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

Worcester, MA had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 53 cities in 2022, at 94. Malden, MA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 21. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest94Worcester, MA
Lowest0Malden, MA
Median2153 cities

All cities, 2022

Worcester, MA: 94 countWorcester, MA94Franklin Town, MA: 89 countFranklin Town, MA89Taunton, MA: 83 countTaunton, MA83Fall River, MA: 61 countFall River, MA61Boston, MA: 53 countBoston, MA53Westfield, MA: 46 countWestfield, MA46Barnstable Town, MA: 45 countBarnstable Town, MA45Bridgewater Town, MA: 41 countBridgewater Town, MA41Medford, MA: 40 countMedford, MA40Cambridge, MA: 36 countCambridge, MA36Fitchburg, MA: 33 countFitchburg, MA33Newton, MA: 33 countNewton, MA33Brockton, MA: 31 countBrockton, MA31Attleboro, MA: 29 countAttleboro, MA29Framingham, MA: 29 countFramingham, MA29Quincy, MA: 28 countQuincy, MA28Agawam Town, MA: 27 countAgawam Town, MA27Lynn, MA: 27 countLynn, MA27Springfield, MA: 24 countSpringfield, MA24Gloucester, MA: 23 countGloucester, MA23Haverhill, MA: 23 countHaverhill, MA23Peabody, MA: 23 countPeabody, MA23Somerville, MA: 23 countSomerville, MA23Northampton, MA: 22 countNorthampton, MA22Waltham, MA: 22 countWaltham, MA22Weymouth Town, MA: 21 countWeymouth Town, MA21Woburn, MA: 21 countWoburn, MA21Gardner, MA: 18 countGardner, MA18New Bedford, MA: 17 countNew Bedford, MA17Randolph Town, MA: 15 countRandolph Town, MA15Southbridge Town, MA: 14 countSouthbridge Town, MA14Leominster, MA: 12 countLeominster, MA12Revere, MA: 11 countRevere, MA11Lawrence, MA: 10 countLawrence, MA10Chicopee, MA: 9 countChicopee, MA9North Attleborough Town, MA: 9 countNorth Attleborough Town, MA9Greenfield, MA: 8 countGreenfield, MA8Melrose, MA: 8 countMelrose, MA8Beverly, MA: 7 countBeverly, MA7Lowell, MA: 7 countLowell, MA7Newburyport, MA: 6 countNewburyport, MA6Palmer Town, MA: 6 countPalmer Town, MA6Salem, MA: 6 countSalem, MA6West Springfield Town, MA: 6 countWest Springfield Town, MA6Marlborough, MA: 5 countMarlborough, MA5Braintree Town, MA: 4 countBraintree Town, MA4Winthrop Town, MA: 4 countWinthrop Town, MA4Holyoke, MA: 3 countHolyoke, MA3North Adams, MA: 3 countNorth Adams, MA3Pittsfield, MA: 2 countPittsfield, MA2Chelsea, MA: 0 countChelsea, MA0Everett, MA: 0 countEverett, MA0Malden, MA: 0 countMalden, MA0Worcester, MA: 94 countWorcester, MA94Franklin Town, MA: 89 countFranklin Town, MA89Taunton, MA: 83 countTaunton, MA83Fall River, MA: 61 countFall River, MA61Boston, MA: 53 countBoston, MA53Westfield, MA: 46 countWestfield, MA46Barnstable Town, MA: 45 countBarnstable Town, MA45Bridgewater Town, MA: 41 countBridgewater Town, MA41Medford, MA: 40 countMedford, MA40Cambridge, MA: 36 countCambridge, MA36Fitchburg, MA: 33 countFitchburg, MA33Newton, MA: 33 countNewton, MA33Brockton, MA: 31 countBrockton, MA31Attleboro, MA: 29 countAttleboro, MA29Framingham, MA: 29 countFramingham, MA29Quincy, MA: 28 countQuincy, MA28Agawam Town, MA: 27 countAgawam Town, MA27Lynn, MA: 27 countLynn, MA27Springfield, MA: 24 countSpringfield, MA24Gloucester, MA: 23 countGloucester, MA23Haverhill, MA: 23 countHaverhill, MA23Peabody, MA: 23 countPeabody, MA23Somerville, MA: 23 countSomerville, MA23Northampton, MA: 22 countNorthampton, MA22Waltham, MA: 22 countWaltham, MA22Weymouth Town, MA: 21 countWeymouth Town, MA21Woburn, MA: 21 countWoburn, MA21Gardner, MA: 18 countGardner, MA18New Bedford, MA: 17 countNew Bedford, MA17Randolph Town, MA: 15 countRandolph Town, MA15Southbridge Town, MA: 14 countSouthbridge Town, MA14Leominster, MA: 12 countLeominster, MA12Revere, MA: 11 countRevere, MA11Lawrence, MA: 10 countLawrence, MA10Chicopee, MA: 9 countChicopee, MA9North Attleborough Town, MA: 9 countNorth Attleborough Town, MA9Greenfield, MA: 8 countGreenfield, MA8Melrose, MA: 8 countMelrose, MA8Beverly, MA: 7 countBeverly, MA7Lowell, MA: 7 countLowell, MA7Newburyport, MA: 6 countNewburyport, MA6Palmer Town, MA: 6 countPalmer Town, MA6Salem, MA: 6 countSalem, MA6West Springfield Town, MA: 6 countWest Springfield Town, MA6Marlborough, MA: 5 countMarlborough, MA5Braintree Town, MA: 4 countBraintree Town, MA4Winthrop Town, MA: 4 countWinthrop Town, MA4Holyoke, MA: 3 countHolyoke, MA3North Adams, MA: 3 countNorth Adams, MA3Pittsfield, MA: 2 countPittsfield, MA2Chelsea, MA: 0 countChelsea, MA0Everett, MA: 0 countEverett, MA0Malden, MA: 0 countMalden, 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

