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

Taunton, MA had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 53 cities in 2021, at 101. Winthrop Town, MA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 24. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest101Taunton, MA
Lowest0Winthrop Town, MA
Median2453 cities

All cities, 2021

Taunton, MA: 101 countTaunton, MA101Franklin Town, MA: 98 countFranklin Town, MA98Fall River, MA: 69 countFall River, MA69Worcester, MA: 66 countWorcester, MA66Newton, MA: 62 countNewton, MA62North Attleborough Town, MA: 58 countNorth Attleborough Town, MA58Barnstable Town, MA: 56 countBarnstable Town, MA56Boston, MA: 53 countBoston, MA53Attleboro, MA: 52 countAttleboro, MA52Westfield, MA: 52 countWestfield, MA52Bridgewater Town, MA: 51 countBridgewater Town, MA51Cambridge, MA: 43 countCambridge, MA43Haverhill, MA: 35 countHaverhill, MA35Framingham, MA: 33 countFramingham, MA33Lowell, MA: 29 countLowell, MA29Marlborough, MA: 29 countMarlborough, MA29Somerville, MA: 29 countSomerville, MA29Brockton, MA: 28 countBrockton, MA28New Bedford, MA: 28 countNew Bedford, MA28Peabody, MA: 27 countPeabody, MA27Fitchburg, MA: 26 countFitchburg, MA26Waltham, MA: 26 countWaltham, MA26Weymouth Town, MA: 25 countWeymouth Town, MA25Chicopee, MA: 24 countChicopee, MA24Newburyport, MA: 24 countNewburyport, MA24Northampton, MA: 24 countNorthampton, MA24Woburn, MA: 24 countWoburn, MA24Gloucester, MA: 23 countGloucester, MA23Agawam Town, MA: 20 countAgawam Town, MA20Gardner, MA: 20 countGardner, MA20Beverly, MA: 17 countBeverly, MA17Braintree Town, MA: 12 countBraintree Town, MA12Leominster, MA: 12 countLeominster, MA12Revere, MA: 12 countRevere, MA12Greenfield, MA: 10 countGreenfield, MA10Lynn, MA: 10 countLynn, MA10Lawrence, MA: 9 countLawrence, MA9Palmer Town, MA: 9 countPalmer Town, MA9Randolph Town, MA: 8 countRandolph Town, MA8West Springfield Town, MA: 8 countWest Springfield Town, MA8Medford, MA: 7 countMedford, MA7Salem, MA: 7 countSalem, MA7Quincy, MA: 6 countQuincy, MA6Pittsfield, MA: 5 countPittsfield, MA5Springfield, MA: 3 countSpringfield, MA3North Adams, MA: 2 countNorth Adams, MA2Southbridge Town, MA: 2 countSouthbridge Town, MA2Malden, MA: 1 countMalden, MA1Melrose, MA: 1 countMelrose, MA1Chelsea, MA: 0 countChelsea, MA0Everett, MA: 0 countEverett, MA0Holyoke, MA: 0 countHolyoke, MA0Winthrop Town, MA: 0 countWinthrop Town, MA0Taunton, MA: 101 countTaunton, MA101Franklin Town, MA: 98 countFranklin Town, MA98Fall River, MA: 69 countFall River, MA69Worcester, MA: 66 countWorcester, MA66Newton, MA: 62 countNewton, MA62North Attleborough Town, MA: 58 countNorth Attleborough Town, MA58Barnstable Town, MA: 56 countBarnstable Town, MA56Boston, MA: 53 countBoston, MA53Attleboro, MA: 52 countAttleboro, MA52Westfield, MA: 52 countWestfield, MA52Bridgewater Town, MA: 51 countBridgewater Town, MA51Cambridge, MA: 43 countCambridge, MA43Haverhill, MA: 35 countHaverhill, MA35Framingham, MA: 33 countFramingham, MA33Lowell, MA: 29 countLowell, MA29Marlborough, MA: 29 countMarlborough, MA29Somerville, MA: 29 countSomerville, MA29Brockton, MA: 28 countBrockton, MA28New Bedford, MA: 28 countNew Bedford, MA28Peabody, MA: 27 countPeabody, MA27Fitchburg, MA: 26 countFitchburg, MA26Waltham, MA: 26 countWaltham, MA26Weymouth Town, MA: 25 countWeymouth Town, MA25Chicopee, MA: 24 countChicopee, MA24Newburyport, MA: 24 countNewburyport, MA24Northampton, MA: 24 countNorthampton, MA24Woburn, MA: 24 countWoburn, MA24Gloucester, MA: 23 countGloucester, MA23Agawam Town, MA: 20 countAgawam Town, MA20Gardner, MA: 20 countGardner, MA20Beverly, MA: 17 countBeverly, MA17Braintree Town, MA: 12 countBraintree Town, MA12Leominster, MA: 12 countLeominster, MA12Revere, MA: 12 countRevere, MA12Greenfield, MA: 10 countGreenfield, MA10Lynn, MA: 10 countLynn, MA10Lawrence, MA: 9 countLawrence, MA9Palmer Town, MA: 9 countPalmer Town, MA9Randolph Town, MA: 8 countRandolph Town, MA8West Springfield Town, MA: 8 countWest Springfield Town, MA8Medford, MA: 7 countMedford, MA7Salem, MA: 7 countSalem, MA7Quincy, MA: 6 countQuincy, MA6Pittsfield, MA: 5 countPittsfield, MA5Springfield, MA: 3 countSpringfield, MA3North Adams, MA: 2 countNorth Adams, MA2Southbridge Town, MA: 2 countSouthbridge Town, MA2Malden, MA: 1 countMalden, MA1Melrose, MA: 1 countMelrose, MA1Chelsea, MA: 0 countChelsea, MA0Everett, MA: 0 countEverett, MA0Holyoke, MA: 0 countHolyoke, 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

