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 2020, at 1,705. Gadsden, AL had the lowest, at 0. The median was 94. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,705Huntsville, AL
Lowest0Gadsden, AL
Median9466 cities

Top 40 cities, 2020

Huntsville, AL: 1,705 countHuntsville, AL1,705Foley, AL: 727 countFoley, AL727Auburn, AL: 643 countAuburn, AL643Daphne, AL: 509 countDaphne, AL509Madison, AL: 438 countMadison, AL438Tuscaloosa, AL: 411 countTuscaloosa, AL411Hoover, AL: 399 countHoover, AL399Opelika, AL: 390 countOpelika, AL390Athens, AL: 370 countAthens, AL370Gulf Shores, AL: 340 countGulf Shores, AL340Prattville, AL: 332 countPrattville, AL332Calera, AL: 322 countCalera, AL322Fairhope, AL: 306 countFairhope, AL306Montgomery, AL: 284 countMontgomery, AL284Dothan, AL: 231 countDothan, AL231Helena, AL: 205 countHelena, AL205Chelsea, AL: 196 countChelsea, AL196Trussville, AL: 188 countTrussville, AL188Pike Road, AL: 187 countPike Road, AL187Muscle Shoals, AL: 163 countMuscle Shoals, AL163Enterprise, AL: 157 countEnterprise, AL157Alabaster, AL: 152 countAlabaster, AL152Pell City, AL: 144 countPell City, AL144Spanish Fort, AL: 140 countSpanish Fort, AL140Northport, AL: 135 countNorthport, AL135Pelham, AL: 125 countPelham, AL125Cullman, AL: 124 countCullman, AL124Mobile, AL: 119 countMobile, AL119Saraland, AL: 118 countSaraland, AL118Vestavia Hills, AL: 112 countVestavia Hills, AL112Moody, AL: 107 countMoody, AL107Irondale, AL: 95 countIrondale, AL95Millbrook, AL: 95 countMillbrook, AL95Decatur, AL: 92 countDecatur, AL92Birmingham, AL: 86 countBirmingham, AL86Gardendale, AL: 75 countGardendale, AL75Oxford, AL: 67 countOxford, AL67Troy, AL: 64 countTroy, AL64Florence, AL: 63 countFlorence, AL63Hartselle, AL: 56 countHartselle, AL56Huntsville, AL: 1,705 countHuntsville, AL1,705Foley, AL: 727 countFoley, AL727Auburn, AL: 643 countAuburn, AL643Daphne, AL: 509 countDaphne, AL509Madison, AL: 438 countMadison, AL438Tuscaloosa, AL: 411 countTuscaloosa, AL411Hoover, AL: 399 countHoover, AL399Opelika, AL: 390 countOpelika, AL390Athens, AL: 370 countAthens, AL370Gulf Shores, AL: 340 countGulf Shores, AL340Prattville, AL: 332 countPrattville, AL332Calera, AL: 322 countCalera, AL322Fairhope, AL: 306 countFairhope, AL306Montgomery, AL: 284 countMontgomery, AL284Dothan, AL: 231 countDothan, AL231Helena, AL: 205 countHelena, AL205Chelsea, AL: 196 countChelsea, AL196Trussville, AL: 188 countTrussville, AL188Pike Road, AL: 187 countPike Road, AL187Muscle Shoals, AL: 163 countMuscle Shoals, AL163Enterprise, AL: 157 countEnterprise, AL157Alabaster, AL: 152 countAlabaster, AL152Pell City, AL: 144 countPell City, AL144Spanish Fort, AL: 140 countSpanish Fort, AL140Northport, AL: 135 countNorthport, AL135Pelham, AL: 125 countPelham, AL125Cullman, AL: 124 countCullman, AL124Mobile, AL: 119 countMobile, AL119Saraland, AL: 118 countSaraland, AL118Vestavia Hills, AL: 112 countVestavia Hills, AL112Moody, AL: 107 countMoody, AL107Irondale, AL: 95 countIrondale, AL95Millbrook, AL: 95 countMillbrook, AL95Decatur, AL: 92 countDecatur, AL92Birmingham, AL: 86 countBirmingham, AL86Gardendale, AL: 75 countGardendale, AL75Oxford, AL: 67 countOxford, AL67Troy, AL: 64 countTroy, AL64Florence, AL: 63 countFlorence, AL63Hartselle, AL: 56 countHartselle, AL56
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

