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 2018, at 3,239. Yeadon, PA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 3 and the figure for Pennsylvania was 23,325. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest3,239Philadelphia, PA

Lowest0Yeadon, PA

Median368 cities

Pennsylvania23,325History

Top 40 cities, 2018

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2018 count	Change on 2017
1	Philadelphia, PA Estimated	3,239	-4.4%
2	Pittsburgh, PA Estimated	643	+35.1%
3	Lansdale, PA Estimated	198	+195.5%
4	Chambersburg, PA Estimated	109	+9%
5	Bethlehem, PA Estimated	91	+810%
6	Wyomissing, PA Estimated	87	+8,600%
7	Franklin Park, PA Estimated	79	-30.1%
8	Bloomsburg, PA Estimated	76	+406.7%
9	Hermitage, PA Estimated	70	+775%
10	West Mifflin, PA Estimated	58	+2,800%
11	Plum, PA Estimated	52	+62.5%
12	Hanover, PA Estimated	50	+127.3%
13	Harrisburg, PA Estimated	46	n/a
14	Erie, PA Estimated	43	+437.5%
15	Hazleton, PA Estimated	39	n/a
16	Phoenixville, PA Estimated	37	+164.3%
17	Waynesboro, PA Estimated	31	+106.7%
18	Bethel Park, PA Estimated	26	-82.7%
19	Elizabethtown, PA Estimated	25	+92.3%
20	Carlisle, PA Estimated	22	-63.9%
21	Murrysville, PA Estimated	20	-13%
22	Ephrata, PA Estimated	12	-73.9%
22	West Chester, PA Estimated	12	+33.3%
24	Emmaus, PA Estimated	11	+450%
24	Jefferson Hills, PA Estimated	11	+1,000%
24	Norristown, PA Estimated	11	+450%
27	St. Marys, PA Estimated	10	-28.6%
28	Altoona, PA Estimated	9	+80%
29	Mechanicsburg, PA Estimated	8	+700%
29	Munhall, PA Estimated	8	n/a
31	Coatesville, PA Estimated	4	+100%
31	Lower Burrell, PA Estimated	4	-50%
31	Monroeville, PA Estimated	4	+100%
34	Scranton, PA Estimated	3	-85%
35	Dunmore, PA Estimated	2	-50%
35	Indiana, PA Estimated	2	+100%
35	Lebanon, PA Estimated	2	-50%
35	Pottstown, PA Estimated	2	-60%
35	York, PA Estimated	2	n/a
40	Lancaster, PA Estimated	1	-50%
40	Nanticoke, PA Estimated	1	-97.1%
40	New Castle, PA Estimated	1	n/a
40	Northampton, PA Estimated	1	-75%
40	State College, PA Estimated	1	-50%
45	Allentown, PA Estimated	0	-100%
45	Baldwin, PA Estimated	0	-100%
45	Berwick, PA Estimated	0	n/a
45	Butler, PA Estimated	0	n/a
45	Chester, PA Estimated	0	n/a
45	Columbia, PA Estimated	0	n/a
45	Darby, PA Estimated	0	n/a
45	Easton, PA Estimated	0	-100%
45	Greensburg, PA Estimated	0	-100%
45	Johnstown, PA Estimated	0	n/a
45	Kingston, PA Estimated	0	n/a
45	Lansdowne, PA Estimated	0	n/a
45	McKeesport, PA Estimated	0	n/a
45	Meadville, PA Estimated	0	-100%
45	New Kensington, PA Estimated	0	n/a
45	Pottsville, PA Estimated	0	-100%
45	Reading, PA Estimated	0	n/a
45	Sharon, PA Estimated	0	n/a
45	Washington, PA Estimated	0	-100%
45	Whitehall, PA Estimated	0	-100%
45	Wilkes-Barre, PA Estimated	0	n/a
45	Wilkinsburg, PA Estimated	0	n/a
45	Williamsport, PA Estimated	0	-100%
45	Yeadon, PA 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. 2 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2018 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/ne2018a.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. (2019). 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, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2018a.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, 2018. U.S. Census Bureau, 20 June 2019, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2018a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2019. 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, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2018a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities?period=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2019) 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, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2018a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_pennsylvania_by_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  year = {2019},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2018a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities?period=2018. 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/ne2018a.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, 2018
PY  - 2019
DA  - 2019/06/20
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2018a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/pennsylvania-cities?period=2018.
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/ne2018a.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 3,239 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Yeadon, PA, with 0 in 2018.

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 2018 and are not ranked.