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 2023, at 4,200. El Mirage, AZ had the lowest, at 4. The median was 227. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest4,200Phoenix, AZ

Lowest4El Mirage, AZ

Median22744 cities

All cities, 2023

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	2023 count	Change on 2022
1	Phoenix, AZ Estimated	4,200	+5.5%
2	Surprise, AZ Estimated	2,397	+7.6%
3	Buckeye, AZ Estimated	2,129	-2.9%
4	Queen Creek, AZ Estimated	1,808	+29.5%
5	Maricopa, AZ Estimated	1,153	-10.2%
6	Casa Grande, AZ Estimated	1,083	-7.2%
7	Goodyear, AZ Estimated	1,063	-12.9%
8	Apache Junction, AZ Estimated	943	+833.7%
9	Marana, AZ Estimated	880	-7.3%
10	Avondale, AZ Estimated	844	-39.4%
11	Tucson, AZ Estimated	839	-8.6%
12	Mesa, AZ Estimated	770	-49.9%
13	Peoria, AZ Estimated	720	+54.5%
14	Glendale, AZ Estimated	705	+86%
15	Gilbert, AZ Estimated	536	-31.5%
16	Scottsdale, AZ Estimated	408	-34.6%
17	Sahuarita, AZ Estimated	377	-16.6%
18	Prescott Valley, AZ Estimated	353	-37.7%
19	Yuma, AZ Estimated	338	+4.6%
20	San Luis, AZ Estimated	288	+21.5%
21	Florence, AZ Estimated	269	+195.6%
22	Chandler, AZ Estimated	233	+14.8%
23	Prescott, AZ Estimated	221	+0.9%
24	Kingman, AZ Estimated	217	-16.2%
25	Bullhead City, AZ Estimated	211	-29%
26	Lake Havasu City, AZ Estimated	202	-41.8%
27	Flagstaff, AZ Estimated	146	+13.2%
28	Coolidge, AZ Estimated	141	-65.1%
29	Oro Valley, AZ Estimated	126	-36.4%
30	Show Low, AZ Estimated	100	-42.5%
31	Eloy, AZ Estimated	96	-56.6%
32	Tempe, AZ Estimated	91	-10.8%
33	Paradise Valley, AZ Estimated	79	-2.5%
34	Payson, AZ Estimated	73	-23.2%
35	Fountain Hills, AZ Estimated	57	-46.7%
36	Sierra Vista, AZ Estimated	56	+7.7%
37	Chino Valley, AZ Estimated	34	-57%
37	Cottonwood, AZ Estimated	34	-45.2%
39	Camp Verde, AZ Estimated	25	-10.7%
40	Safford, AZ Estimated	17	-15%
41	Douglas, AZ Estimated	14	0%
41	Nogales, AZ Estimated	14	+16.7%
43	Somerton, AZ Estimated	6	-70%
44	El Mirage, AZ Estimated	4	-98.2%

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/we2023a.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 Arizona by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2023a.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, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 24 Apr. 2024, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2023a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-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 Arizona by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2023a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-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 Arizona by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2023a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_arizona_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 Arizona by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2023}},
  year = {2024},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2023a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-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/West\%20Region/we2023a.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, 2023
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/04/24
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2023a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-cities?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arizona-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/West%20Region/we2023a.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 4,200 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

El Mirage, AZ, with 4 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.