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 2023, at 1,403. Sylacauga, AL had the lowest, at 0. The median was 70. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,403Huntsville, AL
Lowest0Sylacauga, AL
Median7066 cities

Top 40 cities, 2023

Huntsville, AL: 1,403 countHuntsville, AL1,403Foley, AL: 1,005 countFoley, AL1,005Opelika, AL: 575 countOpelika, AL575Auburn, AL: 521 countAuburn, AL521Athens, AL: 487 countAthens, AL487Gulf Shores, AL: 416 countGulf Shores, AL416Madison, AL: 363 countMadison, AL363Hoover, AL: 342 countHoover, AL342Tuscaloosa, AL: 337 countTuscaloosa, AL337Fairhope, AL: 296 countFairhope, AL296Prattville, AL: 260 countPrattville, AL260Daphne, AL: 232 countDaphne, AL232Dothan, AL: 227 countDothan, AL227Montgomery, AL: 227 countMontgomery, AL227Chelsea, AL: 177 countChelsea, AL177Decatur, AL: 166 countDecatur, AL166Mobile, AL: 166 countMobile, AL166Pike Road, AL: 155 countPike Road, AL155Trussville, AL: 153 countTrussville, AL153Cullman, AL: 149 countCullman, AL149Northport, AL: 145 countNorthport, AL145Enterprise, AL: 127 countEnterprise, AL127Calera, AL: 118 countCalera, AL118Alabaster, AL: 111 countAlabaster, AL111Pelham, AL: 108 countPelham, AL108Vestavia Hills, AL: 108 countVestavia Hills, AL108Spanish Fort, AL: 106 countSpanish Fort, AL106Bessemer, AL: 102 countBessemer, AL102Phenix City, AL: 98 countPhenix City, AL98Pell City, AL: 95 countPell City, AL95Birmingham, AL: 93 countBirmingham, AL93Hartselle, AL: 92 countHartselle, AL92Leeds, AL: 76 countLeeds, AL76Florence, AL: 64 countFlorence, AL64Jasper, AL: 60 countJasper, AL60Troy, AL: 55 countTroy, AL55Alexander City, AL: 54 countAlexander City, AL54Muscle Shoals, AL: 51 countMuscle Shoals, AL51Irondale, AL: 49 countIrondale, AL49Millbrook, AL: 47 countMillbrook, AL47Huntsville, AL: 1,403 countHuntsville, AL1,403Foley, AL: 1,005 countFoley, AL1,005Opelika, AL: 575 countOpelika, AL575Auburn, AL: 521 countAuburn, AL521Athens, AL: 487 countAthens, AL487Gulf Shores, AL: 416 countGulf Shores, AL416Madison, AL: 363 countMadison, AL363Hoover, AL: 342 countHoover, AL342Tuscaloosa, AL: 337 countTuscaloosa, AL337Fairhope, AL: 296 countFairhope, AL296Prattville, AL: 260 countPrattville, AL260Daphne, AL: 232 countDaphne, AL232Dothan, AL: 227 countDothan, AL227Montgomery, AL: 227 countMontgomery, AL227Chelsea, AL: 177 countChelsea, AL177Decatur, AL: 166 countDecatur, AL166Mobile, AL: 166 countMobile, AL166Pike Road, AL: 155 countPike Road, AL155Trussville, AL: 153 countTrussville, AL153Cullman, AL: 149 countCullman, AL149Northport, AL: 145 countNorthport, AL145Enterprise, AL: 127 countEnterprise, AL127Calera, AL: 118 countCalera, AL118Alabaster, AL: 111 countAlabaster, AL111Pelham, AL: 108 countPelham, AL108Vestavia Hills, AL: 108 countVestavia Hills, AL108Spanish Fort, AL: 106 countSpanish Fort, AL106Bessemer, AL: 102 countBessemer, AL102Phenix City, AL: 98 countPhenix City, AL98Pell City, AL: 95 countPell City, AL95Birmingham, AL: 93 countBirmingham, AL93Hartselle, AL: 92 countHartselle, AL92Leeds, AL: 76 countLeeds, AL76Florence, AL: 64 countFlorence, AL64Jasper, AL: 60 countJasper, AL60Troy, AL: 55 countTroy, AL55Alexander City, AL: 54 countAlexander City, AL54Muscle Shoals, AL: 51 countMuscle Shoals, AL51Irondale, AL: 49 countIrondale, AL49Millbrook, AL: 47 countMillbrook, AL47
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

