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

Counties in Tennessee by housing units authorized by building permits

Davidson County had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 94 counties in 2023, at 11,225. Wayne County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 128. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest11,225Davidson County
Lowest0Wayne County
Median12894 counties

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Davidson CountyDavidson County: 11,225 count11,225Knox CountyKnox County: 4,293 count4,293Rutherford CountyRutherford County: 3,540 count3,540Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 2,784 count2,784Hamilton CountyHamilton County: 2,043 count2,043Shelby CountyShelby County: 1,964 count1,964Wilson CountyWilson County: 1,874 count1,874Sumner CountySumner County: 1,746 count1,746Maury CountyMaury County: 1,562 count1,562Williamson CountyWilliamson County: 1,432 count1,432Sevier CountySevier County: 1,021 count1,021Robertson CountyRobertson County: 939 count939Washington CountyWashington County: 849 count849Blount CountyBlount County: 669 count669Loudon CountyLoudon County: 662 count662Putnam CountyPutnam County: 623 count623Bradley CountyBradley County: 621 count621Sullivan CountySullivan County: 520 count520Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 475 count475Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 428 count428Dickson CountyDickson County: 412 count412Franklin CountyFranklin County: 401 count401Anderson CountyAnderson County: 397 count397Bedford CountyBedford County: 382 count382Coffee CountyCoffee County: 377 count377Marshall CountyMarshall County: 339 count339Fayette CountyFayette County: 336 count336Warren CountyWarren County: 328 count328Hamblen CountyHamblen County: 289 count289Cheatham CountyCheatham County: 285 count285Greene CountyGreene County: 265 count265Madison CountyMadison County: 235 count235Tipton CountyTipton County: 204 count204Polk CountyPolk County: 200 count200Marion CountyMarion County: 198 count198White CountyWhite County: 198 count198Macon CountyMacon County: 193 count193Carter CountyCarter County: 182 count182Gibson CountyGibson County: 164 count164Hawkins CountyHawkins County: 146 count146
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
count
1Davidson County Estimated11,225
2Knox County Estimated4,293
3Rutherford County Estimated3,540
4Montgomery County Estimated2,784
5Hamilton County Estimated2,043
6Shelby County Estimated1,964
7Wilson County Estimated1,874
8Sumner County Estimated1,746
9Maury County Estimated1,562
10Williamson County Estimated1,432
11Sevier County Estimated1,021
12Robertson County Estimated939
13Washington County Estimated849
14Blount County Estimated669
15Loudon County Estimated662
16Putnam County Estimated623
17Bradley County Estimated621
18Sullivan County Estimated520
19Jefferson County Estimated475
20Cumberland County Estimated428
21Dickson County Estimated412
22Franklin County Estimated401
23Anderson County Estimated397
24Bedford County Estimated382
25Coffee County Estimated377
26Marshall County Estimated339
27Fayette County Estimated336
28Warren County Estimated328
29Hamblen County Estimated289
30Cheatham County Estimated285
31Greene County Estimated265
32Madison County Estimated235
33Tipton County Estimated204
34Polk County Estimated200
35Marion County Estimated198
35White County Estimated198
37Macon County Estimated193
38Carter County Estimated182
39Gibson County Estimated164
40Hawkins County Estimated146
41Monroe County Estimated143
42Roane County Estimated140
43DeKalb County Estimated138
43Giles County Estimated138
45Campbell County Estimated136
46Lincoln County Estimated134
47Rhea County Estimated130
48Smith County Estimated125
49Trousdale County Estimated122
50Hickman County Estimated118
51Meigs County Estimated106
52Union County Estimated104
53Cannon County Estimated103
54McMinn County Estimated99
55Claiborne County Estimated88
56Lewis County Estimated75
57McNairy County Estimated70
58Weakley County Estimated69
59Grainger County Estimated68
60Dyer County Estimated59
61Hardeman County Estimated51
62Hardin County Estimated45
63Obion County Estimated38
64Humphreys County Estimated34
65Henderson County Estimated31
66Moore County Estimated30
67Lauderdale County Estimated26
68Clay County Estimated25
68Crockett County Estimated25
68Lawrence County Estimated25
71Grundy County Estimated20
71Henry County Estimated20
73Haywood County Estimated17
74Unicoi County Estimated13
75Perry County Estimated12
76Overton County Estimated11
76Sequatchie County Estimated11
78Chester County Estimated10
78Stewart County Estimated10
80Carroll County Estimated9
81Cocke County Estimated8
82Van Buren County Estimated7
83Decatur County Estimated5
83Johnson County Estimated5
85Benton County Estimated3
85Lake County Estimated3
87Scott County Estimated2
88Hancock County Estimated1
89Bledsoe County Estimated0
89Fentress County Estimated0
89Houston County Estimated0
89Jackson County Estimated0
89Morgan County Estimated0
89Wayne 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 Tennessee by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_units","level":"province","within":"Tennessee","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=building_permit_units&level=province&within=Tennessee&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?

Davidson County, with 11,225 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Wayne 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 Tennessee: more rankings