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

Name: Counties in Virginia by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025
Creator: U.S. Census Bureau
License: Public domain (US federal government work, citation requested)

Fairfax County had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 132 counties in 2025, at 2,862. Martinsville city had the lowest, at 0. The median was 88. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest2,862Fairfax County

Lowest0Martinsville city

Median88132 counties

Top 40 counties, 2025

CSV Chart (SVG)

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2025 count	Change on 2024
1	Fairfax County Estimated	2,862	0%
2	Richmond city Estimated	2,681	+5.6%
3	Henrico County Estimated	2,323	+27.2%
4	Chesterfield County Estimated	2,194	-4.9%
5	Loudoun County Estimated	1,561	-52.9%
6	Prince William County Estimated	1,340	-5.5%
7	Arlington County Estimated	1,309	+110.8%
8	Charlottesville city Estimated	889	+1,714.3%
9	Chesapeake city Estimated	846	+41.7%
10	Albemarle County Estimated	729	-10%
11	Frederick County Estimated	707	-18.9%
12	Rockingham County Estimated	685	+0.3%
13	Spotsylvania County Estimated	681	-3.7%
14	Suffolk city Estimated	589	-13.4%
15	Hanover County Estimated	511	+14.3%
16	Augusta County Estimated	495	+38.7%
17	Stafford County Estimated	450	+24.7%
18	Virginia Beach city Estimated	436	-34.5%
19	Fauquier County Estimated	417	+45.8%
20	Roanoke city Estimated	410	+262.8%
21	Louisa County Estimated	404	-1.2%
22	Culpeper County Estimated	366	-13.9%
23	Bedford County Estimated	355	+20.7%
24	Waynesboro city Estimated	353	-9.5%
25	Campbell County Estimated	350	+11.1%
26	Orange County Estimated	339	-17.7%
27	Montgomery County Estimated	328	+1.5%
28	Goochland County Estimated	314	-2.5%
29	Isle of Wight County Estimated	303	+17.9%
30	New Kent County Estimated	295	-34.9%
31	Greene County Estimated	266	+30.4%
32	James City County Estimated	225	-37.2%
33	Caroline County Estimated	224	-29.6%
34	King William County Estimated	215	+66.7%
35	Westmoreland County Estimated	214	-2.7%
36	Lynchburg city Estimated	213	-54.9%
37	York County Estimated	204	+9.1%
38	Shenandoah County Estimated	191	-14.7%
38	Washington County Estimated	191	+80.2%
40	Fluvanna County Estimated	189	+37%
41	Portsmouth city Estimated	179	-40.3%
42	Mecklenburg County Estimated	174	+13.7%
43	Harrisonburg city Estimated	162	+86.2%
44	Roanoke County Estimated	161	-55.3%
45	Warren County Estimated	157	-7.6%
46	Norfolk city Estimated	156	-64.4%
47	Accomack County Estimated	154	-14.9%
48	Staunton city Estimated	147	+107%
49	Northampton County Estimated	145	-11%
50	Franklin County Estimated	143	-14.4%
51	Page County Estimated	141	-14%
52	Prince George County Estimated	132	+83.3%
53	Botetourt County Estimated	127	+9.5%
53	Powhatan County Estimated	127	+10.4%
55	Newport News city Estimated	125	+1,983.3%
56	Gloucester County Estimated	122	+43.5%
57	Lancaster County Estimated	116	-8.7%
58	Manassas city Estimated	115	+150%
59	Amherst County Estimated	112	-50.9%
60	Halifax County Estimated	101	+4.1%
61	Hampton city Estimated	100	+47.1%
62	Poquoson city Estimated	98	-26.3%
63	Petersburg city Estimated	95	-29.6%
64	King George County Estimated	93	-40%
65	Rockbridge County Estimated	91	-13.3%
66	Fairfax city Estimated	89	+25.4%
67	Buckingham County Estimated	86	-10.4%
68	Appomattox County Estimated	85	-10.5%
69	Wythe County Estimated	81	-31.4%
70	Carroll County Estimated	77	-6.1%
71	Floyd County Estimated	73	+5.8%
72	Pittsylvania County Estimated	72	0%
73	Cumberland County Estimated	70	-12.5%
74	Winchester city Estimated	68	-25.3%
75	Northumberland County Estimated	65	+8.3%
76	Essex County Estimated	62	+63.2%
76	Middlesex County Estimated	62	-36.1%
76	Nelson County Estimated	62	-6.1%
79	Pulaski County Estimated	55	+44.7%
80	Amelia County Estimated	50	-16.7%
81	Southampton County Estimated	49	-14%
82	Madison County Estimated	48	-28.4%
83	Wise County Estimated	45	+181.3%
84	Henry County Estimated	44	+33.3%
85	Charlotte County Estimated	42	+7.7%
85	Nottoway County Estimated	42	-26.3%
87	Rappahannock County Estimated	39	+14.7%
88	Brunswick County Estimated	36	-2.7%
88	King and Queen County Estimated	36	0%
90	Surry County Estimated	35	-2.8%
91	Patrick County Estimated	34	+21.4%
91	Sussex County Estimated	34	+17.2%
93	Grayson County Estimated	33	-13.2%
94	Mathews County Estimated	32	-13.5%
94	Scott County Estimated	32	+45.5%
96	Hopewell city Estimated	31	-26.2%
97	Lunenburg County Estimated	27	+8%
97	Prince Edward County Estimated	27	-58.5%
97	Richmond County Estimated	27	+12.5%
100	Fredericksburg city Estimated	25	-32.4%
101	Charles City County Estimated	24	-20%
102	Giles County Estimated	23	0%
103	Williamsburg city Estimated	22	+120%
104	Bristol city Estimated	21	+320%
105	Craig County Estimated	19	-34.5%
106	Falls Church city Estimated	18	0%
107	Alexandria city Estimated	17	-32%
107	Clarke County Estimated	17	+13.3%
107	Salem city Estimated	17	-93.7%
110	Lee County Estimated	16	-11.1%
111	Colonial Heights city Estimated	15	-11.8%
111	Tazewell County Estimated	15	+275%
113	Danville city Estimated	14	0%
113	Dinwiddie County Estimated	14	-82.9%
115	Alleghany County Estimated	13	0%
115	Buena Vista city Estimated	13	-27.8%
115	Radford city Estimated	13	-53.6%
118	Buchanan County Estimated	12	0%
118	Smyth County Estimated	12	-70%
120	Highland County Estimated	11	-8.3%
120	Russell County Estimated	11	-68.6%
122	Bland County Estimated	10	+25%
122	Greensville County Estimated	10	-58.3%
124	Manassas Park city Estimated	8	-93.2%
125	Bath County Estimated	6	-25%
125	Galax city Estimated	6	-40%
127	Covington city Estimated	5	+400%
127	Dickenson County Estimated	5	-54.5%
129	Emporia city Estimated	4	+300%
130	Norton city Estimated	1	0%
131	Lexington city Estimated	0	-100%
131	Martinsville city Estimated	0	-100%

Other periods

2025
2024
2023

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/co2025a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

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Rank Counties in Virginia by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

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

Fairfax County, with 2,862 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Martinsville city, 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 county estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized, including imputation. Retrieved 2026-10-10.