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

Centerton, AR had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 39 cities in 2020, at 634. Magnolia, AR had the lowest, at 2. The median was 80. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest634Centerton, AR

Lowest2Magnolia, AR

Median8039 cities

All cities, 2020

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	2020 count	Change on 2019
1	Centerton, AR Estimated	634	+54.6%
2	Fayetteville, AR Estimated	583	+5.2%
3	Rogers, AR Estimated	500	+11.9%
4	Bentonville, AR Estimated	481	+1.7%
5	Jonesboro, AR Estimated	467	+16.5%
6	Bella Vista, AR Estimated	416	+49.6%
7	Little Rock, AR Estimated	415	-13.5%
8	Conway, AR Estimated	348	+63.4%
9	Springdale, AR Estimated	259	-8.8%
10	Sherwood, AR Estimated	248	+24.6%
11	Benton, AR Estimated	224	+115.4%
12	Pea Ridge, AR Estimated	189	+125%
13	Farmington, AR Estimated	156	+59.2%
14	Fort Smith, AR Estimated	135	-18.7%
15	Lowell, AR Estimated	126	-0.8%
16	Paragould, AR Estimated	118	+11.3%
17	Bryant, AR Estimated	113	-14.4%
18	Cabot, AR Estimated	99	-3.9%
19	North Little Rock, AR Estimated	87	-17.9%
20	Maumelle, AR Estimated	80	+21.2%
21	Hot Springs, AR Estimated	79	+68.1%
22	Siloam Springs, AR Estimated	73	-52%
23	Van Buren, AR Estimated	71	+4.4%
24	Jacksonville, AR Estimated	50	-19.4%
24	Russellville, AR Estimated	50	-15.3%
26	Marion, AR Estimated	43	+34.4%
27	Searcy, AR Estimated	38	-34.5%
28	Texarkana, AR Estimated	21	-25%
29	West Memphis, AR Estimated	18	+50%
30	Mountain Home, AR Estimated	14	+366.7%
31	Harrison, AR Estimated	10	-16.7%
31	Pine Bluff, AR Estimated	10	0%
33	El Dorado, AR Estimated	9	-10%
34	Camden, AR Estimated	7	+16.7%
34	Malvern, AR Estimated	7	+40%
36	Blytheville, AR Estimated	5	+25%
37	Batesville, AR Estimated	3	-80%
38	Forrest City, AR Estimated	2	n/a
38	Magnolia, AR Estimated	2	-86.7%

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/so2020a.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. (2021). 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 Arkansas by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.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 Arkansas by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, 3 May 2021, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arkansas-cities?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2021. 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 Arkansas by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arkansas-cities?period=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2021) 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 Arkansas by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arkansas-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_arkansas_by_2020,
  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 Arkansas by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2020}},
  year = {2021},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arkansas-cities?period=2020. 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/so2020a.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 Arkansas by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2020
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/05/03
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2020a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arkansas-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/arkansas-cities?period=2020.
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/so2020a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank Cities in Arkansas by single-family housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

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

Centerton, AR, with 634 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Magnolia, AR, with 2 in 2020.

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.