RankCities2020
count		Change on 2019
1Huntsville, AL Estimated1,705+18.7%
2Foley, AL Estimated727+96%
3Auburn, AL Estimated643+21.3%
4Daphne, AL Estimated509+30.8%
5Madison, AL Estimated438+18.7%
6Tuscaloosa, AL Estimated411+28%
7Hoover, AL Estimated399-12.5%
8Opelika, AL Estimated390+23.8%
9Athens, AL Estimated370+34.1%
10Gulf Shores, AL Estimated340+36%
11Prattville, AL Estimated332+37.2%
12Calera, AL Estimated322+51.2%
13Fairhope, AL Estimated306-24.3%
14Montgomery, AL Estimated284+10.5%
15Dothan, AL Estimated231+19.1%
16Helena, AL Estimated205+10.2%
17Chelsea, AL Estimated196+21.7%
18Trussville, AL Estimated188-7.4%
19Pike Road, AL Estimated187-2.1%
20Muscle Shoals, AL Estimated163+19%
21Enterprise, AL Estimated157+45.4%
22Alabaster, AL Estimated152+223.4%
23Pell City, AL Estimated144+48.5%
24Spanish Fort, AL Estimated140+9.4%
25Northport, AL Estimated135-17.7%
26Pelham, AL Estimated125+21.4%
27Cullman, AL Estimated124-16.8%
28Mobile, AL Estimated119-10.5%
29Saraland, AL Estimated118+187.8%
30Vestavia Hills, AL Estimated112+24.4%
31Moody, AL Estimated107+64.6%
32Irondale, AL Estimated95-12%
32Millbrook, AL Estimated95+179.4%
34Decatur, AL Estimated92+24.3%
35Birmingham, AL Estimated86+10.3%
36Gardendale, AL Estimated75+56.3%
37Oxford, AL Estimated67+1.5%
38Troy, AL Estimated64-28.1%
39Florence, AL Estimated63-11.3%
40Hartselle, AL Estimated56+86.7%
41Phenix City, AL Estimated55-1.8%
42Clay, AL Estimated54-32.5%
43Jasper, AL Estimated48+50%
44Albertville, AL Estimated45+55.2%
44Scottsboro, AL Estimated45+114.3%
46Homewood, AL Estimated44+2.3%
47Mountain Brook, AL Estimated37+8.8%
48Leeds, AL Estimated32-15.8%
49Alexander City, AL Estimated28+64.7%
50Boaz, AL Estimated22+4.8%
50Fort Payne, AL Estimated22+22.2%
52Rainbow City, AL Estimated21n/a
53Jacksonville, AL Estimated19-34.5%
53Valley, AL Estimated19+111.1%
55Ozark, AL Estimated13+116.7%
56Bessemer, AL Estimated11-71.1%
56Russellville, AL Estimated11+10%
58Eufaula, AL Estimated10+11.1%
59Hueytown, AL Estimated70%
60Sylacauga, AL Estimated40%
61Anniston, AL Estimated3+50%
61Prichard, AL Estimated3+50%
63Center Point, AL Estimated2-88.9%
63Talladega, AL Estimated2-33.3%
65Selma, AL Estimated10%
66Gadsden, 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/so2020a.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. (2021). 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, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.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, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, 3 May 2021, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2021. 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, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2021) 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, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_alabama_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  year = {2021},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2020. 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/so2020a.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, 2020
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/05/03
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2020.
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/so2020a.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 1,705 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Gadsden, AL, with 0 in 2020.

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