Counties in Texas by housing units authorized by building permits
Harris County had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 223 counties in 2023, at 34,593. Winkler County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 19. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
Top 40 counties, 2023
Full ranking
| Rank | Counties | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harris County Estimated | 34,593 |
| 2 | Travis County Estimated | 23,148 |
| 3 | Collin County Estimated | 19,580 |
| 4 | Tarrant County Estimated | 14,039 |
| 5 | Montgomery County Estimated | 13,741 |
| 6 | Dallas County Estimated | 13,285 |
| 7 | Fort Bend County Estimated | 11,363 |
| 8 | Denton County Estimated | 11,102 |
| 9 | Bexar County Estimated | 10,449 |
| 10 | Williamson County Estimated | 8,298 |
| 11 | Hidalgo County Estimated | 6,899 |
| 12 | Hays County Estimated | 5,011 |
| 13 | Brazoria County Estimated | 3,752 |
| 14 | Comal County Estimated | 3,249 |
| 15 | Bell County Estimated | 3,107 |
| 16 | Ellis County Estimated | 2,884 |
| 17 | Galveston County Estimated | 2,689 |
| 18 | Johnson County Estimated | 2,527 |
| 19 | Lubbock County Estimated | 2,514 |
| 20 | Grayson County Estimated | 2,447 |
| 21 | El Paso County Estimated | 2,247 |
| 22 | Guadalupe County Estimated | 2,128 |
| 23 | Cameron County Estimated | 1,952 |
| 24 | Rockwall County Estimated | 1,938 |
| 25 | McLennan County Estimated | 1,750 |
| 26 | Burnet County Estimated | 1,625 |
| 27 | Webb County Estimated | 1,542 |
| 28 | Nueces County Estimated | 1,457 |
| 29 | Brazos County Estimated | 1,366 |
| 30 | Bastrop County Estimated | 1,341 |
| 31 | Liberty County Estimated | 1,297 |
| 32 | Kaufman County Estimated | 1,120 |
| 33 | Caldwell County Estimated | 975 |
| 34 | Polk County Estimated | 931 |
| 35 | Hunt County Estimated | 898 |
| 36 | Midland County Estimated | 805 |
| 37 | Smith County Estimated | 753 |
| 38 | Ector County Estimated | 690 |
| 39 | Chambers County Estimated | 582 |
| 40 | Potter County Estimated | 564 |
| 41 | San Jacinto County Estimated | 548 |
| 42 | Walker County Estimated | 503 |
| 43 | Navarro County Estimated | 483 |
| 44 | Coryell County Estimated | 448 |
| 45 | Taylor County Estimated | 447 |
| 46 | Jefferson County Estimated | 427 |
| 46 | Parker County Estimated | 427 |
| 48 | San Patricio County Estimated | 394 |
| 49 | Hardin County Estimated | 390 |
| 50 | Waller County Estimated | 371 |
| 51 | Austin County Estimated | 367 |
| 52 | Orange County Estimated | 364 |
| 53 | Kendall County Estimated | 310 |
| 54 | Gregg County Estimated | 280 |
| 55 | Henderson County Estimated | 276 |
| 56 | Tom Green County Estimated | 252 |
| 57 | Brown County Estimated | 249 |
| 58 | Wichita County Estimated | 241 |
| 59 | Kerr County Estimated | 233 |
| 60 | Wise County Estimated | 229 |
| 61 | Bowie County Estimated | 207 |
| 62 | Aransas County Estimated | 183 |
| 63 | Llano County Estimated | 172 |
| 63 | Wilson County Estimated | 172 |
| 65 | Moore County Estimated | 169 |
| 66 | Matagorda County Estimated | 154 |
| 67 | Grimes County Estimated | 150 |
| 68 | Wharton County Estimated | 147 |
| 69 | Atascosa County Estimated | 138 |
| 70 | Washington County Estimated | 127 |
| 71 | Calhoun County Estimated | 113 |
| 72 | Hood County Estimated | 110 |
| 73 | Angelina County Estimated | 105 |
| 74 | Wood County Estimated | 100 |
| 75 | Titus County Estimated | 99 |
| 76 | Fannin County Estimated | 92 |
| 77 | Lamar County Estimated | 87 |
| 78 | Cooke County Estimated | 85 |
| 79 | Karnes County Estimated | 83 |
| 80 | Victoria County Estimated | 82 |
| 81 | Hopkins County Estimated | 74 |
| 82 | Randall County Estimated | 73 |
| 83 | Maverick County Estimated | 72 |
| 84 | Erath County Estimated | 70 |
| 85 | Gillespie County Estimated | 67 |
| 86 | Hill County Estimated | 66 |
| 86 | Val Verde County Estimated | 66 |
| 88 | Burleson County Estimated | 59 |
| 89 | Somervell County Estimated | 58 |
| 90 | Harrison County Estimated | 55 |
| 91 | Van Zandt County Estimated | 45 |
| 91 | Willacy County Estimated | 45 |
| 93 | Cherokee County Estimated | 39 |
| 94 | Robertson County Estimated | 37 |
| 95 | Andrews County Estimated | 36 |
| 96 | Carson County Estimated | 35 |
| 97 | Medina County Estimated | 32 |
| 97 | Milam County Estimated | 32 |
| 97 | Nacogdoches County Estimated | 32 |
| 100 | Colorado County Estimated | 31 |
| 100 | Rains County Estimated | 31 |
| 102 | Fayette County Estimated | 29 |
| 103 | Kleberg County Estimated | 27 |
| 104 | Archer County Estimated | 26 |
| 104 | Upshur County Estimated | 26 |
| 106 | Lampasas County Estimated | 25 |
| 106 | Refugio County Estimated | 25 |
| 108 | Lee County Estimated | 22 |
| 109 | Culberson County Estimated | 21 |
| 109 | Hamilton County Estimated | 21 |
| 111 | Jasper County Estimated | 20 |
| 112 | Gaines County Estimated | 19 |
| 112 | Limestone County Estimated | 19 |
| 112 | Uvalde County Estimated | 19 |
| 115 | Anderson County Estimated | 18 |
| 115 | Presidio County Estimated | 18 |
| 115 | Red River County Estimated | 18 |
| 118 | Bosque County Estimated | 17 |
| 118 | Nolan County Estimated | 17 |
| 120 | Blanco County Estimated | 16 |
| 120 | Jack County Estimated | 16 |
| 120 | Palo Pinto County Estimated | 16 |
| 123 | Cass County Estimated | 15 |
| 123 | Howard County Estimated | 15 |
| 123 | Sherman County Estimated | 15 |
| 126 | Hale County Estimated | 14 |
| 126 | Reeves County Estimated | 14 |
| 128 | Bee County Estimated | 13 |
| 128 | Callahan County Estimated | 13 |
| 128 | DeWitt County Estimated | 13 |
| 128 | Martin County Estimated | 13 |
| 132 | Concho County Estimated | 12 |
| 132 | Lavaca County Estimated | 12 |
| 132 | Live Oak County Estimated | 12 |