RankCities2021
count		Change on 2020
1Taunton, MA Estimated101+42.3%
2Franklin Town, MA Estimated98+16.7%
3Fall River, MA Estimated69+19%
4Worcester, MA Estimated66+6.5%
5Newton, MA Estimated62+67.6%
6North Attleborough Town, MA Estimated58+28.9%
7Barnstable Town, MA Estimated56+14.3%
8Boston, MA Estimated53+120.8%
9Attleboro, MA Estimated52-35.8%
9Westfield, MA Estimated52+15.6%
11Bridgewater Town, MA Estimated51-39.3%
12Cambridge, MA Estimated43+22.9%
13Haverhill, MA Estimated35+9.4%
14Framingham, MA Estimated33-48.4%
15Lowell, MA Estimated29+61.1%
15Marlborough, MA Estimated29+16%
15Somerville, MA Estimated29+20.8%
18Brockton, MA Estimated28-9.7%
18New Bedford, MA Estimated28+47.4%
20Peabody, MA Estimated27+22.7%
21Fitchburg, MA Estimated26+44.4%
21Waltham, MA Estimated26-36.6%
23Weymouth Town, MA Estimated25+56.3%
24Chicopee, MA Estimated24+14.3%
24Newburyport, MA Estimated24-25%
24Northampton, MA Estimated24+14.3%
24Woburn, MA Estimated24-70.4%
28Gloucester, MA Estimated23-4.2%
29Agawam Town, MA Estimated20+25%
29Gardner, MA Estimated20+53.8%
31Beverly, MA Estimated17-15%
32Braintree Town, MA Estimated12+140%
32Leominster, MA Estimated12-14.3%
32Revere, MA Estimated12+33.3%
35Greenfield, MA Estimated10n/a
35Lynn, MA Estimated10-67.7%
37Lawrence, MA Estimated9+50%
37Palmer Town, MA Estimated9+12.5%
39Randolph Town, MA Estimated8-42.9%
39West Springfield Town, MA Estimated8+14.3%
41Medford, MA Estimated7+16.7%
41Salem, MA Estimated7-78.1%
43Quincy, MA Estimated6-50%
44Pittsfield, MA Estimated50%
45Springfield, MA Estimated3-96.1%
46North Adams, MA Estimated2n/a
46Southbridge Town, MA Estimated2-85.7%
48Malden, MA Estimated1n/a
48Melrose, MA Estimated1-75%
50Chelsea, MA Estimated0n/a
50Everett, MA Estimated0n/a
50Holyoke, MA Estimated0-100%
50Winthrop 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. 4 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2021 and are left out rather than filled from another source. 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/ne2021a.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. (2022). 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, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.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, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 27 Apr. 2022, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2022. 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, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2022) 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, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  year = {2022},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities?period=2021. 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/ne2021a.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, 2021
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/04/27
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities?period=2021.
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/ne2021a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in Massachusetts 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?

Taunton, MA, with 101 in 2021, 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 2021.

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. 4 cities have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.

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

Cities in Massachusetts: more rankings