Data / Rankings / Single-family housing units authorized by building permits / Cities in Alabama

Cities in Alabama by single-family housing units authorized by building permits

Huntsville, AL had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 66 cities in 2014, at 897. Selma, AL had the lowest, at 0. The median was 52. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest897Huntsville, AL
Lowest0Selma, AL
Median5266 cities

Top 40 cities, 2014

Huntsville, AL: 897 countHuntsville, AL897Auburn, AL: 427 countAuburn, AL427Hoover, AL: 413 countHoover, AL413Madison, AL: 338 countMadison, AL338Montgomery, AL: 297 countMontgomery, AL297Tuscaloosa, AL: 286 countTuscaloosa, AL286Fairhope, AL: 266 countFairhope, AL266Alabaster, AL: 214 countAlabaster, AL214Trussville, AL: 185 countTrussville, AL185Dothan, AL: 176 countDothan, AL176Foley, AL: 172 countFoley, AL172Daphne, AL: 167 countDaphne, AL167Pike Road, AL: 155 countPike Road, AL155Helena, AL: 153 countHelena, AL153Opelika, AL: 135 countOpelika, AL135Prattville, AL: 131 countPrattville, AL131Gulf Shores, AL: 128 countGulf Shores, AL128Calera, AL: 120 countCalera, AL120Northport, AL: 118 countNorthport, AL118Phenix City, AL: 113 countPhenix City, AL113Chelsea, AL: 110 countChelsea, AL110Mobile, AL: 109 countMobile, AL109Vestavia Hills, AL: 109 countVestavia Hills, AL109Muscle Shoals, AL: 99 countMuscle Shoals, AL99Spanish Fort, AL: 99 countSpanish Fort, AL99Saraland, AL: 95 countSaraland, AL95Pelham, AL: 91 countPelham, AL91Athens, AL: 80 countAthens, AL80Birmingham, AL: 76 countBirmingham, AL76Oxford, AL: 75 countOxford, AL75Millbrook, AL: 71 countMillbrook, AL71Enterprise, AL: 54 countEnterprise, AL54Moody, AL: 53 countMoody, AL53Cullman, AL: 51 countCullman, AL51Mountain Brook, AL: 48 countMountain Brook, AL48Florence, AL: 45 countFlorence, AL45Troy, AL: 42 countTroy, AL42Scottsboro, AL: 38 countScottsboro, AL38Decatur, AL: 37 countDecatur, AL37Hartselle, AL: 37 countHartselle, AL37Huntsville, AL: 897 countHuntsville, AL897Auburn, AL: 427 countAuburn, AL427Hoover, AL: 413 countHoover, AL413Madison, AL: 338 countMadison, AL338Montgomery, AL: 297 countMontgomery, AL297Tuscaloosa, AL: 286 countTuscaloosa, AL286Fairhope, AL: 266 countFairhope, AL266Alabaster, AL: 214 countAlabaster, AL214Trussville, AL: 185 countTrussville, AL185Dothan, AL: 176 countDothan, AL176Foley, AL: 172 countFoley, AL172Daphne, AL: 167 countDaphne, AL167Pike Road, AL: 155 countPike Road, AL155Helena, AL: 153 countHelena, AL153Opelika, AL: 135 countOpelika, AL135Prattville, AL: 131 countPrattville, AL131Gulf Shores, AL: 128 countGulf Shores, AL128Calera, AL: 120 countCalera, AL120Northport, AL: 118 countNorthport, AL118Phenix City, AL: 113 countPhenix City, AL113Chelsea, AL: 110 countChelsea, AL110Mobile, AL: 109 countMobile, AL109Vestavia Hills, AL: 109 countVestavia Hills, AL109Muscle Shoals, AL: 99 countMuscle Shoals, AL99Spanish Fort, AL: 99 countSpanish Fort, AL99Saraland, AL: 95 countSaraland, AL95Pelham, AL: 91 countPelham, AL91Athens, AL: 80 countAthens, AL80Birmingham, AL: 76 countBirmingham, AL76Oxford, AL: 75 countOxford, AL75Millbrook, AL: 71 countMillbrook, AL71Enterprise, AL: 54 countEnterprise, AL54Moody, AL: 53 countMoody, AL53Cullman, AL: 51 countCullman, AL51Mountain Brook, AL: 48 countMountain Brook, AL48Florence, AL: 45 countFlorence, AL45Troy, AL: 42 countTroy, AL42Scottsboro, AL: 38 countScottsboro, AL38Decatur, AL: 37 countDecatur, AL37Hartselle, AL: 37 countHartselle, AL37
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2014
count		Change on 2013
1Huntsville, AL Estimated897-10.3%
2Auburn, AL Estimated427+6.8%
3Hoover, AL Estimated413+48%
4Madison, AL Estimated338+3.4%
5Montgomery, AL Estimated297+12.1%
6Tuscaloosa, AL Estimated286-31.4%
7Fairhope, AL Estimated266-0.7%
8Alabaster, AL Estimated214+234.4%
9Trussville, AL Estimated185+14.9%
10Dothan, AL Estimated176-8.3%
11Foley, AL Estimated172+22.9%
12Daphne, AL Estimated167+3.1%
13Pike Road, AL Estimated155-22.1%
14Helena, AL Estimated153+24.4%
15Opelika, AL Estimated135+1.5%
16Prattville, AL Estimated131+9.2%
17Gulf Shores, AL Estimated128+3.2%
18Calera, AL Estimated120+27.7%
19Northport, AL Estimated118-22.4%
20Phenix City, AL Estimated113-23.1%
21Chelsea, AL Estimated110-25.7%