RankCities2023
count		Change on 2022
1Huntsville, AL Estimated1,403+29.5%
2Foley, AL Estimated1,005+73.6%
3Opelika, AL Estimated575+53.3%
4Auburn, AL Estimated521+8.1%
5Athens, AL Estimated487+3%
6Gulf Shores, AL Estimated416-18.3%
7Madison, AL Estimated363+23.9%
8Hoover, AL Estimated342+8.9%
9Tuscaloosa, AL Estimated337+12.7%
10Fairhope, AL Estimated296+14.3%
11Prattville, AL Estimated260+23.8%
12Daphne, AL Estimated232-20.5%
13Dothan, AL Estimated227+8.1%
13Montgomery, AL Estimated227-16.2%
15Chelsea, AL Estimated177-9.7%
16Decatur, AL Estimated166+11.4%
16Mobile, AL Estimated166+97.6%
18Pike Road, AL Estimated155-25.5%
19Trussville, AL Estimated153-24.6%
20Cullman, AL Estimated149-41.1%
21Northport, AL Estimated145-23.7%
22Enterprise, AL Estimated127-19.1%
23Calera, AL Estimated118-5.6%
24Alabaster, AL Estimated111+65.7%
25Pelham, AL Estimated108-20.6%
25Vestavia Hills, AL Estimated108+63.6%
27Spanish Fort, AL Estimated106-7.8%
28Bessemer, AL Estimated102+436.8%
29Phenix City, AL Estimated98+4.3%
30Pell City, AL Estimated95-34%
31Birmingham, AL Estimated93-16.2%
32Hartselle, AL Estimated92-6.1%
33Leeds, AL Estimated76-7.3%
34Florence, AL Estimated64-22%
35Jasper, AL Estimated60+13.2%
36Troy, AL Estimated55-5.2%
37Alexander City, AL Estimated54+63.6%
38Muscle Shoals, AL Estimated51-27.1%
39Irondale, AL Estimated49-68.6%
40Millbrook, AL Estimated47-27.7%
41Albertville, AL Estimated46-16.4%
42Scottsboro, AL Estimated42-8.7%
43Saraland, AL Estimated36-7.7%
44Oxford, AL Estimated29+11.5%
45Gadsden, AL Estimated27+42.1%
45Homewood, AL Estimated27+3.8%
47Fort Payne, AL Estimated26+44.4%
48Eufaula, AL Estimated24+20%
48Mountain Brook, AL Estimated24-7.7%
50Helena, AL Estimated23-71.6%
51Valley, AL Estimated22+46.7%
52Ozark, AL Estimated21+50%
53Clay, AL Estimated20+25%
54Jacksonville, AL Estimated18-35.7%
55Boaz, AL Estimated15+36.4%
55Moody, AL Estimated15+15.4%
55Prichard, AL Estimated15n/a
58Rainbow City, AL Estimated12-63.6%
59Anniston, AL Estimated11+120%
59Russellville, AL Estimated11-15.4%
61Gardendale, AL Estimated7-69.6%
62Hueytown, AL Estimated6-40%
63Talladega, AL Estimated4+300%
64Center Point, AL Estimated0-100%
64Selma, AL Estimated0n/a
64Sylacauga, 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/so2023a.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. (2024). 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, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.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, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 24 Apr. 2024, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2023. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2024. 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, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2023.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2024) 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, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_alabama_by_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  year = {2024},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2023. 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/so2023a.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, 2023
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/04/24
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2023a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/alabama-cities?period=2023.
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/so2023a.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 1,403 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Sylacauga, AL, with 0 in 2023.

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