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

Cities in Pennsylvania by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025

Philadelphia, PA had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 70 cities in 2025, at 3,366. Yeadon, PA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 3 and the figure for Pennsylvania was 25,709. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest3,366Philadelphia, PA
Lowest0Yeadon, PA
Median370 cities
Pennsylvania25,709History

Top 40 cities, 2025

Philadelphia, PA: 3,366 countPhiladelphia, PA3,366Pittsburgh, PA: 1,984 countPittsburgh, PA1,984Chambersburg, PA: 236 countChambersburg, PA236Bethlehem, PA: 187 countBethlehem, PA187Phoenixville, PA: 142 countPhoenixville, PA142Plum, PA: 53 countPlum, PA53Waynesboro, PA: 48 countWaynesboro, PA48Jefferson Hills, PA: 41 countJefferson Hills, PA41Norristown, PA: 37 countNorristown, PA37Franklin Park, PA: 33 countFranklin Park, PA33Murrysville, PA: 22 countMurrysville, PA22Baldwin, PA: 18 countBaldwin, PA18Carlisle, PA: 16 countCarlisle, PA16Berwick, PA: 14 countBerwick, PA14Columbia, PA: 14 countColumbia, PA14Lebanon, PA: 13 countLebanon, PA13Erie, PA: 12 countErie, PA12St. Marys, PA: 12 countSt. Marys, PA12Elizabethtown, PA: 11 countElizabethtown, PA11Mechanicsburg, PA: 11 countMechanicsburg, PA11Harrisburg, PA: 10 countHarrisburg, PA10Wilkes-Barre, PA: 10 countWilkes-Barre, PA10Chester, PA: 9 countChester, PA9Lower Burrell, PA: 7 countLower Burrell, PA7Altoona, PA: 6 countAltoona, PA6Penn Hills, PA: 6 countPenn Hills, PA6Hazleton, PA: 5 countHazleton, PA5Hermitage, PA: 5 countHermitage, PA5Williamsport, PA: 5 countWilliamsport, PA5York, PA: 5 countYork, PA5Dunmore, PA: 4 countDunmore, PA4Lancaster, PA: 4 countLancaster, PA4Northampton, PA: 4 countNorthampton, PA4State College, PA: 4 countState College, PA4Bethel Park, PA: 3 countBethel Park, PA3Kingston, PA: 3 countKingston, PA3Mount Lebanon, PA: 2 countMount Lebanon, PA2Scranton, PA: 2 countScranton, PA2Allentown, PA: 1 countAllentown, PA1Bloomsburg, PA: 1 countBloomsburg, PA1Philadelphia, PA: 3,366 countPhiladelphia, PA3,366Pittsburgh, PA: 1,984 countPittsburgh, PA1,984Chambersburg, PA: 236 countChambersburg, PA236Bethlehem, PA: 187 countBethlehem, PA187Phoenixville, PA: 142 countPhoenixville, PA142Plum, PA: 53 countPlum, PA53Waynesboro, PA: 48 countWaynesboro, PA48Jefferson Hills, PA: 41 countJefferson Hills, PA41Norristown, PA: 37 countNorristown, PA37Franklin Park, PA: 33 countFranklin Park, PA33Murrysville, PA: 22 countMurrysville, PA22Baldwin, PA: 18 countBaldwin, PA18Carlisle, PA: 16 countCarlisle, PA16Berwick, PA: 14 countBerwick, PA14Columbia, PA: 14 countColumbia, PA14Lebanon, PA: 13 countLebanon, PA13Erie, PA: 12 countErie, PA12St. Marys, PA: 12 countSt. Marys, PA12Elizabethtown, PA: 11 countElizabethtown, PA11Mechanicsburg, PA: 11 countMechanicsburg, PA11Harrisburg, PA: 10 countHarrisburg, PA10Wilkes-Barre, PA: 10 countWilkes-Barre, PA10Chester, PA: 9 countChester, PA9Lower Burrell, PA: 7 countLower Burrell, PA7Altoona, PA: 6 countAltoona, PA6Penn Hills, PA: 6 countPenn Hills, PA6Hazleton, PA: 5 countHazleton, PA5Hermitage, PA: 5 countHermitage, PA5Williamsport, PA: 5 countWilliamsport, PA5York, PA: 5 countYork, PA5Dunmore, PA: 4 countDunmore, PA4Lancaster, PA: 4 countLancaster, PA4Northampton, PA: 4 countNorthampton, PA4State College, PA: 4 countState College, PA4Bethel Park, PA: 3 countBethel Park, PA3Kingston, PA: 3 countKingston, PA3Mount Lebanon, PA: 2 countMount Lebanon, PA2Scranton, PA: 2 countScranton, PA2Allentown, PA: 1 countAllentown, PA1Bloomsburg, PA: 1 countBloomsburg, PA1