22Mobile, AL Estimated109+29.8%
22Vestavia Hills, AL Estimated109-7.6%
24Muscle Shoals, AL Estimated99+2.1%
24Spanish Fort, AL Estimated99+76.8%
26Saraland, AL Estimated95+143.6%
27Pelham, AL Estimated91-19.5%
28Athens, AL Estimated80-3.6%
29Birmingham, AL Estimated76-5%
30Oxford, AL Estimated75+114.3%
31Millbrook, AL Estimated71-10.1%
32Enterprise, AL Estimated54-33.3%
33Moody, AL Estimated53+47.2%
34Cullman, AL Estimated51+10.9%
35Mountain Brook, AL Estimated48+54.8%
36Florence, AL Estimated45-47.1%
37Troy, AL Estimated42+2.4%
38Scottsboro, AL Estimated38+15.2%
39Decatur, AL Estimated37-5.1%
39Hartselle, AL Estimated37-5.1%
41Gardendale, AL Estimated34+100%
41Irondale, AL Estimated34-29.2%
43Leeds, AL Estimated31-3.1%
44Pell City, AL Estimated26-43.5%
45Homewood, AL Estimated19-9.5%
46Rainbow City, AL Estimated17+112.5%
47Alexander City, AL Estimated16+60%
47Fort Payne, AL Estimated16-5.9%
49Gadsden, AL Estimated11-8.3%
50Clay, AL Estimated9-18.2%
51Ozark, AL Estimated8-11.1%
52Jasper, AL Estimated7-22.2%
53Eufaula, AL Estimated6+20%
53Russellville, AL Estimated60%
53Valley, AL Estimated6+200%
56Albertville, AL Estimated5+66.7%
57Jacksonville, AL Estimated4-63.6%
58Prichard, AL Estimated3-25%
59Anniston, AL Estimated2+100%
59Boaz, AL Estimated2-88.2%
59Sylacauga, AL Estimated2-33.3%
59Talladega, AL Estimated20%
63Bessemer, AL Estimated1-50%
63Hueytown, AL Estimated1-50%
65Center Point, AL Estimated0n/a
65Selma, AL Estimated0n/a

Other periods

About this ranking

Annual number of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures (detached and attached single-family homes) authorized by building permits, from the US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.

Part of building_permit_units, which also counts units in buildings with two or more units. Counts housing units, not starts, completions or sales.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2014a.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 in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation (Cities in Alabama by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2014) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2014a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Alabama by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2014. U.S. Census Bureau, 30 Sept. 2016, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2014a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2014. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2016. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Cities in Alabama by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2014. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2014a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2014.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2016) Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Alabama by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2014 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2014a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2014 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_alabama_by_2014,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation: Cities in Alabama by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2014}},
  year = {2016},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2014a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2014. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South\%20Region/so2014a.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 in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation: Cities in Alabama by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2014
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/09/30
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2014a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2014.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2014a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

Huntsville, AL, with 897 in 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Selma, AL, with 0 in 2014.

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 in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Single-family housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Cities in Alabama: more rankings