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

Madison, WI had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 94 cities in 2025, at 3,383. South Milwaukee, WI had the lowest, at 0. The median was 73 and the figure for Wisconsin was 25,569. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest3,383Madison, WI

Lowest0South Milwaukee, WI

Median7394 cities

Wisconsin25,569History

Top 40 cities, 2025

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2025 count	Change on 2024
1	Madison, WI Estimated	3,383	+20.3%
2	DeForest, WI Estimated	664	+50.2%
3	Middleton, WI Estimated	489	+9.2%
4	Eau Claire, WI Estimated	476	+17.8%
5	Fitchburg, WI Estimated	475	+17.9%
6	Pleasant Prairie, WI Estimated	366	+771.4%
7	Glendale, WI Estimated	308	+31.6%
8	Racine, WI Estimated	292	+2,820%
9	Green Bay, WI Estimated	283	-40.5%
10	Grafton, WI Estimated	249	-37.1%
11	Oak Creek, WI Estimated	240	+2,900%
12	Kenosha, WI Estimated	228	+181.5%
13	Oconomowoc, WI Estimated	218	+43.4%
14	Menomonee Falls, WI Estimated	207	-55.1%
14	Sheboygan, WI Estimated	207	+223.4%
16	Verona, WI Estimated	206	+74.6%
17	Fox Crossing, WI Estimated	201	+673.1%
18	Howard, WI Estimated	194	+5.4%
19	Waunakee, WI Estimated	187	+49.6%
20	West Allis, WI Estimated	184	-26.4%
21	Onalaska, WI Estimated	175	-29.4%
22	River Falls, WI Estimated	172	+62.3%
23	Neenah, WI Estimated	169	+31%
24	Plover, WI Estimated	157	+63.5%
25	Watertown, WI Estimated	153	+595.5%
26	Little Chute, WI Estimated	146	+758.8%
27	Mount Pleasant, WI Estimated	138	+200%
28	De Pere, WI Estimated	129	-3.7%
28	New Richmond, WI Estimated	129	+44.9%
30	Kaukauna, WI Estimated	126	+48.2%
31	Harrison, WI Estimated	122	+10.9%
32	Oshkosh, WI Estimated	110	-59%
33	Holmen, WI Estimated	103	-22%
34	Windsor, WI Estimated	102	-1%
35	Sun Prairie, WI Estimated	100	-62.5%
36	Fort Atkinson, WI Estimated	97	+1,285.7%
37	Hobart, WI Estimated	92	-75.3%
38	Bellevue, WI Estimated	87	+45%
38	Whitewater, WI Estimated	87	+357.9%
40	Mequon, WI Estimated	85	+112.5%
41	Oregon, WI Estimated	84	-37.3%
42	Waukesha, WI Estimated	83	+25.8%
43	Appleton, WI Estimated	79	-39.7%
44	Sussex, WI Estimated	78	-39.5%
45	Beaver Dam, WI Estimated	75	+120.6%
45	Janesville, WI Estimated	75	-75.2%
47	Franklin, WI Estimated	74	-6.3%
48	Milwaukee, WI Estimated	71	-69.9%
49	Suamico, WI Estimated	67	+24.1%
50	Wausau, WI Estimated	63	-14.9%
51	Manitowoc, WI Estimated	61	+64.9%
52	Port Washington, WI Estimated	60	+57.9%
52	Waupun, WI Estimated	60	+5,900%
54	Weston, WI Estimated	59	+28.3%
55	Ashwaubenon, WI Estimated	48	+29.7%
56	Germantown, WI Estimated	43	+10.3%
57	Hartford, WI Estimated	42	+7.7%
58	Cedarburg, WI Estimated	38	+5.6%
59	New Berlin, WI Estimated	33	+3.1%
60	Baraboo, WI Estimated	32	-79.6%
60	Beloit, WI Estimated	32	-31.9%
60	Pewaukee, WI Estimated	32	-27.3%
63	Fond du Lac, WI Estimated	31	-3.1%
63	Menasha, WI Estimated	31	+63.2%
65	Richfield, WI Estimated	27	+35%
66	Muskego, WI Estimated	26	-39.5%
66	West Bend, WI Estimated	26	-79.2%
68	Marshfield, WI Estimated	25	+19%
69	Hartland, WI Estimated	24	-91.5%
70	Brookfield, WI Estimated	23	-90.7%
70	Chippewa Falls, WI Estimated	23	-85.8%
70	Whitefish Bay, WI Estimated	23	+1,050%
73	Stevens Point, WI Estimated	20	-76.5%
74	Wisconsin Rapids, WI Estimated	19	+111.1%
75	Reedsburg, WI Estimated	17	-92.2%
76	Hudson, WI Estimated	16	-68%
77	Burlington, WI Estimated	13	0%
77	Menomonie, WI Estimated	13	-43.5%
77	Superior, WI Estimated	13	+1,200%
80	Marinette, WI Estimated	12	+1,100%
81	La Crosse, WI Estimated	9	-52.6%
81	Two Rivers, WI Estimated	9	-35.7%
83	Salem Lakes, WI Estimated	7	-58.8%
84	Allouez, WI Estimated	5	+150%
85	Greenfield, WI Estimated	3	-25%
86	Monroe, WI Estimated	2	-91.7%
86	Wauwatosa, WI Estimated	2	+100%
88	Cudahy, WI Estimated	1	n/a
88	Platteville, WI Estimated	1	-75%
90	Brown Deer, WI Estimated	0	-100%
90	Elkhorn, WI Estimated	0	-100%
90	Greendale, WI Estimated	0	n/a
90	Shorewood, WI Estimated	0	-100%
90	South Milwaukee, WI Estimated	0	-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. 2 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/Midwest%20Region/mw2025a.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 Wisconsin by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2025a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Wisconsin by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 May 2026, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2025a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-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 Wisconsin by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2025a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-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 Wisconsin by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2025a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-cities (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_wisconsin_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 Wisconsin by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2025a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-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/Midwest\%20Region/mw2025a.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 Wisconsin 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/Midwest%20Region/mw2025a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-cities
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-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/Midwest%20Region/mw2025a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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

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

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

Madison, WI, with 3,383 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

South Milwaukee, WI, 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. 2 cities have no value for 2025 and are not ranked.