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 2018, at 813. St. Ann, MO had the lowest, at 0. The median was 29. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest813Kansas City, MO

Lowest0St. Ann, MO

Median2977 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	Kansas City, MO Estimated	813	-1.3%
2	Wentzville, MO Estimated	397	-30.7%
3	Lee's Summit, MO Estimated	339	-14.4%
4	O'Fallon, MO Estimated	301	+35%
5	St. Charles, MO Estimated	288	-10.6%
6	Columbia, MO Estimated	261	-35.2%
7	Nixa, MO Estimated	251	+17.8%
8	Blue Springs, MO Estimated	231	+33.5%
9	Smithville, MO Estimated	188	+55.4%
10	Union, MO Estimated	163	+39.3%
11	St. Louis, MO Estimated	161	+69.5%
12	Raymore, MO Estimated	160	-19.6%
13	Joplin, MO Estimated	157	+7.5%
14	Kearney, MO Estimated	128	+2.4%
15	Grain Valley, MO Estimated	124	+15.9%
16	Lake St. Louis, MO Estimated	110	+39.2%
17	Republic, MO Estimated	107	+2.9%
18	Springfield, MO Estimated	106	-34.6%
19	Cape Girardeau, MO Estimated	100	-41.5%
20	Ozark, MO Estimated	94	-2.1%
21	Kirkwood, MO Estimated	93	+13.4%
22	Eureka, MO Estimated	81	-12.9%
23	Independence, MO Estimated	77	-25.2%
24	Troy, MO Estimated	65	-23.5%
25	Washington, MO Estimated	61	+56.4%
26	Moberly, MO Estimated	54	+145.5%
27	Webb City, MO Estimated	51	-1.9%
28	Branson, MO Estimated	48	+9.1%
28	St. Peters, MO Estimated	48	+182.4%
30	Belton, MO Estimated	44	+12.8%
30	Jefferson City, MO Estimated	44	-18.5%
32	Farmington, MO Estimated	42	-2.3%
32	St. Joseph, MO Estimated	42	-34.4%
34	Liberty, MO Estimated	39	-23.5%
35	Kirksville, MO Estimated	37	-55.4%
36	Bolivar, MO Estimated	32	+77.8%
37	Jackson, MO Estimated	31	-65.2%
37	Sikeston, MO Estimated	31	+10.7%
39	Festus, MO Estimated	29	-12.1%
39	Rolla, MO Estimated	29	-23.7%
41	Neosho, MO Estimated	28	-3.4%
42	Arnold, MO Estimated	27	-27%
43	Maryland Heights, MO Estimated	25	-58.3%
44	Webster Groves, MO Estimated	23	-28.1%
45	Hannibal, MO Estimated	22	0%
46	Ellisville, MO Estimated	20	-60%
47	Creve Coeur, MO Estimated	19	-17.4%
47	Kennett, MO Estimated	19	0%
47	Warrensburg, MO Estimated	19	-36.7%
50	Ballwin, MO Estimated	17	-32%
50	Excelsior Springs, MO Estimated	17	-15%
50	Fulton, MO Estimated	17	-5.6%
50	Gladstone, MO Estimated	17	-46.9%
50	Town and Country, MO Estimated	17	-26.1%
55	Lebanon, MO Estimated	14	-75.4%
55	Mexico, MO Estimated	14	+16.7%
55	Monett, MO Estimated	14	-41.7%
58	Carthage, MO Estimated	13	-38.1%
59	Harrisonville, MO Estimated	12	0%
59	West Plains, MO Estimated	12	-33.3%
61	Maryville, MO Estimated	11	0%
62	Dardenne Prairie, MO Estimated	9	-52.6%
63	Grandview, MO Estimated	8	n/a
63	Poplar Bluff, MO Estimated	8	+100%
65	Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO Estimated	7	+40%
66	Clayton, MO Estimated	6	-33.3%
66	University City, MO Estimated	6	0%
68	Raytown, MO Estimated	5	-16.7%
69	Marshall, MO Estimated	3	-66.7%
70	Bridgeton, MO Estimated	2	+100%
70	Overland, MO Estimated	2	+100%
72	Ferguson, MO Estimated	0	n/a
72	Florissant, MO Estimated	0	n/a
72	Hazelwood, MO Estimated	0	-100%
72	Jennings, MO Estimated	0	n/a
72	Sedalia, MO Estimated	0	-100%
72	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/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 Missouri 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 Missouri 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/missouri-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 Missouri 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/missouri-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 Missouri 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/missouri-cities?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_missouri_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 Missouri 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/missouri-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 Missouri 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/missouri-cities?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-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  -

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Rank Cities in Missouri 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?

Kansas City, MO, with 813 in 2018, 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 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.