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

Counties in Pennsylvania by housing units authorized by building permits

Allegheny County had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 67 counties in 2023, at 3,953. Cameron County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 86. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest3,953Allegheny County
Lowest0Cameron County
Median8667 counties

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Allegheny CountyAllegheny County: 3,953 count3,953Philadelphia CountyPhiladelphia County: 3,863 count3,863Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 1,859 count1,859Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 1,425 count1,425Chester CountyChester County: 1,295 count1,295York CountyYork County: 1,167 count1,167Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 1,037 count1,037Butler CountyButler County: 1,007 count1,007Bucks CountyBucks County: 762 count762Franklin CountyFranklin County: 737 count737Dauphin CountyDauphin County: 732 count732Northampton CountyNorthampton County: 701 count701Washington CountyWashington County: 504 count504Lehigh CountyLehigh County: 461 count461Westmoreland CountyWestmoreland County: 358 count358Berks CountyBerks County: 352 count352Centre CountyCentre County: 344 count344Adams CountyAdams County: 338 count338Delaware CountyDelaware County: 300 count300Luzerne CountyLuzerne County: 296 count296Lebanon CountyLebanon County: 259 count259Lackawanna CountyLackawanna County: 236 count236Beaver CountyBeaver County: 226 count226Erie CountyErie County: 224 count224Monroe CountyMonroe County: 222 count222Pike CountyPike County: 193 count193Fayette CountyFayette County: 177 count177Carbon CountyCarbon County: 171 count171Wayne CountyWayne County: 155 count155Schuylkill CountySchuylkill County: 145 count145Blair CountyBlair County: 110 count110Perry CountyPerry County: 95 count95Clearfield CountyClearfield County: 87 count87Union CountyUnion County: 86 count86Northumberland CountyNorthumberland County: 78 count78Susquehanna CountySusquehanna County: 76 count76Crawford CountyCrawford County: 75 count75Warren CountyWarren County: 75 count75Columbia CountyColumbia County: 72 count72Armstrong CountyArmstrong County: 69 count69
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
count
1Allegheny County Estimated3,953
2Philadelphia County Estimated3,863
3Lancaster County Estimated1,859
4Montgomery County Estimated1,425
5Chester County Estimated1,295
6York County Estimated1,167
7Cumberland County Estimated1,037
8Butler County Estimated1,007
9Bucks County Estimated762
10Franklin County Estimated737
11Dauphin County Estimated732
12Northampton County Estimated701
13Washington County Estimated504
14Lehigh County Estimated461
15Westmoreland County Estimated358
16Berks County Estimated352
17Centre County Estimated344
18Adams County Estimated338
19Delaware County Estimated300
20Luzerne County Estimated296
21Lebanon County Estimated259
22Lackawanna County Estimated236
23Beaver County Estimated226
24Erie County Estimated224
25Monroe County Estimated222
26Pike County Estimated193
27Fayette County Estimated177
28Carbon County Estimated171
29Wayne County Estimated155
30Schuylkill County Estimated145
31Blair County Estimated110
32Perry County Estimated95
33Clearfield County Estimated87
34Union County Estimated86
35Northumberland County Estimated78
36Susquehanna County Estimated76
37Crawford County Estimated75
37Warren County Estimated75
39Columbia County Estimated72
40Armstrong County Estimated69
41Bedford County Estimated66
42Mercer County Estimated65
43Somerset County Estimated62
44Mifflin County Estimated59
45Lycoming County Estimated57
46Bradford County Estimated51
47Lawrence County Estimated48
48Cambria County Estimated47
49Huntingdon County Estimated46
49Snyder County Estimated46
51Jefferson County Estimated43
52Wyoming County Estimated41
53Venango County Estimated38
54Montour County Estimated36
55Elk County Estimated35
56Clinton County Estimated33
57Tioga County Estimated32
58Juniata County Estimated30
59Greene County Estimated28
60Clarion County Estimated24
60Indiana County Estimated24
60McKean County Estimated24
63Fulton County Estimated21
63Potter County Estimated21
65Sullivan County Estimated15
66Forest County Estimated6
67Cameron 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.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Pennsylvania by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_units","level":"province","within":"Pennsylvania","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=building_permit_units&level=province&within=Pennsylvania&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

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

Allegheny County, with 3,953 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Cameron 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 Pennsylvania: more rankings