Cities in Texas by housing units authorized by building permits

Houston, TX had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 252 cities in 2019, at 15,463. Richmond, TX had the lowest, at 0. The median was 170 and the figure for Texas was 209,895. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest15,463Houston, TX

Lowest0Richmond, TX

Median170252 cities

Texas209,895History

Top 40 cities, 2019

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2019 count	Change on 2018
1	Houston, TX Estimated	15,463	+16.8%
2	Austin, TX Estimated	14,709	+10.7%
3	Fort Worth, TX Estimated	11,339	+21.8%
4	San Antonio, TX Estimated	9,196	+55.1%
5	Dallas, TX Estimated	8,093	+0.6%
6	McKinney, TX Estimated	3,195	-7.7%
7	Frisco, TX Estimated	3,041	-36.9%
8	El Paso, TX Estimated	2,286	+3.5%
9	Leander, TX Estimated	2,239	+11.6%
10	Conroe, TX Estimated	2,232	+43%
11	Lubbock, TX Estimated	2,086	+56.8%
12	Georgetown, TX Estimated	2,085	+1.6%
13	Irving, TX Estimated	1,987	+261.3%
14	Denton, TX Estimated	1,881	+21.2%
15	Odessa, TX Estimated	1,782	+140.8%
16	New Braunfels, TX Estimated	1,737	-10%
17	Arlington, TX Estimated	1,662	+5.8%
18	Laredo, TX Estimated	1,602	+16.5%
19	Farmers Branch, TX Estimated	1,582	-52.8%
20	Plano, TX Estimated	1,345	+88.9%
21	Midland, TX Estimated	1,290	+5.6%
22	Fulshear, TX Estimated	1,253	+59.6%
23	Celina, TX Estimated	1,238	-0.8%
24	Allen, TX Estimated	1,230	+16.7%
25	Grand Prairie, TX Estimated	1,186	+28.8%
26	Corpus Christi, TX Estimated	1,074	+5.7%
27	Round Rock, TX Estimated	1,010	-26.3%
28	Temple, TX Estimated	1,006	+21.4%
29	Edinburg, TX Estimated	975	-32.4%
30	Little Elm, TX Estimated	962	-17.2%
31	North Richland Hills, TX Estimated	959	+309.8%
32	Waco, TX Estimated	938	+63.1%
33	Brownsville, TX Estimated	937	+40.9%
34	Lewisville, TX Estimated	929	-10.7%
35	Kyle, TX Estimated	892	+48.9%
36	Pflugerville, TX Estimated	867	+21.1%
37	McAllen, TX Estimated	865	+4.7%
38	Katy, TX Estimated	858	-7.3%
38	Killeen, TX Estimated	858	-1.9%
40	Weslaco, TX Estimated	854	+167.7%
41	Prosper, TX Estimated	847	-8.3%
42	Cibolo, TX Estimated	827	+117.6%
43	Texas City, TX Estimated	814	+59.6%
44	Selma, TX Estimated	750	+1,530.4%
45	League City, TX Estimated	742	+9.3%
46	Bryan, TX Estimated	709	-3.5%
47	Manor, TX Estimated	690	-27.9%
48	Waxahachie, TX Estimated	683	+4.8%
49	Garland, TX Estimated	678	+48.7%
50	Pearland, TX Estimated	651	-20.4%
51	Princeton, TX Estimated	650	-27%
52	Anna, TX Estimated	637	+74.5%
53	Rowlett, TX Estimated	628	-2.8%
54	College Station, TX Estimated	617	-40.2%
55	Iowa Colony, TX Estimated	611	+20%
56	San Marcos, TX Estimated	577	+3.6%
57	Missouri City, TX Estimated	570	+47.7%
58	Melissa, TX Estimated	560	-23.8%
58	Sherman, TX Estimated	560	+43.6%
60	Flower Mound, TX Estimated	557	-3.1%
61	Rockwall, TX Estimated	546	+71.2%
62	Fate, TX Estimated	544	+6.9%
63	Burleson, TX Estimated	533	+113.2%
63	Hutto, TX Estimated	533	+24.5%
65	Northlake, TX Estimated	521	+167.2%
66	La Porte, TX Estimated	511	+698.4%
67	Rosenberg, TX Estimated	500	+104.9%
68	Socorro, TX Estimated	488	+212.8%
69	Crowley, TX Estimated	478	+29.9%
70	Grapevine, TX Estimated	476	-39.7%
