Data / Rankings / Housing units authorized by building permits / Cities in Virginia

Cities in Virginia by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025

Richmond, VA had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 36 cities in 2025, at 2,681. Martinsville, VA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 99 and the figure for Virginia was 33,094. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest2,681Richmond, VA
Lowest0Martinsville, VA
Median9936 cities
Virginia33,094History

All cities, 2025

Richmond, VA: 2,681 countRichmond, VA2,681Charlottesville, VA: 889 countCharlottesville, VA889Chesapeake, VA: 846 countChesapeake, VA846Suffolk, VA: 589 countSuffolk, VA589Virginia Beach, VA: 436 countVirginia Beach, VA436Roanoke, VA: 410 countRoanoke, VA410Herndon, VA: 399 countHerndon, VA399Waynesboro, VA: 353 countWaynesboro, VA353Lynchburg, VA: 213 countLynchburg, VA213Portsmouth, VA: 179 countPortsmouth, VA179Harrisonburg, VA: 162 countHarrisonburg, VA162Norfolk, VA: 156 countNorfolk, VA156Staunton, VA: 147 countStaunton, VA147Leesburg, VA: 143 countLeesburg, VA143Newport News, VA: 125 countNewport News, VA125Manassas, VA: 115 countManassas, VA115Christiansburg, VA: 109 countChristiansburg, VA109Hampton, VA: 100 countHampton, VA100Poquoson, VA: 98 countPoquoson, VA98Petersburg, VA: 95 countPetersburg, VA95Fairfax, VA: 89 countFairfax, VA89Winchester, VA: 68 countWinchester, VA68Hopewell, VA: 31 countHopewell, VA31Blacksburg, VA: 29 countBlacksburg, VA29Fredericksburg, VA: 25 countFredericksburg, VA25Williamsburg, VA: 22 countWilliamsburg, VA22Bristol, VA: 21 countBristol, VA21Falls Church, VA: 18 countFalls Church, VA18Alexandria, VA: 17 countAlexandria, VA17Salem, VA: 17 countSalem, VA17Colonial Heights, VA: 15 countColonial Heights, VA15Danville, VA: 14 countDanville, VA14Radford, VA: 13 countRadford, VA13Manassas Park, VA: 8 countManassas Park, VA8Warrenton, VA: 7 countWarrenton, VA7Martinsville, VA: 0 countMartinsville, VA0
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2025
count		Change on 2024
1Richmond, VA Estimated2,681+5.6%
2Charlottesville, VA Estimated889+1,714.3%
3Chesapeake, VA Estimated846+41.7%
4Suffolk, VA Estimated589-13.4%
5Virginia Beach, VA Estimated436-34.5%
6Roanoke, VA Estimated410+262.8%
7Herndon, VA Estimated399+259.5%
8Waynesboro, VA Estimated353-9.5%
9Lynchburg, VA Estimated213-54.9%
10Portsmouth, VA Estimated179-40.3%
11Harrisonburg, VA Estimated162+86.2%
12Norfolk, VA Estimated156-64.4%
13Staunton, VA Estimated147+107%
14Leesburg, VA Estimated143-16.4%
15Newport News, VA Estimated125+1,983.3%
16Manassas, VA Estimated115+150%
17Christiansburg, VA Estimated109+84.7%
18Hampton, VA Estimated100+47.1%
19Poquoson, VA Estimated98-26.3%
20Petersburg, VA Estimated95-29.6%
21Fairfax, VA Estimated89+25.4%
22Winchester, VA Estimated68-25.3%
23Hopewell, VA Estimated31-26.2%
24Blacksburg, VA Estimated29-56.7%
25Fredericksburg, VA Estimated25-32.4%
26Williamsburg, VA Estimated22+120%
27Bristol, VA Estimated21+320%
28Falls Church, VA Estimated180%
29Alexandria, VA Estimated17-32%
29Salem, VA Estimated17-93.7%
31Colonial Heights, VA Estimated15-11.8%
32Danville, VA Estimated140%
33Radford, VA Estimated13-53.6%
34Manassas Park, VA Estimated8-93.2%
35Warrenton, VA Estimated7+75%
36Martinsville, VA Estimated0-100%

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 2025 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/so2025a.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. (2026). Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation (Cities in Virginia by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2025a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Virginia by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 May 2026, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2025a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/virginia-cities. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Cities in Virginia by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2025a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/virginia-cities.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Virginia by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2025a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/virginia-cities (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_virginia_by_2025,
  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 Virginia by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2025a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/virginia-cities. 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/so2025a.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 Virginia by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/14
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2025a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/virginia-cities
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/virginia-cities.
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/so2025a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

Richmond, VA, with 2,681 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Martinsville, VA, with 0 in 2025.

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 2025 and are not ranked.

Housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Cities in Virginia: more rankings