Cities in Iowa by single-family housing units authorized by building permits
Ankeny, IA had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 40 cities in 2020, at 1,120. Carroll, IA had the lowest, at 1. The median was 77. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
All cities, 2020
Full ranking
| Rank | Cities | 2020 | Change on 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ankeny, IA Estimated | 1,120 | +19% |
| 2 | Waukee, IA Estimated | 637 | +2.6% |
| 3 | West Des Moines, IA Estimated | 438 | +93.8% |
| 4 | Norwalk, IA Estimated | 249 | +23.3% |
| 5 | Urbandale, IA Estimated | 246 | +89.2% |
| 6 | Altoona, IA Estimated | 234 | +0.9% |
| 7 | Des Moines, IA Estimated | 219 | -44% |
| 8 | Pleasant Hill, IA Estimated | 193 | +164.4% |
| 9 | Marion, IA Estimated | 187 | +28.1% |
| 10 | Grimes, IA Estimated | 168 | +30.2% |
| 11 | Cedar Rapids, IA Estimated | 130 | -24.9% |
| 12 | Clive, IA Estimated | 127 | +14.4% |
| 13 | Bettendorf, IA Estimated | 126 | -35.4% |
| 14 | Iowa City, IA Estimated | 116 | +18.4% |
| 15 | Sioux City, IA Estimated | 115 | +47.4% |
| 16 | Cedar Falls, IA Estimated | 114 | +25.3% |
| 17 | North Liberty, IA Estimated | 113 | +56.9% |
| 18 | Davenport, IA Estimated | 95 | -22.1% |
| 19 | Ames, IA Estimated | 88 | +39.7% |
| 20 | Indianola, IA Estimated | 81 | +44.6% |
| 21 | Johnston, IA Estimated | 73 | +5.8% |
| 22 | Council Bluffs, IA Estimated | 55 | -34.5% |
| 23 | Waterloo, IA Estimated | 46 | -4.2% |
| 24 | Dubuque, IA Estimated | 40 | -44.4% |
| 25 | Fort Dodge, IA Estimated | 33 | +135.7% |
| 26 | Pella, IA Estimated | 32 | -43.9% |
| 27 | Boone, IA Estimated | 31 | +210% |
| 28 | Coralville, IA Estimated | 24 | +41.2% |
| 29 | Le Mars, IA Estimated | 21 | -27.6% |
| 30 | Burlington, IA Estimated | 19 | +11.8% |
| 31 | Storm Lake, IA Estimated | 16 | +100% |
| 32 | Marshalltown, IA Estimated | 15 | +15.4% |
| 33 | Spencer, IA Estimated | 14 | +250% |
| 34 | Clinton, IA Estimated | 13 | 0% |
| 35 | Newton, IA Estimated | 9 | -47.1% |
| 36 | Mason City, IA Estimated | 8 | -27.3% |
| 37 | Oskaloosa, IA Estimated | 6 | -45.5% |
| 38 | Muscatine, IA Estimated | 3 | -40% |
| 38 | Ottumwa, IA Estimated | 3 | 0% |
| 40 | Carroll, IA Estimated | 1 | -85.7% |
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/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
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 Iowa by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.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 Iowa by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, 3 May 2021, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/iowa-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 Iowa by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/iowa-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 Iowa by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/iowa-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_iowa_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 Iowa by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2020}},
year = {2021},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/iowa-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/Midwest\%20Region/mw2020a.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 Iowa 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/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/iowa-cities?period=2020
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/iowa-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/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank Cities in Iowa by single-family housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_single_family_units","level":"municipality","within":"Iowa","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=building_permit_single_family_units&level=municipality&within=Iowa&limit=10Questions
Which city has the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits?
Ankeny, IA, with 1,120 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which city has the lowest single-family housing units authorized by building permits?
Carroll, IA, with 1 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.