70	Midlothian, TX Estimated	476	-44.9%
72	Amarillo, TX Estimated	472	-28%
73	Mansfield, TX Estimated	466	-32.8%
74	Manvel, TX Estimated	465	-10.4%
75	Wylie, TX Estimated	428	-49%
76	Tyler, TX Estimated	416	-4.8%
77	Euless, TX Estimated	385	+96.4%
77	Mission, TX Estimated	385	-6.3%
79	Glenn Heights, TX Estimated	367	+216.4%
80	Boerne, TX Estimated	365	+16.6%
81	Pharr, TX Estimated	360	+31.9%
82	Abilene, TX Estimated	349	+6.7%
82	Carrollton, TX Estimated	349	-71.1%
84	Stephenville, TX Estimated	336	+73.2%
85	Cedar Park, TX Estimated	332	-59.1%
86	Port Arthur, TX Estimated	326	+565.3%
87	Harlingen, TX Estimated	325	+36%
88	Dripping Springs, TX Estimated	323	-6.4%
89	Richardson, TX Estimated	315	-73.5%
90	Baytown, TX Estimated	312	-49%
91	Schertz, TX Estimated	310	-20.1%
92	Forney, TX Estimated	308	-64.2%
93	Alamo, TX Estimated	304	+130.3%
94	The Colony, TX Estimated	291	-20.5%
95	San Angelo, TX Estimated	283	+8%
96	Huntsville, TX Estimated	279	-32.6%
97	Lago Vista, TX Estimated	270	-9.7%
98	Weatherford, TX Estimated	269	-45.9%
99	Saginaw, TX Estimated	265	+14.2%
100	Cleburne, TX Estimated	254	+173.1%
101	DeSoto, TX Estimated	251	+79.3%
101	Lakeway, TX Estimated	251	-6%
103	Royse City, TX Estimated	243	-48.1%
104	Greenville, TX Estimated	242	+71.6%
105	Horizon City, TX Estimated	234	+420%
106	Beaumont, TX Estimated	232	-18%
107	Mont Belvieu, TX Estimated	227	+61%
108	Cedar Hill, TX Estimated	225	+235.8%
108	Ingleside, TX Estimated	225	+561.8%
110	Liberty Hill, TX Estimated	224	+7.7%
111	Lancaster, TX Estimated	222	+53.1%
112	Converse, TX Estimated	221	+39.9%
113	Alvin, TX Estimated	217	+66.9%
113	Red Oak, TX Estimated	217	+12.4%
115	Seagoville, TX Estimated	215	+264.4%
116	Alton, TX Estimated	214	-13.4%
117	Rockport, TX Estimated	203	+31.8%
118	Victoria, TX Estimated	201	+187.1%
119	Addison, TX Estimated	197	-72.9%
120	Denison, TX Estimated	194	+10.2%
120	La Marque, TX Estimated	194	-21.5%
122	Pasadena, TX Estimated	189	+46.5%
123	Kaufman, TX Estimated	185	+516.7%
124	Buda, TX Estimated	184	-3.2%
125	Harker Heights, TX Estimated	182	-4.2%
126	Seguin, TX Estimated	172	-1.7%
127	Andrews, TX Estimated	168	+663.6%
128	Josephine, TX Estimated	167	-1.8%
129	Longview, TX Estimated	166	-18.6%
130	Copperas Cove, TX Estimated	165	-17.1%
131	Galveston, TX Estimated	159	-13.1%
132	Palestine, TX Estimated	155	+474.1%
133	Azle, TX Estimated	152	+322.2%
133	San Juan, TX Estimated	152	+10.9%
135	Taylor, TX Estimated	150	+172.7%
136	Belton, TX Estimated	147	-15.5%
137	Wichita Falls, TX Estimated	128	-42.6%
138	Sugar Land, TX Estimated	124	-12.1%
139	Lumberton, TX Estimated	123	+16%
140	Heath, TX Estimated	120	-8.4%
140	Roanoke, TX Estimated	120	-29%
140	Sanger, TX Estimated	120	+31.9%
143	Fair Oaks Ranch, TX Estimated	112	+8.7%
144	Colleyville, TX Estimated	109	-24.3%
145	Helotes, TX Estimated	106	-23.2%
146	Dickinson, TX Estimated	101	+14.8%
147	Keller, TX Estimated	98	-10.1%
147	Tomball, TX Estimated	98	-5.8%
149	University Park, TX Estimated	94	+32.4%
150	Bellaire, TX Estimated	93	-23.8%
150	Canyon, TX Estimated	93	+14.8%
152	Eagle Pass, TX Estimated	92	+27.8%
