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 2017, at 2,932. Nogales, AZ had the lowest, at 2. The median was 242. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest2,932Phoenix, AZ

Lowest2Nogales, AZ

Median24244 cities

All cities, 2017

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	2017 count	Change on 2016
1	Phoenix, AZ Estimated	2,932	+18.3%
2	Mesa, AZ Estimated	2,251	+6.5%
3	Buckeye, AZ Estimated	2,195	+44.3%
4	Peoria, AZ Estimated	1,731	+5.8%
5	Gilbert, AZ Estimated	1,599	-0.1%
6	Goodyear, AZ Estimated	1,095	+10.2%
7	Queen Creek, AZ Estimated	1,076	-1.8%
8	Maricopa, AZ Estimated	844	+61.1%
9	Surprise, AZ Estimated	816	+56%
10	Marana, AZ Estimated	788	+32.2%
11	Tucson, AZ Estimated	709	-0.6%
12	Chandler, AZ Estimated	616	-48.8%
13	Scottsdale, AZ Estimated	560	+4.9%
14	Yuma, AZ Estimated	522	+16.3%
15	Prescott Valley, AZ Estimated	497	+5.3%
16	Oro Valley, AZ Estimated	335	+90.3%
17	Lake Havasu City, AZ Estimated	329	+7.5%
18	Prescott, AZ Estimated	322	-5%
19	Sahuarita, AZ Estimated	287	+14.8%
20	Kingman, AZ Estimated	274	+53.1%
21	Avondale, AZ Estimated	252	-29%
22	San Luis, AZ Estimated	248	+28.5%
23	Flagstaff, AZ Estimated	236	+2.2%
24	Florence, AZ Estimated	218	+16.6%
25	Glendale, AZ Estimated	172	-0.6%
26	Bullhead City, AZ Estimated	143	+62.5%
27	Chino Valley, AZ Estimated	127	+56.8%
28	Eloy, AZ Estimated	117	+34.5%
29	Casa Grande, AZ Estimated	114	-16.2%
30	Somerton, AZ Estimated	112	+2.8%
31	Show Low, AZ Estimated	99	+50%
32	Payson, AZ Estimated	84	+23.5%
33	Fountain Hills, AZ Estimated	76	+55.1%
34	Tempe, AZ Estimated	72	-15.3%
35	Paradise Valley, AZ Estimated	71	-10.1%
36	Sierra Vista, AZ Estimated	63	+5%
37	Apache Junction, AZ Estimated	38	-26.9%
38	Cottonwood, AZ Estimated	36	-2.7%
39	Safford, AZ Estimated	19	+46.2%
40	Camp Verde, AZ Estimated	16	+23.1%
41	Coolidge, AZ Estimated	11	+57.1%
42	El Mirage, AZ Estimated	9	+200%
43	Douglas, AZ Estimated	4	-20%
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/we2017a.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. (2018). 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, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.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, 2017. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2018, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2018. 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, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2018) 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, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_arizona_by_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  year = {2018},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2017. 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/we2017a.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, 2017
PY  - 2018
DA  - 2018/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2017.
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/we2017a.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 2,932 in 2017, 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 2017.

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.