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

Phoenix, AZ had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 44 cities in 2016, at 2,479. Nogales, AZ had the lowest, at 2. The median was 183. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest2,479Phoenix, AZ

Lowest2Nogales, AZ

Median18344 cities

All cities, 2016

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

Rank	Cities	2016 count	Change on 2015
1	Phoenix, AZ Estimated	2,479	+9.4%
2	Mesa, AZ Estimated	2,113	+21%
3	Peoria, AZ Estimated	1,636	+3%
4	Gilbert, AZ Estimated	1,601	-12%
5	Buckeye, AZ Estimated	1,521	+37.5%
6	Chandler, AZ Estimated	1,202	+4.5%
7	Queen Creek, AZ Estimated	1,096	+11%
8	Goodyear, AZ Estimated	994	-16.8%
9	Tucson, AZ Estimated	713	+99.2%
10	Marana, AZ Estimated	596	-5.8%
11	Scottsdale, AZ Estimated	534	-1.1%
12	Maricopa, AZ Estimated	524	+62.7%
13	Surprise, AZ Estimated	523	-2.6%
14	Prescott Valley, AZ Estimated	472	+13.2%
15	Yuma, AZ Estimated	449	+17.2%
16	Avondale, AZ Estimated	355	+188.6%
17	Prescott, AZ Estimated	339	+21.9%
18	Lake Havasu City, AZ Estimated	306	+8.1%
19	Sahuarita, AZ Estimated	250	-7.7%
20	Flagstaff, AZ Estimated	231	+15.5%
21	San Luis, AZ Estimated	193	+32.2%
22	Florence, AZ Estimated	187	+5.6%
23	Kingman, AZ Estimated	179	-12.7%
24	Oro Valley, AZ Estimated	176	+10.7%
25	Glendale, AZ Estimated	173	+58.7%
26	Casa Grande, AZ Estimated	136	+52.8%
27	Somerton, AZ Estimated	109	-14.2%
28	Bullhead City, AZ Estimated	88	+11.4%
29	Eloy, AZ Estimated	87	+10.1%
30	Tempe, AZ Estimated	85	-62.9%
31	Chino Valley, AZ Estimated	81	+138.2%
32	Paradise Valley, AZ Estimated	79	+21.5%
33	Payson, AZ Estimated	68	+11.5%
34	Show Low, AZ Estimated	66	+26.9%
35	Sierra Vista, AZ Estimated	60	+1.7%
36	Apache Junction, AZ Estimated	52	+62.5%
37	Fountain Hills, AZ Estimated	49	+6.5%
38	Cottonwood, AZ Estimated	37	+5.7%
39	Camp Verde, AZ Estimated	13	+18.2%
39	Safford, AZ Estimated	13	-40.9%
41	Coolidge, AZ Estimated	7	+75%
42	Douglas, AZ Estimated	5	-16.7%
43	El Mirage, AZ Estimated	3	0%
44	Nogales, AZ Estimated	2	0%

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/West%20Region/we2016a.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. (2017). 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 Arizona by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2016a.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 Arizona by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2016. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2017, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2016a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2017. 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 Arizona by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2016a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2016.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2017) 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 Arizona by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2016a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_arizona_by_2016,
  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 Arizona by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2016}},
  year = {2017},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2016a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2016. 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/West\%20Region/we2016a.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 Arizona by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2016
PY  - 2017
DA  - 2017/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2016a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2016.
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/West%20Region/we2016a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

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

Phoenix, AZ, with 2,479 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Nogales, AZ, with 2 in 2016.

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.