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

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 2009, at 707. South Milwaukee, WI had the lowest, at 0. The median was 27 and the figure for Wisconsin was 10,780. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest707Madison, WI
Lowest0South Milwaukee, WI
Median2792 cities
Wisconsin10,780History

Top 40 cities, 2009

Madison, WI: 707 countMadison, WI707Milwaukee, WI: 467 countMilwaukee, WI467Holmen, WI: 131 countHolmen, WI131De Pere, WI: 117 countDe Pere, WI117Eau Claire, WI: 115 countEau Claire, WI115Kenosha, WI: 108 countKenosha, WI108Fond du Lac, WI: 106 countFond du Lac, WI106Menasha, WI: 102 countMenasha, WI102Sun Prairie, WI: 96 countSun Prairie, WI96Middleton, WI: 93 countMiddleton, WI93Green Bay, WI: 89 countGreen Bay, WI89Appleton, WI: 82 countAppleton, WI82Wausau, WI: 82 countWausau, WI82Oshkosh, WI: 73 countOshkosh, WI73Janesville, WI: 67 countJanesville, WI67Grafton, WI: 64 countGrafton, WI64Waunakee, WI: 64 countWaunakee, WI64Stevens Point, WI: 63 countStevens Point, WI63West Bend, WI: 61 countWest Bend, WI61Kaukauna, WI: 58 countKaukauna, WI58Fitchburg, WI: 57 countFitchburg, WI57River Falls, WI: 54 countRiver Falls, WI54Weston, WI: 53 countWeston, WI53Hobart, WI: 51 countHobart, WI51Howard, WI: 51 countHoward, WI51Muskego, WI: 51 countMuskego, WI51Whitewater, WI: 49 countWhitewater, WI49Mount Pleasant, WI: 45 countMount Pleasant, WI45Waukesha, WI: 45 countWaukesha, WI45Onalaska, WI: 41 countOnalaska, WI41Hartford, WI: 40 countHartford, WI40Oak Creek, WI: 39 countOak Creek, WI39Suamico, WI: 39 countSuamico, WI39Neenah, WI: 38 countNeenah, WI38La Crosse, WI: 37 countLa Crosse, WI37Oconomowoc, WI: 36 countOconomowoc, WI36Port Washington, WI: 35 countPort Washington, WI35Manitowoc, WI: 34 countManitowoc, WI34Bellevue, WI: 33 countBellevue, WI33Chippewa Falls, WI: 32 countChippewa Falls, WI32Madison, WI: 707 countMadison, WI707Milwaukee, WI: 467 countMilwaukee, WI467Holmen, WI: 131 countHolmen, WI131De Pere, WI: 117 countDe Pere, WI117Eau Claire, WI: 115 countEau Claire, WI115Kenosha, WI: 108 countKenosha, WI108Fond du Lac, WI: 106 countFond du Lac, WI106Menasha, WI: 102 countMenasha, WI102Sun Prairie, WI: 96 countSun Prairie, WI96Middleton, WI: 93 countMiddleton, WI93Green Bay, WI: 89 countGreen Bay, WI89Appleton, WI: 82 countAppleton, WI82Wausau, WI: 82 countWausau, WI82Oshkosh, WI: 73 countOshkosh, WI73Janesville, WI: 67 countJanesville, WI67Grafton, WI: 64 countGrafton, WI64Waunakee, WI: 64 countWaunakee, WI64Stevens Point, WI: 63 countStevens Point, WI63West Bend, WI: 61 countWest Bend, WI61Kaukauna, WI: 58 countKaukauna, WI58Fitchburg, WI: 57 countFitchburg, WI57River Falls, WI: 54 countRiver Falls, WI54Weston, WI: 53 countWeston, WI53Hobart, WI: 51 countHobart, WI51Howard, WI: 51 countHoward, WI51Muskego, WI: 51 countMuskego, WI51Whitewater, WI: 49 countWhitewater, WI49Mount Pleasant, WI: 45 countMount Pleasant, WI45Waukesha, WI: 45 countWaukesha, WI45Onalaska, WI: 41 countOnalaska, WI41Hartford, WI: 40 countHartford, WI40Oak Creek, WI: 39 countOak Creek, WI39Suamico, WI: 39 countSuamico, WI39Neenah, WI: 38 countNeenah, WI38La Crosse, WI: 37 countLa Crosse, WI37Oconomowoc, WI: 36 countOconomowoc, WI36Port Washington, WI: 35 countPort Washington, WI35Manitowoc, WI: 34 countManitowoc, WI34Bellevue, WI: 33 countBellevue, WI33Chippewa Falls, WI: 32 countChippewa Falls, WI32
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2009
count		Change on 2008
1Madison, WI Estimated707-11.8%
2Milwaukee, WI Estimated467-22.9%
3Holmen, WI Estimated131+77%
4De Pere, WI Estimated117-24.5%
5Eau Claire, WI Estimated115-33.5%
6Kenosha, WI Estimated108-25%
7Fond du Lac, WI Estimated106-43.3%
8Menasha, WI Estimated102+54.5%
9Sun Prairie, WI Estimated96-59.1%
10Middleton, WI Estimated93+232.1%
11Green Bay, WI Estimated89+56.1%
12Appleton, WI Estimated82-39.7%
12Wausau, WI Estimated82-61%
14Oshkosh, WI Estimated73-33.6%
15Janesville, WI Estimated67-28%
16Grafton, WI Estimated64+77.8%
16Waunakee, WI Estimated640%
18Stevens Point, WI Estimated63-70.1%
19West Bend, WI Estimated61-18.7%
20Kaukauna, WI Estimated58+23.4%
21Fitchburg, WI Estimated57-36.7%
22River Falls, WI Estimated54-12.9%
23Weston, WI Estimated53-34.6%
24Hobart, WI Estimated51+628.6%
24Howard, WI Estimated51-16.4%
24Muskego, WI Estimated51-26.1%
27Whitewater, WI Estimated49+6.5%
28Mount Pleasant, WI Estimated45-38.4%
