Data / Rankings / Single-family housing units authorized by building permits / Cities in Massachusetts

Cities in Massachusetts by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2025

Boston, MA had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 57 cities in 2025, at 228. Winthrop Town, MA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 10. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest228Boston, MA
Lowest0Winthrop Town, MA
Median1057 cities

All cities, 2025

Boston, MA: 228 countBoston, MA228Holyoke, MA: 84 countHolyoke, MA84Fall River, MA: 58 countFall River, MA58Worcester, MA: 57 countWorcester, MA57Brockton, MA: 37 countBrockton, MA37Haverhill, MA: 36 countHaverhill, MA36Lowell, MA: 36 countLowell, MA36Franklin Town, MA: 29 countFranklin Town, MA29Newton, MA: 29 countNewton, MA29Waltham, MA: 29 countWaltham, MA29Westfield, MA: 29 countWestfield, MA29Gloucester, MA: 28 countGloucester, MA28Salem, MA: 24 countSalem, MA24Northampton, MA: 22 countNorthampton, MA22Barnstable Town, MA: 21 countBarnstable Town, MA21Attleboro, MA: 20 countAttleboro, MA20Quincy, MA: 20 countQuincy, MA20Springfield, MA: 19 countSpringfield, MA19Peabody, MA: 18 countPeabody, MA18Fitchburg, MA: 17 countFitchburg, MA17North Attleborough Town, MA: 17 countNorth Attleborough Town, MA17Cambridge, MA: 16 countCambridge, MA16Watertown, MA: 16 countWatertown, MA16Weymouth Town, MA: 16 countWeymouth Town, MA16Bridgewater Town, MA: 15 countBridgewater Town, MA15Framingham, MA: 15 countFramingham, MA15Melrose, MA: 11 countMelrose, MA11Lawrence, MA: 10 countLawrence, MA10Methuen, MA: 10 countMethuen, MA10Randolph Town, MA: 10 countRandolph Town, MA10Gardner, MA: 9 countGardner, MA9Palmer Town, MA: 9 countPalmer Town, MA9Taunton, MA: 9 countTaunton, MA9Woburn, MA: 9 countWoburn, MA9Leominster, MA: 8 countLeominster, MA8Lynn, MA: 8 countLynn, MA8Medford, MA: 8 countMedford, MA8Newburyport, MA: 8 countNewburyport, MA8Chicopee, MA: 7 countChicopee, MA7Southbridge Town, MA: 7 countSouthbridge Town, MA7Beverly, MA: 6 countBeverly, MA6Braintree Town, MA: 6 countBraintree Town, MA6Malden, MA: 6 countMalden, MA6Pittsfield, MA: 6 countPittsfield, MA6West Springfield Town, MA: 6 countWest Springfield Town, MA6Amesbury, MA: 5 countAmesbury, MA5Somerville, MA: 4 countSomerville, MA4Greenfield, MA: 3 countGreenfield, MA3Revere, MA: 3 countRevere, MA3Agawam Town, MA: 2 countAgawam Town, MA2Marlborough, MA: 2 countMarlborough, MA2New Bedford, MA: 2 countNew Bedford, MA2North Adams, MA: 1 countNorth Adams, MA1Chelsea, MA: 0 countChelsea, MA0Easthampton, MA: 0 countEasthampton, MA0Everett, MA: 0 countEverett, MA0Winthrop Town, MA: 0 countWinthrop Town, MA0Boston, MA: 228 countBoston, MA228Holyoke, MA: 84 countHolyoke, MA84Fall River, MA: 58 countFall River, MA58Worcester, MA: 57 countWorcester, MA57Brockton, MA: 37 countBrockton, MA37Haverhill, MA: 36 countHaverhill, MA36Lowell, MA: 36 countLowell, MA36Franklin Town, MA: 29 countFranklin Town, MA29Newton, MA: 29 countNewton, MA29Waltham, MA: 29 countWaltham, MA29Westfield, MA: 29 countWestfield, MA29Gloucester, MA: 28 countGloucester, MA28Salem, MA: 24 countSalem, MA24Northampton, MA: 22 countNorthampton, MA22Barnstable Town, MA: 21 countBarnstable Town, MA21Attleboro, MA: 20 countAttleboro, MA20Quincy, MA: 20 countQuincy, MA20Springfield, MA: 19 countSpringfield, MA19Peabody, MA: 18 countPeabody, MA18Fitchburg, MA: 17 countFitchburg, MA17North Attleborough Town, MA: 17 countNorth Attleborough Town, MA17Cambridge, MA: 16 countCambridge, MA16Watertown, MA: 16 countWatertown, MA16Weymouth Town, MA: 16 countWeymouth Town, MA16Bridgewater Town, MA: 15 countBridgewater Town, MA15Framingham, MA: 15 countFramingham, MA15Melrose, MA: 11 countMelrose, MA11Lawrence, MA: 10 countLawrence, MA10Methuen, MA: 10 countMethuen, MA10Randolph Town, MA: 10 countRandolph Town, MA10Gardner, MA: 9 countGardner, MA9Palmer Town, MA: 9 countPalmer Town, MA9Taunton, MA: 9 countTaunton, MA9Woburn, MA: 9 countWoburn, MA9Leominster, MA: 8 countLeominster, MA8Lynn, MA: 8 countLynn, MA8Medford, MA: 8 countMedford, MA8Newburyport, MA: 8 countNewburyport, MA8Chicopee, MA: 7 countChicopee, MA7Southbridge Town, MA: 7 countSouthbridge Town, MA7Beverly, MA: 6 countBeverly, MA6Braintree Town, MA: 6 countBraintree Town, MA6Malden, MA: 6 countMalden, MA6Pittsfield, MA: 6 countPittsfield, MA6West Springfield Town, MA: 6 countWest Springfield Town, MA6Amesbury, MA: 5 countAmesbury, MA5Somerville, MA: 4 countSomerville, MA4Greenfield, MA: 3 countGreenfield, MA3Revere, MA: 3 countRevere, MA3Agawam Town, MA: 2 countAgawam Town, MA2Marlborough, MA: 2 countMarlborough, MA2New Bedford, MA: 2 countNew Bedford, MA2North Adams, MA: 1 countNorth Adams, MA1Chelsea, MA: 0 countChelsea, MA0Easthampton, MA: 0 countEasthampton, MA0Everett, MA: 0 countEverett, MA0Winthrop Town, MA: 0 countWinthrop Town, MA0
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