| 135 | Delta County Estimated | 11 |
| 136 | Deaf Smith County Estimated | 10 |
| 136 | Frio County Estimated | 10 |
| 136 | Gonzales County Estimated | 10 |
| 139 | Falls County Estimated | 9 |
| 139 | Marion County Estimated | 9 |
| 139 | Pecos County Estimated | 9 |
| 139 | Runnels County Estimated | 9 |
| 139 | Ward County Estimated | 9 |
| 139 | Yoakum County Estimated | 9 |
| 145 | Goliad County Estimated | 8 |
| 146 | Bandera County Estimated | 7 |
| 146 | Clay County Estimated | 7 |
| 146 | Coleman County Estimated | 7 |
| 146 | Dallam County Estimated | 7 |
| 146 | Garza County Estimated | 7 |
| 146 | Gray County Estimated | 7 |
| 146 | Reagan County Estimated | 7 |
| 153 | Franklin County Estimated | 6 |
| 153 | Jim Wells County Estimated | 6 |
| 153 | La Salle County Estimated | 6 |
| 153 | Montague County Estimated | 6 |
| 153 | Tyler County Estimated | 6 |
| 158 | Eastland County Estimated | 5 |
| 158 | Houston County Estimated | 5 |
| 158 | Young County Estimated | 5 |
| 161 | Brewster County Estimated | 4 |
| 161 | Comanche County Estimated | 4 |
| 161 | Dimmit County Estimated | 4 |
| 161 | Morris County Estimated | 4 |
| 161 | Ochiltree County Estimated | 4 |
| 161 | Scurry County Estimated | 4 |
| 167 | Bailey County Estimated | 3 |
| 167 | Hockley County Estimated | 3 |
| 167 | McCulloch County Estimated | 3 |
| 167 | Panola County Estimated | 3 |
| 167 | Parmer County Estimated | 3 |
| 167 | Rusk County Estimated | 3 |
| 167 | Shelby County Estimated | 3 |
| 167 | Stephens County Estimated | 3 |
| 167 | Wilbarger County Estimated | 3 |
| 176 | Coke County Estimated | 2 |
| 176 | Hutchinson County Estimated | 2 |
| 176 | Jones County Estimated | 2 |
| 176 | Madison County Estimated | 2 |
| 176 | Mason County Estimated | 2 |
| 176 | San Augustine County Estimated | 2 |
| 176 | Zavala County Estimated | 2 |
| 183 | Camp County Estimated | 1 |
| 183 | Crane County Estimated | 1 |
| 183 | Donley County Estimated | 1 |
| 183 | Freestone County Estimated | 1 |
| 183 | Kinney County Estimated | 1 |
| 183 | Lamb County Estimated | 1 |
| 183 | Schleicher County Estimated | 1 |
| 183 | Terry County Estimated | 1 |
| 191 | Armstrong County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Baylor County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Brooks County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Castro County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Childress County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Cochran County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Collingsworth County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Cottle County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Crosby County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Dawson County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Floyd County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Hall County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Hansford County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Hardeman County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Haskell County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Hemphill County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Jackson County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Kimble County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Leon County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Lipscomb County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Lynn County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Mitchell County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Oldham County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Real County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Sabine County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | San Saba County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Starr County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Sutton County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Swisher County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Trinity County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Upton County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Wheeler County Estimated | 0 |
| 191 | Winkler County Estimated | 0 |
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 Texas by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_units","level":"province","within":"Texas","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=building_permit_units&level=province&within=Texas&limit=10
Questions
Which county has the highest housing units authorized by building permits?
Harris County, with 34,593 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which county has the lowest housing units authorized by building permits?
Winkler 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
- US counties
- Counties in Georgia
- Counties in Virginia
- Counties in Missouri
- Counties in Kansas
- Counties in North Carolina
- Counties in Iowa
- Counties in Illinois
- Counties in Kentucky
- Counties in Tennessee
- Counties in Indiana
- Counties in Nebraska
Counties in Texas: more rankings
- Asian population share
- Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over
- Live births, July to June
- Black or African American population share
- Crude birth rate, July to June
- Crude death rate, July to June
- Deaths, July to June
- Foreign-born population share
- Real GDP growth
- GDP per capita, US dollars
- Gross domestic product (GDP), US dollars
- Gini index
- Hispanic or Latino population share
- Homeownership rate (US, housing units)
- County house price annual change, sales and refinances
- County house price index, 1990 = 100