152	Granbury, TX Estimated	92	-34.3%
154	Del Rio, TX Estimated	90	+109.3%
154	Fairview, TX Estimated	90	+52.5%
154	Lavon, TX Estimated	90	+18.4%
157	Kerrville, TX Estimated	89	-31%
158	Hidalgo, TX Estimated	85	+1.2%
159	South Houston, TX Estimated	84	+211.1%
159	Southlake, TX Estimated	84	-45.1%
161	Elgin, TX Estimated	83	+25.8%
162	Live Oak, TX Estimated	82	-66%
162	Paris, TX Estimated	82	+121.6%
164	Friendswood, TX Estimated	76	-46.5%
165	Bastrop, TX Estimated	75	+4.2%
165	Ennis, TX Estimated	75	-63.9%
165	Murphy, TX Estimated	75	+476.9%
168	Universal City, TX Estimated	73	+7.4%
169	Hewitt, TX Estimated	70	+150%
170	Portland, TX Estimated	69	-6.8%
171	Angleton, TX Estimated	68	+25.9%
171	Fredericksburg, TX Estimated	68	+13.3%
173	Dayton, TX Estimated	67	-6.9%
174	Haltom City, TX Estimated	64	+540%
174	Mesquite, TX Estimated	64	-8.6%
176	West University Place, TX Estimated	62	-3.1%
177	Clute, TX Estimated	61	+35.6%
178	Mercedes, TX Estimated	60	+1.7%
178	Robinson, TX Estimated	60	-1.6%
180	Benbrook, TX Estimated	59	-14.5%
181	Lockhart, TX Estimated	57	-76.6%
182	Lufkin, TX Estimated	56	-21.1%
182	Santa Fe, TX Estimated	56	+47.4%
184	Brenham, TX Estimated	55	-60.4%
185	White Settlement, TX Estimated	54	-12.9%
186	Port Neches, TX Estimated	52	+36.8%
187	Lake Jackson, TX Estimated	49	0%
188	Corsicana, TX Estimated	48	+140%
188	San Benito, TX Estimated	48	+2.1%
190	Highland Village, TX Estimated	47	+23.7%
191	Balch Springs, TX Estimated	45	+25%
191	Forest Hill, TX Estimated	45	-27.4%
191	Sachse, TX Estimated	45	-35.7%
191	Terrell, TX Estimated	45	-15.1%
195	Donna, TX Estimated	43	+34.4%
196	Sulphur Springs, TX Estimated	42	-8.7%
197	Big Spring, TX Estimated	41	+46.4%
198	Orange, TX Estimated	40	+73.9%
199	Gainesville, TX Estimated	39	+8.3%
200	Palmview, TX Estimated	38	+123.5%
201	Kingsville, TX Estimated	37	+516.7%
201	Texarkana, TX Estimated	37	+2.8%
203	Coppell, TX Estimated	36	-26.5%
203	Groves, TX Estimated	36	-30.8%
205	Corinth, TX Estimated	35	-52.7%
206	Mount Pleasant, TX Estimated	34	+30.8%
206	Providence Village, TX Estimated	34	+112.5%
206	Trophy Club, TX Estimated	34	+21.4%
209	Port Lavaca, TX Estimated	32	+700%
210	Nederland, TX Estimated	31	-62.7%
211	Seabrook, TX Estimated	30	-3.2%
212	Uvalde, TX Estimated	28	+55.6%
213	Webster, TX Estimated	26	-89.3%
214	Gatesville, TX Estimated	25	-49%
214	Marshall, TX Estimated	25	+66.7%
214	Nacogdoches, TX Estimated	25	+525%
217	Kilgore, TX Estimated	24	0%
217	Pleasanton, TX Estimated	24	+14.3%
217	Robstown, TX Estimated	24	+2,300%
220	Hurst, TX Estimated	22	+15.8%
221	Bonham, TX Estimated	21	+10.5%
221	Kennedale, TX Estimated	21	-77.9%
223	Burkburnett, TX Estimated	20	+5.3%
223	Freeport, TX Estimated	20	-23.1%
225	Athens, TX Estimated	17	-43.3%
225	Bay City, TX Estimated	17	-57.5%
225	Beeville, TX Estimated	17	+88.9%
228	El Campo, TX Estimated	14	+7.7%
229	Brownwood, TX Estimated	12	-42.9%
229	Deer Park, TX Estimated	12	+50%
231	Dumas, TX Estimated	11	+266.7%
232	Mineral Wells, TX Estimated	10	-9.1%
233	Alice, TX Estimated	9	+125%
233	Levelland, TX Estimated	9	-10%
235	Stafford, TX Estimated	7	-41.7%
