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

Cities in Pennsylvania by housing units authorized by building permits

Philadelphia, PA had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 68 cities in 2015, at 3,666. York, PA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 5 and the figure for Pennsylvania was 22,854. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest3,666Philadelphia, PA
Lowest0York, PA
Median568 cities
Pennsylvania22,854History

Top 40 cities, 2015

Philadelphia, PA: 3,666 countPhiladelphia, PA3,666Pittsburgh, PA: 1,270 countPittsburgh, PA1,270Scranton, PA: 414 countScranton, PA414Phoenixville, PA: 156 countPhoenixville, PA156Franklin Park, PA: 84 countFranklin Park, PA84Bloomsburg, PA: 63 countBloomsburg, PA63Plum, PA: 57 countPlum, PA57Hanover, PA: 51 countHanover, PA51Baldwin, PA: 43 countBaldwin, PA43Murrysville, PA: 37 countMurrysville, PA37Greensburg, PA: 35 countGreensburg, PA35West Chester, PA: 30 countWest Chester, PA30Bethel Park, PA: 29 countBethel Park, PA29Bethlehem, PA: 28 countBethlehem, PA28Elizabethtown, PA: 21 countElizabethtown, PA21Munhall, PA: 20 countMunhall, PA20Jefferson Hills, PA: 19 countJefferson Hills, PA19Pottstown, PA: 19 countPottstown, PA19Norristown, PA: 18 countNorristown, PA18Whitehall, PA: 18 countWhitehall, PA18St. Marys, PA: 16 countSt. Marys, PA16Lansdale, PA: 15 countLansdale, PA15West Mifflin, PA: 15 countWest Mifflin, PA15Chambersburg, PA: 12 countChambersburg, PA12Hermitage, PA: 12 countHermitage, PA12Waynesboro, PA: 12 countWaynesboro, PA12Allentown, PA: 10 countAllentown, PA10Altoona, PA: 7 countAltoona, PA7Sharon, PA: 7 countSharon, PA7Berwick, PA: 6 countBerwick, PA6Lebanon, PA: 6 countLebanon, PA6Monroeville, PA: 6 countMonroeville, PA6Dunmore, PA: 5 countDunmore, PA5Erie, PA: 5 countErie, PA5Wilkes-Barre, PA: 5 countWilkes-Barre, PA5Easton, PA: 4 countEaston, PA4Carlisle, PA: 3 countCarlisle, PA3Emmaus, PA: 3 countEmmaus, PA3Lancaster, PA: 2 countLancaster, PA2Meadville, PA: 2 countMeadville, PA2Philadelphia, PA: 3,666 countPhiladelphia, PA3,666Pittsburgh, PA: 1,270 countPittsburgh, PA1,270Scranton, PA: 414 countScranton, PA414Phoenixville, PA: 156 countPhoenixville, PA156Franklin Park, PA: 84 countFranklin Park, PA84Bloomsburg, PA: 63 countBloomsburg, PA63Plum, PA: 57 countPlum, PA57Hanover, PA: 51 countHanover, PA51Baldwin, PA: 43 countBaldwin, PA43Murrysville, PA: 37 countMurrysville, PA37Greensburg, PA: 35 countGreensburg, PA35West Chester, PA: 30 countWest Chester, PA30Bethel Park, PA: 29 countBethel Park, PA29Bethlehem, PA: 28 countBethlehem, PA28Elizabethtown, PA: 21 countElizabethtown, PA21Munhall, PA: 20 countMunhall, PA20Jefferson Hills, PA: 19 countJefferson Hills, PA19Pottstown, PA: 19 countPottstown, PA19Norristown, PA: 18 countNorristown, PA18Whitehall, PA: 18 countWhitehall, PA18St. Marys, PA: 16 countSt. Marys, PA16Lansdale, PA: 15 countLansdale, PA15West Mifflin, PA: 15 countWest Mifflin, PA15Chambersburg, PA: 12 countChambersburg, PA12Hermitage, PA: 12 countHermitage, PA12Waynesboro, PA: 12 countWaynesboro, PA12Allentown, PA: 10 countAllentown, PA10Altoona, PA: 7 countAltoona, PA7Sharon, PA: 7 countSharon, PA7Berwick, PA: 6 countBerwick, PA6Lebanon, PA: 6 countLebanon, PA6Monroeville, PA: 6 countMonroeville, PA6Dunmore, PA: 5 countDunmore, PA5Erie, PA: 5 countErie, PA5Wilkes-Barre, PA: 5 countWilkes-Barre, PA5Easton, PA: 4 countEaston, PA4Carlisle, PA: 3 countCarlisle, PA3Emmaus, PA: 3 countEmmaus, PA3Lancaster, PA: 2 countLancaster, PA2Meadville, PA: 2 countMeadville, PA2
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2015
count		Change on 2014
1Philadelphia, PA Estimated3,666-7.7%
2Pittsburgh, PA Estimated1,270+275.7%
3Scranton, PA Estimated414-76.1%
4Phoenixville, PA Estimated156+300%
5Franklin Park, PA Estimated84+12%
6Bloomsburg, PA Estimated63+1,475%