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2025
count		Change on 2024
1Philadelphia, PA Estimated3,366+13.6%
2Pittsburgh, PA Estimated1,984+19.2%
3Chambersburg, PA Estimated236+32.6%
4Bethlehem, PA Estimated187+23%
5Phoenixville, PA Estimated142+15.4%
6Plum, PA Estimated53+51.4%
7Waynesboro, PA Estimated48-18.6%
8Jefferson Hills, PA Estimated41-48.1%
9Norristown, PA Estimated37-39.3%
10Franklin Park, PA Estimated33+106.3%
11Murrysville, PA Estimated22-8.3%
12Baldwin, PA Estimated18+80%
13Carlisle, PA Estimated16-61%
14Berwick, PA Estimated14n/a
14Columbia, PA Estimated14n/a
16Lebanon, PA Estimated13-23.5%
17Erie, PA Estimated12+200%
17St. Marys, PA Estimated12-7.7%
19Elizabethtown, PA Estimated11-47.6%
19Mechanicsburg, PA Estimated11-73.8%
21Harrisburg, PA Estimated10-79.6%
21Wilkes-Barre, PA Estimated10+66.7%
23Chester, PA Estimated90%
24Lower Burrell, PA Estimated7+250%
25Altoona, PA Estimated6-25%
25Penn Hills, PA Estimated6-96.1%
27Hazleton, PA Estimated50%
27Hermitage, PA Estimated5-16.7%
27Williamsport, PA Estimated5+66.7%
27York, PA Estimated5-96.4%
31Dunmore, PA Estimated4+300%
31Lancaster, PA Estimated4-97.9%
31Northampton, PA Estimated4n/a
31State College, PA Estimated4+300%
35Bethel Park, PA Estimated3+200%
35Kingston, PA Estimated3n/a
37Mount Lebanon, PA Estimated2n/a
37Scranton, PA Estimated20%
39Allentown, PA Estimated1-99.6%
39Bloomsburg, PA Estimated1n/a
39Coatesville, PA Estimated1n/a
39Lansdowne, PA Estimated10%
39Munhall, PA Estimated10%
39West Chester, PA Estimated1-50%
39Whitehall, PA Estimated1n/a
46Butler, PA Estimated0n/a
46Darby, PA Estimated0n/a
46Easton, PA Estimated0-100%
46Emmaus, PA Estimated0-100%
46Ephrata, PA Estimated0-100%
46Greensburg, PA Estimated0n/a
46Hanover, PA Estimated0-100%
46Indiana, PA Estimated0n/a
46Johnstown, PA Estimated0n/a
46Lansdale, PA Estimated0-100%
46McKeesport, PA Estimated0n/a
46Meadville, PA Estimated0n/a
46Monroeville, PA Estimated0-100%
46Nanticoke, PA Estimated0n/a
46New Castle, PA Estimated0-100%
46New Kensington, PA Estimated0-100%
46Pottstown, PA Estimated0n/a
46Pottsville, PA Estimated0n/a
46Reading, PA Estimated0n/a
46Sharon, PA Estimated0n/a
46Washington, PA Estimated0-100%
46West Mifflin, PA Estimated0n/a
46Wilkinsburg, PA Estimated0n/a
46Wyomissing, PA Estimated0n/a
46Yeadon, PA 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. 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/ne2025a.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. (2026). Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation (Cities in Pennsylvania by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Pennsylvania by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 May 2026, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Cities in Pennsylvania by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Pennsylvania by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_pennsylvania_by_2025,
  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 Pennsylvania by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities. 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/ne2025a.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 Pennsylvania by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/14
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities.
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/ne2025a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

Philadelphia, PA, with 3,366 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Yeadon, PA, with 0 in 2025.

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.

Housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Cities in Pennsylvania: more rankings