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

Lakeville, MN had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 103 cities in 2018, at 507. New Hope, MN had the lowest, at 0. The median was 38. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest507Lakeville, MN

Lowest0New Hope, MN

Median38103 cities

Top 40 cities, 2018

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	2018 count	Change on 2017
1	Lakeville, MN Estimated	507	-1.4%
2	Woodbury, MN Estimated	413	+20.4%
3	Plymouth, MN Estimated	374	-6.3%
4	Rochester, MN Estimated	347	-20.6%
5	Otsego, MN Estimated	305	+43.9%
6	Maple Grove, MN Estimated	275	+0.7%
7	Blaine, MN Estimated	259	-16.7%
8	Savage, MN Estimated	230	+12.7%
9	Prior Lake, MN Estimated	182	+76.7%
10	Cottage Grove, MN Estimated	180	+65.1%
11	Rosemount, MN Estimated	174	+58.2%
12	Victoria, MN Estimated	172	-9.9%
13	Minneapolis, MN Estimated	162	+18.2%
14	Lino Lakes, MN Estimated	160	+20.3%
15	Dayton, MN Estimated	153	-19%
16	Elk River, MN Estimated	152	+35.7%
17	Rogers, MN Estimated	144	+100%
18	Ramsey, MN Estimated	138	-8.6%
19	Mankato, MN Estimated	135	-23.3%
20	Moorhead, MN Estimated	134	+13.6%
21	Inver Grove Heights, MN Estimated	130	+18.2%
22	Brooklyn Park, MN Estimated	124	+6.9%
22	Hugo, MN Estimated	124	+57%
24	Shakopee, MN Estimated	117	+125%
25	St. Michael, MN Estimated	116	+9.4%
26	St. Cloud, MN Estimated	109	-2.7%
27	Chanhassen, MN Estimated	105	+56.7%
28	Chaska, MN Estimated	78	-24.3%
29	Edina, MN Estimated	73	-19.8%
29	North Branch, MN Estimated	73	+73.8%
31	Apple Valley, MN Estimated	67	-62.1%
31	Ham Lake, MN Estimated	67	+9.8%
33	Minnetonka, MN Estimated	63	+43.2%
34	Sartell, MN Estimated	61	+15.1%
35	Andover, MN Estimated	60	-36.2%
36	Alexandria, MN Estimated	54	+86.2%
36	Cambridge, MN Estimated	54	-28%
38	Forest Lake, MN Estimated	53	+3.9%
39	Big Lake, MN Estimated	50	-5.7%
40	Eden Prairie, MN Estimated	49	-18.3%
40	Monticello, MN Estimated	49	+2.1%
40	Waconia, MN Estimated	49	-25.8%
43	Austin, MN Estimated	48	+242.9%
43	Duluth, MN Estimated	48	+4.3%
45	Lake Elmo, MN Estimated	45	-4.3%
46	Buffalo, MN Estimated	43	+2.4%
46	Eagan, MN Estimated	43	-52.7%
48	Northfield, MN Estimated	42	+20%
49	Brainerd, MN Estimated	41	+24.2%
50	Stillwater, MN Estimated	40	0%
51	Champlin, MN Estimated	38	-32.1%
51	Owatonna, MN Estimated	38	+8.6%
53	East Bethel, MN Estimated	37	0%
54	Anoka, MN Estimated	36	-10%
55	Farmington, MN Estimated	34	-19%
55	Hutchinson, MN Estimated	34	+25.9%
55	North Mankato, MN Estimated	34	-29.2%
58	Hermantown, MN Estimated	31	-8.8%
58	Sauk Rapids, MN Estimated	31	+6.9%
60	Vadnais Heights, MN Estimated	29	+2,800%
61	New Ulm, MN Estimated	28	+33.3%
61	Willmar, MN Estimated	28	+86.7%
63	St. Paul, MN Estimated	25	-35.9%
64	Red Wing, MN Estimated	24	+4.3%
65	Faribault, MN Estimated	23	-14.8%
66	Burnsville, MN Estimated	22	+22.2%
66	Coon Rapids, MN Estimated	22	-38.9%
68	Golden Valley, MN Estimated	21	-16%
68	Mendota Heights, MN Estimated	21	-12.5%
70	St. Peter, MN Estimated	19	-13.6%
71	Roseville, MN Estimated	18	-53.8%
72	Fridley, MN Estimated	15	n/a
72	Hastings, MN Estimated	15	-50%
74	Bemidji, MN Estimated	13	+18.2%
74	Crystal, MN Estimated	13	-31.6%
76	Albert Lea, MN Estimated	12	-7.7%
76	Marshall, MN Estimated	12	+33.3%
78	Hibbing, MN Estimated	11	0%
78	White Bear Lake, MN Estimated	11	0%
80	Grand Rapids, MN Estimated	10	+25%
81	Fairmont, MN Estimated	9	0%
81	Winona, MN Estimated	9	-55%
83	Mounds View, MN Estimated	8	+60%
83	Richfield, MN Estimated	8	+700%
83	Shoreview, MN Estimated	8	-46.7%
83	Worthington, MN Estimated	8	-11.1%
87	Bloomington, MN Estimated	7	+40%
87	Columbia Heights, MN Estimated	7	+16.7%
87	Fergus Falls, MN Estimated	7	+16.7%
87	Maplewood, MN Estimated	7	+75%
91	Robbinsdale, MN Estimated	6	+50%
92	Brooklyn Center, MN Estimated	5	+66.7%
92	Cloquet, MN Estimated	5	-66.7%
92	South St. Paul, MN Estimated	5	0%
95	West St. Paul, MN Estimated	4	-60%
96	North St. Paul, MN Estimated	2	-60%
96	Oakdale, MN Estimated	2	-60%
98	Little Canada, MN Estimated	1	-88.9%
98	St. Louis Park, MN Estimated	1	0%
100	Detroit Lakes, MN Estimated	0	n/a
100	Hopkins, MN Estimated	0	-100%
100	New Brighton, MN Estimated	0	-100%
100	New Hope, MN Estimated	0	-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. 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/mw2018a.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. (2019). 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 Minnesota by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2018a.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 Minnesota by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2018. U.S. Census Bureau, 20 June 2019, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2018a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/minnesota-cities?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2019. 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 Minnesota by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2018a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/minnesota-cities?period=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2019) 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 Minnesota by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2018a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/minnesota-cities?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_minnesota_by_2018,
  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 Minnesota by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2018}},
  year = {2019},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2018a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/minnesota-cities?period=2018. 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/mw2018a.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 Minnesota by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2018
PY  - 2019
DA  - 2019/06/20
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2018a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/minnesota-cities?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/minnesota-cities?period=2018.
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/mw2018a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Embed code

<iframe src="https://invokely.ai/embed/rankings/single-family-building-permits/minnesota-cities?period=2018" width="760" height="500" title="Cities in Minnesota by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2018, chart from Invokely" loading="lazy" style="border:0;width:100%;max-width:760px" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"></iframe>

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

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 Minnesota 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":"Minnesota","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=building_permit_single_family_units&level=municipality&within=Minnesota&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

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

Lakeville, MN, with 507 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

New Hope, MN, with 0 in 2018.

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.