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 2019, at 619. St. Ann, MO had the lowest, at 0. The median was 30. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest619Kansas City, MO

Lowest0St. Ann, MO

Median3077 cities

Top 40 cities, 2019

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	2019 count	Change on 2018
1	Kansas City, MO Estimated	619	-23.9%
2	O'Fallon, MO Estimated	403	+33.9%
3	St. Charles, MO Estimated	384	+33.3%
4	Wentzville, MO Estimated	358	-9.8%
5	Lee's Summit, MO Estimated	339	0%
6	Columbia, MO Estimated	338	+29.5%
7	Nixa, MO Estimated	247	-1.6%
8	Joplin, MO Estimated	191	+21.7%
9	Lake St. Louis, MO Estimated	169	+53.6%
10	Eureka, MO Estimated	149	+84%
11	Ozark, MO Estimated	145	+54.3%
12	Blue Springs, MO Estimated	142	-38.5%
13	Raymore, MO Estimated	139	-13.1%
14	Grain Valley, MO Estimated	125	+0.8%
15	St. Louis, MO Estimated	115	-28.6%
16	Republic, MO Estimated	103	-3.7%
17	Troy, MO Estimated	99	+52.3%
18	Cape Girardeau, MO Estimated	96	-4%
18	Springfield, MO Estimated	96	-9.4%
20	Independence, MO Estimated	86	+11.7%
21	Kirkwood, MO Estimated	73	-21.5%
22	Kearney, MO Estimated	71	-44.5%
23	Union, MO Estimated	66	-59.5%
24	Smithville, MO Estimated	51	-72.9%
25	Belton, MO Estimated	50	+13.6%
26	St. Peters, MO Estimated	49	+2.1%
26	Webb City, MO Estimated	49	-3.9%
28	Jefferson City, MO Estimated	48	+9.1%
29	St. Joseph, MO Estimated	47	+11.9%
30	Branson, MO Estimated	46	-4.2%
31	Kirksville, MO Estimated	42	+13.5%
32	Festus, MO Estimated	41	+41.4%
33	Liberty, MO Estimated	40	+2.6%
34	Dardenne Prairie, MO Estimated	38	+322.2%
35	Ballwin, MO Estimated	34	+100%
36	Washington, MO Estimated	33	-45.9%
37	Rolla, MO Estimated	32	+10.3%
38	Arnold, MO Estimated	30	+11.1%
38	Moberly, MO Estimated	30	-44.4%
40	Farmington, MO Estimated	28	-33.3%
41	Neosho, MO Estimated	27	-3.6%
41	Warrensburg, MO Estimated	27	+42.1%
43	Monett, MO Estimated	25	+78.6%
43	Webster Groves, MO Estimated	25	+8.7%
45	Town and Country, MO Estimated	24	+41.2%
46	Hannibal, MO Estimated	22	0%
47	Creve Coeur, MO Estimated	21	+10.5%
48	Kennett, MO Estimated	19	0%
48	Mexico, MO Estimated	19	+35.7%
48	Sedalia, MO Estimated	19	n/a
51	Carthage, MO Estimated	18	+38.5%
52	Lebanon, MO Estimated	17	+21.4%
53	Fulton, MO Estimated	16	-5.9%
54	Excelsior Springs, MO Estimated	14	-17.6%
55	Clayton, MO Estimated	13	+116.7%
56	Sikeston, MO Estimated	12	-61.3%
56	West Plains, MO Estimated	12	0%
58	Jackson, MO Estimated	11	-64.5%
58	Maryville, MO Estimated	11	0%
60	Harrisonville, MO Estimated	10	-16.7%
60	Poplar Bluff, MO Estimated	10	+25%
62	Bolivar, MO Estimated	8	-75%
63	Raytown, MO Estimated	7	+40%
64	Grandview, MO Estimated	5	-37.5%
64	Jennings, MO Estimated	5	n/a
66	Ellisville, MO Estimated	4	-80%
66	Gladstone, MO Estimated	4	-76.5%
66	University City, MO Estimated	4	-33.3%
69	Maryland Heights, MO Estimated	2	-92%
70	Marshall, MO Estimated	1	-66.7%
70	Overland, MO Estimated	1	-50%
72	Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO Estimated	0	-100%
72	Bridgeton, MO Estimated	0	-100%
72	Ferguson, MO Estimated	0	n/a
72	Florissant, MO Estimated	0	n/a
72	Hazelwood, MO Estimated	0	n/a
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/mw2019a.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. (2020). 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, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2019a.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, 2019. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2020, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2019a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. 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, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2019a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2019.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2020) 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, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2019a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_missouri_by_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  year = {2020},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2019a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2019. 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/mw2019a.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, 2019
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2019a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2019.
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/mw2019a.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 619 in 2019, 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 2019.

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.