236	Jacksonville, TX Estimated	5	0%
236	Raymondville, TX Estimated	5	+400%
238	Duncanville, TX Estimated	4	-63.6%
238	Watauga, TX Estimated	4	-93.1%
240	Bellmead, TX Estimated	3	n/a
240	Leon Valley, TX Estimated	3	-57.1%
240	Snyder, TX Estimated	3	-75%
243	Hereford, TX Estimated	2	0%
243	Humble, TX Estimated	2	-50%
243	Sweetwater, TX Estimated	2	-66.7%
246	Bedford, TX Estimated	1	-80%
246	Galena Park, TX Estimated	1	-85.7%
246	Pampa, TX Estimated	1	-50%
249	Borger, TX Estimated	0	n/a
249	Henderson, TX Estimated	0	-100%

Showing the top 250 of 252. The Excel download has every row.

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. 1 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2019 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/South%20Region/so2019a.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. (2020). Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation (Cities in Texas by housing units authorized by building permits, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2019a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Texas by housing units authorized by building permits, 2019. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2020, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2019a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/texas-cities?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Cities in Texas by housing units authorized by building permits, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2019a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/texas-cities?period=2019.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2020) Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Texas by housing units authorized by building permits, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2019a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/texas-cities?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_texas_by_2019,
  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 Texas by housing units authorized by building permits, 2019}},
  year = {2020},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2019a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/texas-cities?period=2019. 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/South\%20Region/so2019a.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 Texas by housing units authorized by building permits, 2019
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2019a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/texas-cities?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/texas-cities?period=2019.
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/South%20Region/so2019a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_units","level":"municipality","within":"Texas","limit":10}
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Questions

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

Houston, TX, with 15,463 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Richmond, TX, with 0 in 2019.

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. 1 cities have no value for 2019 and are not ranked.