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 2024, at 2,999. Jefferson County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 87. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest2,999Allegheny County
Lowest0Jefferson County
Median8767 counties

Top 40 counties, 2024

CSVChart (SVG)

Allegheny CountyAllegheny County: 2,999 count2,999Philadelphia CountyPhiladelphia County: 2,962 count2,962Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 2,490 count2,490Chester CountyChester County: 1,529 count1,529York CountyYork County: 1,335 count1,335Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 1,184 count1,184Lehigh CountyLehigh County: 1,062 count1,062Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 1,037 count1,037Butler CountyButler County: 976 count976Bucks CountyBucks County: 718 count718Franklin CountyFranklin County: 623 count623Northampton CountyNorthampton County: 546 count546Dauphin CountyDauphin County: 499 count499Washington CountyWashington County: 450 count450Westmoreland CountyWestmoreland County: 414 count414Adams CountyAdams County: 403 count403Berks CountyBerks County: 397 count397Centre CountyCentre County: 367 count367Erie CountyErie County: 339 count339Luzerne CountyLuzerne County: 325 count325Lebanon CountyLebanon County: 324 count324Delaware CountyDelaware County: 281 count281Monroe CountyMonroe County: 278 count278Beaver CountyBeaver County: 267 count267Lackawanna CountyLackawanna County: 250 count250Schuylkill CountySchuylkill County: 239 count239Pike CountyPike County: 190 count190Fayette CountyFayette County: 189 count189Wayne CountyWayne County: 175 count175Carbon CountyCarbon County: 157 count157Perry CountyPerry County: 107 count107Bradford CountyBradford County: 92 count92Clearfield CountyClearfield County: 88 count88Blair CountyBlair County: 87 count87Crawford CountyCrawford County: 79 count79Mercer CountyMercer County: 76 count76Somerset CountySomerset County: 72 count72Bedford CountyBedford County: 71 count71Susquehanna CountySusquehanna County: 70 count70Columbia CountyColumbia County: 68 count68
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Full ranking

RankCounties2024
count		Change on 2023
1Allegheny County Estimated2,999-24.1%
2Philadelphia County Estimated2,962-23.3%
3Montgomery County Estimated2,490+74.7%
4Chester County Estimated1,529+18.1%
5York County Estimated1,335+14.4%
6Lancaster County Estimated1,184-36.3%
7Lehigh County Estimated1,062+130.4%
8Cumberland County Estimated1,0370%
9Butler County Estimated976-3.1%
10Bucks County Estimated718-5.8%
11Franklin County Estimated623-15.5%
12Northampton County Estimated546-22.1%
13Dauphin County Estimated499-31.8%
14Washington County Estimated450-10.7%
15Westmoreland County Estimated414+15.6%
16Adams County Estimated403+19.2%
17Berks County Estimated397+12.8%
18Centre County Estimated367+6.7%
19Erie County Estimated339+51.3%
20Luzerne County Estimated325+9.8%
21Lebanon County Estimated324+25.1%
22Delaware County Estimated281-6.3%
23Monroe County Estimated278+25.2%
24Beaver County Estimated267+18.1%
25Lackawanna County Estimated250+5.9%
26Schuylkill County Estimated239+64.8%
27Pike County Estimated190-1.6%
28Fayette County Estimated189+6.8%
29Wayne County Estimated175+12.9%
30Carbon County Estimated157-8.2%
31Perry County Estimated107+12.6%
32Bradford County Estimated92+80.4%
33Clearfield County Estimated88+1.1%
34Blair County Estimated87-20.9%
35Crawford County Estimated79+5.3%
36Mercer County Estimated76+16.9%
37Somerset County Estimated72+16.1%
38Bedford County Estimated71+7.6%
39Susquehanna County Estimated70-7.9%
40Columbia County Estimated68-5.6%
41Huntingdon County Estimated66+43.5%
42Lycoming County Estimated65+14%
43Mifflin County Estimated63+6.8%
44Cambria County Estimated62+31.9%
45Lawrence County Estimated60+25%
46Armstrong County Estimated57-17.4%
47Northumberland County Estimated56-28.2%
47Warren County Estimated56-25.3%
49Union County Estimated54-37.2%
50Elk County Estimated48+37.1%
50Snyder County Estimated48+4.3%
52Indiana County Estimated41+70.8%
53Venango County Estimated40+5.3%
54Clinton County Estimated36+9.1%
55Juniata County Estimated34+13.3%
56Tioga County Estimated320%
57McKean County Estimated27+12.5%
58Fulton County Estimated26+23.8%
59Clarion County Estimated25+4.2%
60Greene County Estimated23-17.9%
61Montour County Estimated22-38.9%
62Wyoming County Estimated21-48.8%
63Potter County Estimated18-14.3%
64Sullivan County Estimated12-20%
65Forest County Estimated3-50%
66Cameron County Estimated0n/a
66Jefferson County Estimated0-100%

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/co2024a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

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Rank Counties in Pennsylvania by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

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

Allegheny County, with 2,999 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Jefferson County, with 0 in 2024.

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