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

Kansas City, MO had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 77 cities in 2016, at 825. St. Ann, MO had the lowest, at 0. The median was 27. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest825Kansas City, MO

Lowest0St. Ann, MO

Median2777 cities

Top 40 cities, 2016

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	2016 count	Change on 2015
1	Kansas City, MO Estimated	825	+6.3%
2	Wentzville, MO Estimated	667	+8.3%
3	Columbia, MO Estimated	568	+10.1%
4	O'Fallon, MO Estimated	383	+1.3%
5	Lee's Summit, MO Estimated	333	+6.4%
6	St. Charles, MO Estimated	319	+101.9%
7	Raymore, MO Estimated	201	+60.8%
8	Blue Springs, MO Estimated	172	+10.3%
9	Ozark, MO Estimated	145	+16%
10	Nixa, MO Estimated	128	+21.9%
11	Joplin, MO Estimated	126	-40.6%
12	Union, MO Estimated	123	-24.1%
13	Smithville, MO Estimated	117	+98.3%
14	Republic, MO Estimated	113	0%
15	Grain Valley, MO Estimated	105	+26.5%
16	Kearney, MO Estimated	100	+44.9%
17	Springfield, MO Estimated	97	-37%
18	Rolla, MO Estimated	90	+52.5%
19	St. Peters, MO Estimated	89	-41.4%
20	St. Louis, MO Estimated	85	+13.3%
21	Lake St. Louis, MO Estimated	83	-29.7%
22	Jackson, MO Estimated	81	+5.2%
23	Kirkwood, MO Estimated	79	+21.5%
24	Independence, MO Estimated	75	-2.6%
25	Belton, MO Estimated	71	+373.3%
25	Troy, MO Estimated	71	+7.6%
27	St. Joseph, MO Estimated	52	-3.7%
28	Cape Girardeau, MO Estimated	51	+21.4%
28	Kirksville, MO Estimated	51	+155%
30	Webb City, MO Estimated	48	+4.3%
31	Ellisville, MO Estimated	46	+360%
31	Farmington, MO Estimated	46	+4.5%
33	Creve Coeur, MO Estimated	42	-31.1%
34	Arnold, MO Estimated	39	+39.3%
34	Festus, MO Estimated	39	-4.9%
36	Jefferson City, MO Estimated	37	-11.9%
37	Gladstone, MO Estimated	34	+21.4%
38	Branson, MO Estimated	33	+13.8%
39	Liberty, MO Estimated	27	+22.7%
40	Eureka, MO Estimated	26	+160%
40	Neosho, MO Estimated	26	+116.7%
42	Town and Country, MO Estimated	24	-41.5%
43	Carthage, MO Estimated	23	+15%
44	Dardenne Prairie, MO Estimated	22	-48.8%
45	Hannibal, MO Estimated	20	0%
45	Washington, MO Estimated	20	-20%
47	Bolivar, MO Estimated	19	-44.1%
47	Sikeston, MO Estimated	19	-29.6%
49	Moberly, MO Estimated	18	+38.5%
49	Warrensburg, MO Estimated	18	-18.2%
51	Kennett, MO Estimated	17	0%
51	Webster Groves, MO Estimated	17	+54.5%
53	Ballwin, MO Estimated	13	-23.5%
53	Lebanon, MO Estimated	13	-27.8%
55	Clayton, MO Estimated	12	+9.1%
55	Sedalia, MO Estimated	12	n/a
57	Maryville, MO Estimated	11	+57.1%
57	University City, MO Estimated	11	+83.3%
59	Monett, MO Estimated	10	-54.5%
60	Excelsior Springs, MO Estimated	8	+700%
60	Mexico, MO Estimated	8	-69.2%
60	West Plains, MO Estimated	8	0%
63	Marshall, MO Estimated	5	+25%
64	Bridgeton, MO Estimated	4	+300%
64	Harrisonville, MO Estimated	4	0%
64	Hazelwood, MO Estimated	4	-60%
64	Raytown, MO Estimated	4	+33.3%
68	Jennings, MO Estimated	3	n/a
69	Florissant, MO Estimated	2	+100%
70	Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO Estimated	1	0%
70	Grandview, MO Estimated	1	n/a
70	Poplar Bluff, MO Estimated	1	-75%
73	Ferguson, MO Estimated	0	n/a
73	Fulton, MO Estimated	0	-100%
73	Maryland Heights, MO Estimated	0	n/a
73	Overland, MO Estimated	0	-100%
73	St. Ann, MO 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. 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/mw2016a.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. (2017). 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 Missouri by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.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 Missouri by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2016. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2017, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2017. 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 Missouri by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2016.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2017) 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 Missouri by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_missouri_by_2016,
  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 Missouri by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2016}},
  year = {2017},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2016. 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/mw2016a.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 Missouri by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2016
PY  - 2017
DA  - 2017/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2016a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2016.
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/mw2016a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

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

Kansas City, MO, with 825 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

St. Ann, MO, with 0 in 2016.

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.