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.

Highest34,593Harris County
Median19223 counties

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Harris CountyHarris County: 34,593 count34,593Travis CountyTravis County: 23,148 count23,148Collin CountyCollin County: 19,580 count19,580Tarrant CountyTarrant County: 14,039 count14,039Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 13,741 count13,741Dallas CountyDallas County: 13,285 count13,285Fort Bend CountyFort Bend County: 11,363 count11,363Denton CountyDenton County: 11,102 count11,102Bexar CountyBexar County: 10,449 count10,449Williamson CountyWilliamson County: 8,298 count8,298Hidalgo CountyHidalgo County: 6,899 count6,899Hays CountyHays County: 5,011 count5,011Brazoria CountyBrazoria County: 3,752 count3,752Comal CountyComal County: 3,249 count3,249Bell CountyBell County: 3,107 count3,107Ellis CountyEllis County: 2,884 count2,884Galveston CountyGalveston County: 2,689 count2,689Johnson CountyJohnson County: 2,527 count2,527Lubbock CountyLubbock County: 2,514 count2,514Grayson CountyGrayson County: 2,447 count2,447El Paso CountyEl Paso County: 2,247 count2,247Guadalupe CountyGuadalupe County: 2,128 count2,128Cameron CountyCameron County: 1,952 count1,952Rockwall CountyRockwall County: 1,938 count1,938McLennan CountyMcLennan County: 1,750 count1,750Burnet CountyBurnet County: 1,625 count1,625Webb CountyWebb County: 1,542 count1,542Nueces CountyNueces County: 1,457 count1,457Brazos CountyBrazos County: 1,366 count1,366Bastrop CountyBastrop County: 1,341 count1,341Liberty CountyLiberty County: 1,297 count1,297Kaufman CountyKaufman County: 1,120 count1,120Caldwell CountyCaldwell County: 975 count975Polk CountyPolk County: 931 count931Hunt CountyHunt County: 898 count898Midland CountyMidland County: 805 count805Smith CountySmith County: 753 count753Ector CountyEctor County: 690 count690Chambers CountyChambers County: 582 count582Potter CountyPotter County: 564 count564
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
count
1Harris County Estimated34,593
2Travis County Estimated23,148
3Collin County Estimated19,580
4Tarrant County Estimated14,039
5Montgomery County Estimated13,741
6Dallas County Estimated13,285
7Fort Bend County Estimated11,363
8Denton County Estimated11,102
9Bexar County Estimated10,449
10Williamson County Estimated8,298
11Hidalgo County Estimated6,899
12Hays County Estimated5,011
13Brazoria County Estimated3,752
14Comal County Estimated3,249
15Bell County Estimated3,107
16Ellis County Estimated2,884
17Galveston County Estimated2,689
18Johnson County Estimated2,527
19Lubbock County Estimated2,514
20Grayson County Estimated2,447
21El Paso County Estimated2,247
22Guadalupe County Estimated2,128
23Cameron County Estimated1,952
24Rockwall County Estimated1,938
25McLennan County Estimated1,750
26Burnet County Estimated1,625
27Webb County Estimated1,542
28Nueces County Estimated1,457
29Brazos County Estimated1,366
30Bastrop County Estimated1,341
31Liberty County Estimated1,297
32Kaufman County Estimated1,120
33Caldwell County Estimated975
34Polk County Estimated931
35Hunt County Estimated898
36Midland County Estimated805
37Smith County Estimated753
38Ector County Estimated690
39Chambers County Estimated582
40Potter County Estimated564
41San Jacinto County Estimated548
42Walker County Estimated503
43Navarro County Estimated483
44Coryell County Estimated448
45Taylor County Estimated447
46Jefferson County Estimated427
46Parker County Estimated427
48San Patricio County Estimated394
49Hardin County Estimated390
50Waller County Estimated371
51Austin County Estimated367
52Orange County Estimated364
53Kendall County Estimated310
54Gregg County Estimated280
55Henderson County Estimated276
56Tom Green County Estimated252
57Brown County Estimated249
58Wichita County Estimated241
59Kerr County Estimated233
60Wise County Estimated229
61Bowie County Estimated207
62Aransas County Estimated183
63Llano County Estimated172
63Wilson County Estimated172
65Moore County Estimated169
66Matagorda County Estimated154
67Grimes County Estimated150
68Wharton County Estimated147
69Atascosa County Estimated138
70Washington County Estimated127
71Calhoun County Estimated113
72Hood County Estimated110
73Angelina County Estimated105
74Wood County Estimated100
75Titus County Estimated99
76Fannin County Estimated92
77Lamar County Estimated87
78Cooke County Estimated85