7Plum, PA Estimated57+39%
8Hanover, PA Estimated51+155%
9Baldwin, PA Estimated43-48.8%
10Murrysville, PA Estimated370%
11Greensburg, PA Estimated35+3,400%
12West Chester, PA Estimated30-86%
13Bethel Park, PA Estimated29+1,350%
14Bethlehem, PA Estimated28+33.3%
15Elizabethtown, PA Estimated21+61.5%
16Munhall, PA Estimated20+566.7%
17Jefferson Hills, PA Estimated19-75.6%
17Pottstown, PA Estimated19-9.5%
19Norristown, PA Estimated18+1,700%
19Whitehall, PA Estimated18+1,700%
21St. Marys, PA Estimated16+14.3%
22Lansdale, PA Estimated15-48.3%
22West Mifflin, PA Estimated15+650%
24Chambersburg, PA Estimated12-73.9%
24Hermitage, PA Estimated12+9.1%
24Waynesboro, PA Estimated12-73.9%
27Allentown, PA Estimated10-97.1%
28Altoona, PA Estimated7+75%
28Sharon, PA Estimated7n/a
30Berwick, PA Estimated6+500%
30Lebanon, PA Estimated6n/a
30Monroeville, PA Estimated6-14.3%
33Dunmore, PA Estimated5+66.7%
33Erie, PA Estimated5+66.7%
33Wilkes-Barre, PA Estimated5+25%
36Easton, PA Estimated4n/a
37Carlisle, PA Estimated3-96.6%
37Emmaus, PA Estimated3+50%
39Lancaster, PA Estimated2-87.5%
39Meadville, PA Estimated20%
39Mechanicsburg, PA Estimated2n/a
39Reading, PA Estimated2n/a
39Wilkinsburg, PA Estimated2n/a
39Williamsport, PA Estimated2-98%
45Ephrata, PA Estimated1-66.7%
45Indiana, PA Estimated1-50%
45Kingston, PA Estimated1n/a
45Lower Burrell, PA Estimated1-50%
45Washington, PA Estimated10%
45Wyomissing, PA Estimated1n/a
51Butler, PA Estimated0n/a
51Chester, PA Estimated0n/a
51Coatesville, PA Estimated0-100%
51Columbia, PA Estimated0n/a
51Darby, PA Estimated0n/a
51Harrisburg, PA Estimated0-100%
51Hazleton, PA Estimated0n/a
51Johnstown, PA Estimated0n/a
51Lansdowne, PA Estimated0-100%
51McKeesport, PA Estimated0n/a
51Nanticoke, PA Estimated0n/a
51New Castle, PA Estimated0n/a
51New Kensington, PA Estimated0n/a
51Northampton, PA Estimated0-100%
51Pottsville, PA Estimated0-100%
51State College, PA Estimated0-100%
51Yeadon, PA Estimated0n/a
51York, PA Estimated0-100%

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. 2 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2015 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/Northeast%20Region/ne2015a.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. (2016). 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, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2015a.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, 2015. U.S. Census Bureau, 30 Sept. 2016, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2015a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2016. 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, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2015a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2016) 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, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2015a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_pennsylvania_by_2015,
  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, 2015}},
  year = {2016},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2015a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities?period=2015. 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/ne2015a.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, 2015
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/09/30
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2015a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities?period=2015.
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/ne2015a.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 3,666 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

York, PA, with 0 in 2015.

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. 2 cities have no value for 2015 and are not ranked.

Housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Cities in Pennsylvania: more rankings