RankCities2022
count		Change on 2021
1Worcester, MA Estimated94+42.4%
2Franklin Town, MA Estimated89-9.2%
3Taunton, MA Estimated83-17.8%
4Fall River, MA Estimated61-11.6%
5Boston, MA Estimated530%
6Westfield, MA Estimated46-11.5%
7Barnstable Town, MA Estimated45-19.6%
8Bridgewater Town, MA Estimated41-19.6%
9Medford, MA Estimated40+471.4%
10Cambridge, MA Estimated36-16.3%
11Fitchburg, MA Estimated33+26.9%
11Newton, MA Estimated33-46.8%
13Brockton, MA Estimated31+10.7%
14Attleboro, MA Estimated29-44.2%
14Framingham, MA Estimated29-12.1%
16Quincy, MA Estimated28+366.7%
17Agawam Town, MA Estimated27+35%
17Lynn, MA Estimated27+170%
19Springfield, MA Estimated24+700%
20Gloucester, MA Estimated230%
20Haverhill, MA Estimated23-34.3%
20Peabody, MA Estimated23-14.8%
20Somerville, MA Estimated23-20.7%
24Northampton, MA Estimated22-8.3%
24Waltham, MA Estimated22-15.4%
26Weymouth Town, MA Estimated21-16%
26Woburn, MA Estimated21-12.5%
28Gardner, MA Estimated18-10%
29New Bedford, MA Estimated17-39.3%
30Randolph Town, MA Estimated15+87.5%
31Southbridge Town, MA Estimated14+600%
32Leominster, MA Estimated120%
33Revere, MA Estimated11-8.3%
34Lawrence, MA Estimated10+11.1%
35Chicopee, MA Estimated9-62.5%
35North Attleborough Town, MA Estimated9-84.5%
37Greenfield, MA Estimated8-20%
37Melrose, MA Estimated8+700%
39Beverly, MA Estimated7-58.8%
39Lowell, MA Estimated7-75.9%
41Newburyport, MA Estimated6-75%
41Palmer Town, MA Estimated6-33.3%
41Salem, MA Estimated6-14.3%
41West Springfield Town, MA Estimated6-25%
45Marlborough, MA Estimated5-82.8%
46Braintree Town, MA Estimated4-66.7%
46Winthrop Town, MA Estimated4n/a
48Holyoke, MA Estimated3n/a
48North Adams, MA Estimated3+50%
50Pittsfield, MA Estimated2-60%
51Chelsea, MA Estimated0n/a
51Everett, MA Estimated0n/a
51Malden, MA Estimated0-100%

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 2022 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/ne2022a.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 Massachusetts by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2022) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2022a.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, 2022. U.S. Census Bureau, 2 Apr. 2024, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2022a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities?period=2022. 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 Massachusetts by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2022a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities?period=2022.

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 Massachusetts by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2022a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_massachusetts_by_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  year = {2024},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2022a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities?period=2022. 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/ne2022a.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, 2022
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/04/02
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2022a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/massachusetts-cities?period=2022.
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/ne2022a.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?

Worcester, MA, with 94 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Malden, MA, with 0 in 2022.

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 2022 and are not ranked.

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

Cities in Massachusetts: more rankings