28Waukesha, WI Estimated45-86.2%
30Onalaska, WI Estimated41-10.9%
31Hartford, WI Estimated40-47.4%
32Oak Creek, WI Estimated39-67.8%
32Suamico, WI Estimated39-30.4%
34Neenah, WI Estimated38-81.7%
35La Crosse, WI Estimated37-51.3%
36Oconomowoc, WI Estimated36-29.4%
37Port Washington, WI Estimated35-10.3%
38Manitowoc, WI Estimated34-8.1%
39Bellevue, WI Estimated33-32.7%
40Chippewa Falls, WI Estimated32+52.4%
41Franklin, WI Estimated29-34.1%
42Ashwaubenon, WI Estimated27-56.5%
42Caledonia, WI Estimated27-27%
42Menomonee Falls, WI Estimated27-44.9%
42Pleasant Prairie, WI Estimated27-41.3%
42Verona, WI Estimated27-18.2%
47Oregon, WI Estimated26-7.1%
47Pewaukee, WI Estimated26-42.2%
49Mequon, WI Estimated25-24.2%
50New Berlin, WI Estimated24-71.4%
50Plover, WI Estimated24-84.3%
52Richfield, WI Estimated210%
53Hudson, WI Estimated20-66.7%
53Menomonie, WI Estimated20+150%
55Brookfield, WI Estimated17+70%
55Germantown, WI Estimated17-39.3%
55Marshfield, WI Estimated17+6.3%
58Watertown, WI Estimated16-42.9%
59Burlington, WI Estimated15+7.1%
60Baraboo, WI Estimated14-83.3%
60Fort Atkinson, WI Estimated14+7.7%
60Greenfield, WI Estimated14-17.6%
60Reedsburg, WI Estimated14-66.7%
64Superior, WI Estimated13-18.8%
65New Richmond, WI Estimated11-67.6%
65Wisconsin Rapids, WI Estimated11-73.8%
67Hartland, WI Estimated9-10%
67Little Chute, WI Estimated9-57.1%
67Platteville, WI Estimated9-94.7%
67Waupun, WI Estimated9+125%
71Racine, WI Estimated8-38.5%
72Cedarburg, WI Estimated7-58.8%
72Elkhorn, WI Estimated7-66.7%
72Sussex, WI Estimated7-53.3%
75Two Rivers, WI Estimated6-71.4%
76Beloit, WI Estimated5-72.2%
76Brown Deer, WI Estimated5-16.7%
76DeForest, WI Estimated5+25%
76West Allis, WI Estimated5-97.6%
80Beaver Dam, WI Estimated4-55.6%
81Cudahy, WI Estimated2n/a
81Sheboygan, WI Estimated2-77.8%
83Allouez, WI Estimated10%
83Glendale, WI Estimated1-88.9%
83Stoughton, WI Estimated1-90.9%
83Wauwatosa, WI Estimated10%
83Whitefish Bay, WI Estimated1-50%
88Greendale, WI Estimated0n/a
88Marinette, WI Estimated0-100%
88Monroe, WI Estimated0-100%
88Shorewood, WI Estimated0n/a
88South Milwaukee, WI 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. 4 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2009 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/mw2009a.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, 2009) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2009a.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, 2009. U.S. Census Bureau, 30 Sept. 2016, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2009a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-cities?period=2009. 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, 2009. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2009a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-cities?period=2009.

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, 2009 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2009a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-cities?period=2009 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_wisconsin_by_2009,
  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, 2009}},
  year = {2016},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2009a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-cities?period=2009. 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/mw2009a.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, 2009
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/09/30
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2009a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-cities?period=2009
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/wisconsin-cities?period=2009.
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/mw2009a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

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}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=building_permit_units&level=municipality&within=Wisconsin&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

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

Madison, WI, with 707 in 2009, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

South Milwaukee, WI, with 0 in 2009.

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 2009 and are not ranked.

Housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Cities in Wisconsin: more rankings