RankCities2025
count		Change on 2024
1Boston, MA Estimated228+216.7%
2Holyoke, MA Estimated84+2,000%
3Fall River, MA Estimated58-7.9%
4Worcester, MA Estimated57-24%
5Brockton, MA Estimated37+27.6%
6Haverhill, MA Estimated36-7.7%
6Lowell, MA Estimated36-5.3%
8Franklin Town, MA Estimated29-43.1%
8Newton, MA Estimated29-44.2%
8Waltham, MA Estimated29-9.4%
8Westfield, MA Estimated29-32.6%
12Gloucester, MA Estimated28+47.4%
13Salem, MA Estimated24+118.2%
14Northampton, MA Estimated22-38.9%
15Barnstable Town, MA Estimated21-38.2%
16Attleboro, MA Estimated20-48.7%
16Quincy, MA Estimated20+81.8%
18Springfield, MA Estimated19-66.7%
19Peabody, MA Estimated18-14.3%
20Fitchburg, MA Estimated17-10.5%
20North Attleborough Town, MA Estimated17-22.7%
22Cambridge, MA Estimated16-30.4%
22Watertown, MA Estimated16-5.9%
22Weymouth Town, MA Estimated160%
25Bridgewater Town, MA Estimated15-60.5%
25Framingham, MA Estimated150%
27Melrose, MA Estimated11+450%
28Lawrence, MA Estimated10-9.1%
28Methuen, MA Estimated10-33.3%
28Randolph Town, MA Estimated10-64.3%
31Gardner, MA Estimated9+28.6%
31Palmer Town, MA Estimated9+80%
31Taunton, MA Estimated9-76.9%
31Woburn, MA Estimated9-40%
35Leominster, MA Estimated8+14.3%
35Lynn, MA Estimated8-42.9%
35Medford, MA Estimated8-11.1%
35Newburyport, MA Estimated8+14.3%
39Chicopee, MA Estimated7-36.4%
39Southbridge Town, MA Estimated7+133.3%
41Beverly, MA Estimated6-60%
41Braintree Town, MA Estimated6-14.3%
41Malden, MA Estimated6n/a
41Pittsfield, MA Estimated60%
41West Springfield Town, MA Estimated6-14.3%
46Amesbury, MA Estimated50%
47Somerville, MA Estimated4+33.3%
48Greenfield, MA Estimated3-25%
48Revere, MA Estimated3+50%
50Agawam Town, MA Estimated2-77.8%
50Marlborough, MA Estimated2-85.7%
50New Bedford, MA Estimated2-60%
53North Adams, MA Estimated1-50%
54Chelsea, MA Estimated0n/a
54Easthampton, MA Estimated0n/a
54Everett, MA Estimated0n/a
54Winthrop Town, MA Estimated0n/a

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/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.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. (2026). 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 Massachusetts by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.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 Massachusetts by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2025. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 May 2026, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. 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 Massachusetts by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) 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 Massachusetts by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2025,
  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 Massachusetts by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities. 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/Northeast\%20Region/ne2025a.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 Massachusetts by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/14
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities.
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/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

Boston, MA, with 228 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Winthrop Town, MA, with 0 in 2025.

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.

Single-family housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Cities in Massachusetts: more rankings