82Independence, OR: 65 countIndependence, OR65Keizer, OR: 62 countKeizer, OR62Oregon City, OR: 62 countOregon City, OR62Baker City, OR: 59 countBaker City, OR59Troutdale, OR: 58 countTroutdale, OR58Lincoln City, OR: 53 countLincoln City, OR53Monmouth, OR: 52 countMonmouth, OR52Fairview, OR: 51 countFairview, OR51Lake Oswego, OR: 47 countLake Oswego, OR47West Linn, OR: 37 countWest Linn, OR37Silverton, OR: 26 countSilverton, OR26Coos Bay, OR: 22 countCoos Bay, OR22Sherwood, OR: 21 countSherwood, OR21Newport, OR: 14 countNewport, OR14Ontario, OR: 13 countOntario, OR13Canby, OR: 0 countCanby, OR0Molalla, OR: 0 countMolalla, OR0Prineville, OR: 0 countPrineville, OR0Portland, OR: 3,028 countPortland, OR3,028Bend, OR: 1,457 countBend, OR1,457Eugene, OR: 1,398 countEugene, OR1,398Hillsboro, OR: 909 countHillsboro, OR909Salem, OR: 846 countSalem, OR846Redmond, OR: 650 countRedmond, OR650Woodburn, OR: 561 countWoodburn, OR561Medford, OR: 437 countMedford, OR437Gresham, OR: 399 countGresham, OR399Forest Grove, OR: 386 countForest Grove, OR386Happy Valley, OR: 381 countHappy Valley, OR381Cornelius, OR: 363 countCornelius, OR363Tigard, OR: 357 countTigard, OR357Milwaukie, OR: 286 countMilwaukie, OR286Newberg, OR: 269 countNewberg, OR269Tualatin, OR: 268 countTualatin, OR268Springfield, OR: 247 countSpringfield, OR247Lebanon, OR: 230 countLebanon, OR230Grants Pass, OR: 162 countGrants Pass, OR162Pendleton, OR: 157 countPendleton, OR157Corvallis, OR: 155 countCorvallis, OR155Dallas, OR: 152 countDallas, OR152McMinnville, OR: 143 countMcMinnville, OR143La Grande, OR: 132 countLa Grande, OR132Sandy, OR: 130 countSandy, OR130St. Helens, OR: 122 countSt. Helens, OR122Cottage Grove, OR: 121 countCottage Grove, OR121Wilsonville, OR: 117 countWilsonville, OR117Central Point, OR: 113 countCentral Point, OR113Hermiston, OR: 113 countHermiston, OR113Albany, OR: 110 countAlbany, OR110Beaverton, OR: 110 countBeaverton, OR110Ashland, OR: 90 countAshland, OR90Sweet Home, OR: 82 countSweet Home, OR82Independence, OR: 65 countIndependence, OR65Keizer, OR: 62 countKeizer, OR62Oregon City, OR: 62 countOregon City, OR62Baker City, OR: 59 countBaker City, OR59Troutdale, OR: 58 countTroutdale, OR58Lincoln City, OR: 53 countLincoln City, OR53Monmouth, OR: 52 countMonmouth, OR52Fairview, OR: 51 countFairview, OR51Lake Oswego, OR: 47 countLake Oswego, OR47West Linn, OR: 37 countWest Linn, OR37Silverton, OR: 26 countSilverton, OR26Coos Bay, OR: 22 countCoos Bay, OR22Sherwood, OR: 21 countSherwood, OR21Newport, OR: 14 countNewport, OR14Ontario, OR: 13 countOntario, OR13Canby, OR: 0 countCanby, OR0Molalla, OR: 0 countMolalla, OR0Prineville, OR: 0 countPrineville, OR0
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
count		Change on 2020
1Portland, OR Estimated3,028+70.2%
2Bend, OR Estimated1,457+35.4%
3Eugene, OR Estimated1,398+93.6%
4Hillsboro, OR Estimated909+112.9%
5Salem, OR Estimated846-32.5%
6Redmond, OR Estimated650-7.5%
7Woodburn, OR Estimated561+509.8%
8Medford, OR Estimated437+53.3%
9Gresham, OR Estimated399-6.1%
10Forest Grove, OR Estimated386+333.7%
11Happy Valley, OR Estimated381-42.2%
12Cornelius, OR Estimated363+47.6%
13Tigard, OR Estimated357-43.5%
14Milwaukie, OR Estimated286+633.3%
15Newberg, OR Estimated269+348.3%
16Tualatin, OR Estimated268n/a
17Springfield, OR Estimated247+48.8%
18Lebanon, OR Estimated230-14.5%
19Grants Pass, OR Estimated162-6.9%
20Pendleton, OR Estimated157+130.9%
21Corvallis, OR Estimated155+118.3%
22Dallas, OR Estimated152+16%
23McMinnville, OR Estimated143-10.6%
24La Grande, OR Estimated132+473.9%
25Sandy, OR Estimated130+52.9%
26St. Helens, OR Estimated122+3.4%
27Cottage Grove, OR Estimated121+365.4%
28Wilsonville, OR Estimated117+42.7%
29Central Point, OR Estimated113-5.8%
29Hermiston, OR Estimated113+28.4%
31Albany, OR Estimated110-55.3%
31Beaverton, OR Estimated110-87.6%
33Ashland, OR Estimated90-11.8%
34Sweet Home, OR Estimated82+17.1%
35Independence, OR Estimated65+10.2%
36Keizer, OR Estimated62+21.6%
36Oregon City, OR Estimated62-27.9%
38Baker City, OR Estimated59+118.5%
39Troutdale, OR Estimated58+544.4%
40Lincoln City, OR Estimated53-34.6%
41Monmouth, OR Estimated52+40.5%
42Fairview, OR Estimated51-83.3%
43Lake Oswego, OR Estimated47-26.6%
44West Linn, OR Estimated37+68.2%
45Silverton, OR Estimated26-58.7%
46Coos Bay, OR Estimated22-15.4%
47Sherwood, OR Estimated21-41.7%
48Newport, OR Estimated14-82.9%
49Ontario, OR Estimated13+333.3%
50Canby, OR Estimated0n/a
50Molalla, OR Estimated0n/a
50Prineville, OR Estimated0n/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 2021 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/West%20Region/we2021a.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. (2022). Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation (Cities in Oregon by housing units authorized by building permits, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Oregon by housing units authorized by building permits, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 27 Apr. 2022, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/oregon-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 Oregon by housing units authorized by building permits, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/oregon-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 Oregon by housing units authorized by building permits, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/oregon-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_oregon_by_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 Oregon by housing units authorized by building permits, 2021}},
  year = {2022},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/oregon-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/West\%20Region/we2021a.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 Oregon 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/West%20Region/we2021a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/oregon-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/oregon-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/West%20Region/we2021a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

Portland, OR, with 3,028 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Prineville, OR, 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. 1 cities have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.

Housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Cities in Oregon: more rankings