79Karnes County Estimated83
80Victoria County Estimated82
81Hopkins County Estimated74
82Randall County Estimated73
83Maverick County Estimated72
84Erath County Estimated70
85Gillespie County Estimated67
86Hill County Estimated66
86Val Verde County Estimated66
88Burleson County Estimated59
89Somervell County Estimated58
90Harrison County Estimated55
91Van Zandt County Estimated45
91Willacy County Estimated45
93Cherokee County Estimated39
94Robertson County Estimated37
95Andrews County Estimated36
96Carson County Estimated35
97Medina County Estimated32
97Milam County Estimated32
97Nacogdoches County Estimated32
100Colorado County Estimated31
100Rains County Estimated31
102Fayette County Estimated29
103Kleberg County Estimated27
104Archer County Estimated26
104Upshur County Estimated26
106Lampasas County Estimated25
106Refugio County Estimated25
108Lee County Estimated22
109Culberson County Estimated21
109Hamilton County Estimated21
111Jasper County Estimated20
112Gaines County Estimated19
112Limestone County Estimated19
112Uvalde County Estimated19
115Anderson County Estimated18
115Presidio County Estimated18
115Red River County Estimated18
118Bosque County Estimated17
118Nolan County Estimated17
120Blanco County Estimated16
120Jack County Estimated16
120Palo Pinto County Estimated16
123Cass County Estimated15
123Howard County Estimated15
123Sherman County Estimated15
126Hale County Estimated14
126Reeves County Estimated14
128Bee County Estimated13
128Callahan County Estimated13
128DeWitt County Estimated13
128Martin County Estimated13
132Concho County Estimated12
132Lavaca County Estimated12
132Live Oak County Estimated12
135Delta County Estimated11
136Deaf Smith County Estimated10
136Frio County Estimated10
136Gonzales County Estimated10
139Falls County Estimated9
139Marion County Estimated9
139Pecos County Estimated9
139Runnels County Estimated9
139Ward County Estimated9
139Yoakum County Estimated9
145Goliad County Estimated8
146Bandera County Estimated7
146Clay County Estimated7
146Coleman County Estimated7
146Dallam County Estimated7
146Garza County Estimated7
146Gray County Estimated7
146Reagan County Estimated7
153Franklin County Estimated6
153Jim Wells County Estimated6
153La Salle County Estimated6
153Montague County Estimated6
153Tyler County Estimated6
158Eastland County Estimated5
158Houston County Estimated5
158Young County Estimated5
161Brewster County Estimated4
161Comanche County Estimated4
161Dimmit County Estimated4
161Morris County Estimated4
161Ochiltree County Estimated4
161Scurry County Estimated4
167Bailey County Estimated3
167Hockley County Estimated3
167McCulloch County Estimated3
167Panola County Estimated3
167Parmer County Estimated3
167Rusk County Estimated3
167Shelby County Estimated3
167Stephens County Estimated3
167Wilbarger County Estimated3
176Coke County Estimated2
176Hutchinson County Estimated2
176Jones County Estimated2
176Madison County Estimated2
176Mason County Estimated2
176San Augustine County Estimated2
176Zavala County Estimated2
183Camp County Estimated1
183Crane County Estimated1
183Donley County Estimated1
183Freestone County Estimated1
183Kinney County Estimated1
183Lamb County Estimated1
183Schleicher County Estimated1
183Terry County Estimated1
191Armstrong County Estimated0
191Baylor County Estimated0
191Brooks County Estimated0
191Castro County Estimated0
191Childress County Estimated0
191Cochran County Estimated0
191Collingsworth County Estimated0
191Cottle County Estimated0
191Crosby County Estimated0
191Dawson County Estimated0
191Floyd County Estimated0
191Hall County Estimated0
191Hansford County Estimated0
191Hardeman County Estimated0
191Haskell County Estimated0
191Hemphill County Estimated0
191Jackson County Estimated0
191Kimble County Estimated0
191Leon County Estimated0
191Lipscomb County Estimated0
191Lynn County Estimated0
191Mitchell County Estimated0
191Oldham County Estimated0
191Real County Estimated0
191Sabine County Estimated0
191San Saba County Estimated0
191Starr County Estimated0
191Sutton County Estimated0
191Swisher County Estimated0
191Trinity County Estimated0
191Upton County Estimated0
191Wheeler County Estimated0
191Winkler 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.

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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

Counties in Texas: more rankings