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

Novi, MI had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 84 cities in 2015, at 173. Mount Clemens, MI had the lowest, at 0. The median was 8. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest173Novi, MI

Lowest0Mount Clemens, MI

Median884 cities

Top 40 cities, 2015

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	2015 count	Change on 2014
1	Novi, MI Estimated	173	-12.6%
2	Sterling Heights, MI Estimated	163	+136.2%
3	Royal Oak, MI Estimated	160	+24%
4	Troy, MI Estimated	134	+8.1%
5	Birmingham, MI Estimated	117	+11.4%
6	Rochester Hills, MI Estimated	90	+8.4%
7	Kentwood, MI Estimated	88	-42.5%
8	Grand Rapids, MI Estimated	81	+8%
9	Wyoming, MI Estimated	60	+3.4%
10	Westland, MI Estimated	57	+62.9%
11	Norton Shores, MI Estimated	51	+8.5%
12	Portage, MI Estimated	50	+2%
13	Lansing, MI Estimated	39	+178.6%
14	Midland, MI Estimated	38	-13.6%
15	Livonia, MI Estimated	37	-9.8%
16	Walker, MI Estimated	34	+17.2%
17	Muskegon, MI Estimated	33	+725%
17	Warren, MI Estimated	33	+57.1%
19	Berkley, MI Estimated	32	+33.3%
19	Rochester, MI Estimated	32	+18.5%
21	Detroit, MI Estimated	31	-6.1%
22	Auburn Hills, MI Estimated	30	+87.5%
23	Burton, MI Estimated	28	+250%
24	Taylor, MI Estimated	25	+733.3%
25	Farmington Hills, MI Estimated	21	-51.2%
25	Wixom, MI Estimated	21	+75%
27	Kalamazoo, MI Estimated	18	+38.5%
28	Ann Arbor, MI Estimated	17	-22.7%
29	Dearborn, MI Estimated	16	-27.3%
29	St. Clair Shores, MI Estimated	16	-40.7%
31	Flat Rock, MI Estimated	15	-51.6%
31	Romulus, MI Estimated	15	-31.8%
33	Holland, MI Estimated	14	+7.7%
33	Southgate, MI Estimated	14	+55.6%
35	Farmington, MI Estimated	13	n/a
36	Battle Creek, MI Estimated	11	+10%
36	New Baltimore, MI Estimated	11	-62.1%
36	South Lyon, MI Estimated	11	-26.7%
39	Dearborn Heights, MI Estimated	9	-25%
39	Fraser, MI Estimated	9	+125%
39	Southfield, MI Estimated	9	+80%
42	Ferndale, MI Estimated	8	+33.3%
42	Madison Heights, MI Estimated	8	-27.3%
42	Pontiac, MI Estimated	8	-69.2%
45	East Lansing, MI Estimated	7	0%
45	Grandville, MI Estimated	7	-41.7%
45	Ypsilanti, MI Estimated	7	n/a
48	Mount Pleasant, MI Estimated	6	-14.3%
48	Port Huron, MI Estimated	6	+200%
50	Monroe, MI Estimated	5	+25%
50	Saginaw, MI Estimated	5	0%
52	Fenton, MI Estimated	4	-33.3%
52	Trenton, MI Estimated	4	-60%
54	Coldwater, MI Estimated	3	n/a
54	Grand Haven, MI Estimated	3	-57.1%
54	Riverview, MI Estimated	3	0%
54	Woodhaven, MI Estimated	3	+200%
54	Wyandotte, MI Estimated	3	-50%
59	Niles, MI Estimated	2	0%
59	Owosso, MI Estimated	2	n/a
59	Sturgis, MI Estimated	2	n/a
62	Bay City, MI Estimated	1	0%
62	Eastpointe, MI Estimated	1	0%
62	Garden City, MI Estimated	1	0%
62	Grosse Pointe Park, MI Estimated	1	0%
62	Grosse Pointe Woods, MI Estimated	1	-75%
62	Oak Park, MI Estimated	1	0%
62	Roseville, MI Estimated	1	-50%
62	Sault Ste. Marie, MI Estimated	1	0%
62	Wayne, MI Estimated	1	n/a
71	Adrian, MI Estimated	0	n/a
71	Allen Park, MI Estimated	0	n/a
71	Alpena, MI Estimated	0	-100%
71	Beverly Hills, MI Estimated	0	-100%
71	Clawson, MI Estimated	0	-100%
71	Flint, MI Estimated	0	-100%
71	Hamtramck, MI Estimated	0	-100%
71	Harper Woods, MI Estimated	0	-100%
71	Hazel Park, MI Estimated	0	n/a
71	Inkster, MI Estimated	0	n/a
71	Jackson, MI Estimated	0	-100%
71	Lincoln Park, MI Estimated	0	n/a
71	Melvindale, MI Estimated	0	-100%
71	Mount Clemens, MI Estimated	0	n/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. 3 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2015 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/Midwest%20Region/mw2015a.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. (2016). 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 Michigan by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2015a.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 Michigan by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2015. U.S. Census Bureau, 30 Sept. 2016, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2015a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/michigan-cities?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2016. 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 Michigan by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2015a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/michigan-cities?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2016) 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 Michigan by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2015a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/michigan-cities?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_michigan_by_2015,
  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 Michigan by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2015}},
  year = {2016},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2015a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/michigan-cities?period=2015. 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/mw2015a.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 Michigan by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2015
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/09/30
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2015a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/michigan-cities?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/michigan-cities?period=2015.
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/mw2015a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

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

Novi, MI, with 173 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Mount Clemens, MI, with 0 in 2015.

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. 3 cities have no value for 2015 and are not ranked.