Cities in Wisconsin by housing units authorized by building permits

Madison, WI had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 92 cities in 2008, at 802. Shorewood, WI had the lowest, at 0. The median was 42 and the figure for Wisconsin was 15,509. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest802Madison, WI

Lowest0Shorewood, WI

Median4292 cities

Wisconsin15,509History

Top 40 cities, 2008

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2008 count	Change on 2007
1	Madison, WI Estimated	802	-27.4%
2	Milwaukee, WI Estimated	606	-25.6%
3	Waukesha, WI Estimated	327	+159.5%
4	Sun Prairie, WI Estimated	235	+25%
5	Stevens Point, WI Estimated	211	+134.4%
6	Wausau, WI Estimated	210	-3.7%
7	Neenah, WI Estimated	208	+383.7%
7	West Allis, WI Estimated	208	+92.6%
9	Fond du Lac, WI Estimated	187	+167.1%
10	Eau Claire, WI Estimated	173	-10.4%
11	Platteville, WI Estimated	169	+267.4%
12	De Pere, WI Estimated	155	-32.3%
13	Plover, WI Estimated	153	-4.4%
14	Kenosha, WI Estimated	144	-53.1%
15	Appleton, WI Estimated	136	+49.5%
16	Oak Creek, WI Estimated	121	+45.8%
17	Oshkosh, WI Estimated	110	-26.7%
18	Janesville, WI Estimated	93	-62.8%
19	Fitchburg, WI Estimated	90	-31.3%
20	Baraboo, WI Estimated	84	+127%
20	New Berlin, WI Estimated	84	-35.9%
22	Weston, WI Estimated	81	0%
23	Hartford, WI Estimated	76	-20%
23	La Crosse, WI Estimated	76	-27.6%
25	West Bend, WI Estimated	75	-23.5%
26	Holmen, WI Estimated	74	-65.7%
27	Mount Pleasant, WI Estimated	73	-63.5%
28	Muskego, WI Estimated	69	-9.2%
29	Menasha, WI Estimated	66	+4.8%
30	Waunakee, WI Estimated	64	-34%
31	Ashwaubenon, WI Estimated	62	+59%
31	River Falls, WI Estimated	62	-30.3%
33	Howard, WI Estimated	61	-66.5%
34	Hudson, WI Estimated	60	-7.7%
35	Green Bay, WI Estimated	57	-63%
36	Suamico, WI Estimated	56	-20%
37	Oconomowoc, WI Estimated	51	-48.5%
38	Bellevue, WI Estimated	49	-19.7%
38	Menomonee Falls, WI Estimated	49	-54.2%
40	Kaukauna, WI Estimated	47	-63.3%
41	Onalaska, WI Estimated	46	-28.1%
41	Pleasant Prairie, WI Estimated	46	-43.2%
41	Whitewater, WI Estimated	46	-45.2%
44	Pewaukee, WI Estimated	45	-23.7%
45	Franklin, WI Estimated	44	-54.6%
46	Reedsburg, WI Estimated	42	-16%
46	Wisconsin Rapids, WI Estimated	42	-59.6%
48	Port Washington, WI Estimated	39	-26.4%
49	Caledonia, WI Estimated	37	+42.3%
49	Manitowoc, WI Estimated	37	-33.9%
51	Grafton, WI Estimated	36	+2.9%
52	New Richmond, WI Estimated	34	-44.3%
53	Mequon, WI Estimated	33	-51.5%
53	Verona, WI Estimated	33	-67.6%
55	Germantown, WI Estimated	28	-64.6%
55	Middleton, WI Estimated	28	+3.7%
55	Oregon, WI Estimated	28	-30%
55	Watertown, WI Estimated	28	-12.5%
59	Chippewa Falls, WI Estimated	21	+23.5%
59	Elkhorn, WI Estimated	21	-41.7%
59	Little Chute, WI Estimated	21	+90.9%
59	Richfield, WI Estimated	21	n/a
59	Two Rivers, WI Estimated	21	+425%
64	Beloit, WI Estimated	18	-28%
65	Cedarburg, WI Estimated	17	-5.6%
65	Greenfield, WI Estimated	17	-52.8%
67	Marshfield, WI Estimated	16	-40.7%
67	Superior, WI Estimated	16	-56.8%
69	Sussex, WI Estimated	15	-46.4%
70	Burlington, WI Estimated	14	-6.7%
71	Fort Atkinson, WI Estimated	13	-59.4%
71	Racine, WI Estimated	13	-75.5%
73	Stoughton, WI Estimated	11	-47.6%
74	Brookfield, WI Estimated	10	-69.7%
74	Hartland, WI Estimated	10	-47.4%
76	Beaver Dam, WI Estimated	9	-93.1%
76	Glendale, WI Estimated	9	n/a
76	Sheboygan, WI Estimated	9	-78%
79	Menomonie, WI Estimated	8	-72.4%
80	Hobart, WI Estimated	7	-53.3%
81	Brown Deer, WI Estimated	6	+20%
81	South Milwaukee, WI Estimated	6	-84.2%
83	DeForest, WI Estimated	4	-84.6%
83	Monroe, WI Estimated	4	-63.6%
83	Waupun, WI Estimated	4	-60%
86	Marinette, WI Estimated	2	-50%
86	Whitefish Bay, WI Estimated	2	+100%
88	Allouez, WI Estimated	1	-90.9%
88	Wauwatosa, WI Estimated	1	-75%
90	Cudahy, WI Estimated	0	-100%
90	Greendale, WI Estimated	0	-100%
90	Shorewood, WI Estimated	0	n/a

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. 4 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2008 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/mw2008a.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. (2016). 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, 2008) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2008a.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, 2008. U.S. Census Bureau, 30 Sept. 2016, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2008a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-cities?period=2008. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2016. 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, 2008. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2008a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-cities?period=2008.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2016) 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, 2008 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2008a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-cities?period=2008 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_wisconsin_by_2008,
  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, 2008}},
  year = {2016},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2008a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-cities?period=2008. 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/mw2008a.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, 2008
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/09/30
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2008a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-cities?period=2008
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-cities?period=2008.
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/mw2008a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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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 802 in 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Shorewood, WI, with 0 in 2008.

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. 4 cities have no value for 2008 and are not ranked.