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 2019, at 4,175. Nogales, AZ had the lowest, at 2. The median was 281. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest4,175Phoenix, AZ

Lowest2Nogales, AZ

Median28144 cities

All cities, 2019

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	2019 count	Change on 2018
1	Phoenix, AZ Estimated	4,175	+11.9%
2	Buckeye, AZ Estimated	2,652	+20.9%
3	Surprise, AZ Estimated	1,715	+30.4%
4	Mesa, AZ Estimated	1,710	-35.7%
5	Goodyear, AZ Estimated	1,602	+28.6%
6	Queen Creek, AZ Estimated	1,485	+14.6%
7	Peoria, AZ Estimated	1,363	+9.5%
8	Gilbert, AZ Estimated	1,143	-21.7%
9	Maricopa, AZ Estimated	1,003	+1.5%
10	Tucson, AZ Estimated	999	+46.9%
11	Marana, AZ Estimated	808	-2.4%
12	Scottsdale, AZ Estimated	590	-4.8%
13	Chandler, AZ Estimated	581	+18.1%
14	Casa Grande, AZ Estimated	567	+125%
15	Yuma, AZ Estimated	530	+9.3%
16	Prescott Valley, AZ Estimated	454	-8.5%
17	Prescott, AZ Estimated	434	+20.9%
18	Florence, AZ Estimated	385	+65.2%
19	Sahuarita, AZ Estimated	342	-6.6%
20	San Luis, AZ Estimated	339	+15.3%
21	Lake Havasu City, AZ Estimated	309	-14.4%
22	Flagstaff, AZ Estimated	283	-23.7%
23	Kingman, AZ Estimated	279	+5.3%
24	Bullhead City, AZ Estimated	246	+52.8%
24	Glendale, AZ Estimated	246	+28.8%
26	Oro Valley, AZ Estimated	215	-30.9%
27	Coolidge, AZ Estimated	194	+304.2%
28	Eloy, AZ Estimated	127	-5.9%
29	El Mirage, AZ Estimated	123	+2,975%
30	Show Low, AZ Estimated	111	+22%
31	Apache Junction, AZ Estimated	108	-2.7%
32	Avondale, AZ Estimated	104	-55.2%
33	Tempe, AZ Estimated	102	-17.1%
34	Paradise Valley, AZ Estimated	83	-13.5%
35	Chino Valley, AZ Estimated	78	-58.1%
36	Sierra Vista, AZ Estimated	75	+10.3%
37	Payson, AZ Estimated	72	-18.2%
38	Fountain Hills, AZ Estimated	55	-36%
39	Cottonwood, AZ Estimated	44	-38.9%
39	Safford, AZ Estimated	44	+69.2%
41	Somerton, AZ Estimated	39	-7.1%
42	Camp Verde, AZ Estimated	21	+31.3%
43	Douglas, AZ Estimated	4	+100%
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/we2019a.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. (2020). 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, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.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, 2019. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2020, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. 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, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2019.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2020) 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, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_arizona_by_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  year = {2020},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2019. 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/we2019a.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, 2019
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2019.
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/we2019a.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 4,175 in 2019, 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 2019.

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.