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 2020, at 900. St. Ann, MO had the lowest, at 0. The median was 29. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest900Kansas City, MO

Lowest0St. Ann, MO

Median2977 cities

Top 40 cities, 2020

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	2020 count	Change on 2019
1	Kansas City, MO Estimated	900	+45.4%
2	Lee's Summit, MO Estimated	428	+26.3%
3	O'Fallon, MO Estimated	413	+2.5%
4	Columbia, MO Estimated	412	+21.9%
5	St. Charles, MO Estimated	406	+5.7%
6	Blue Springs, MO Estimated	352	+147.9%
7	Wentzville, MO Estimated	322	-10.1%
8	Nixa, MO Estimated	206	-16.6%
9	Lake St. Louis, MO Estimated	204	+20.7%
10	Eureka, MO Estimated	180	+20.8%
10	Joplin, MO Estimated	180	-5.8%
12	Republic, MO Estimated	164	+59.2%
13	Raymore, MO Estimated	159	+14.4%
14	Ozark, MO Estimated	156	+7.6%
15	Troy, MO Estimated	153	+54.5%
16	St. Louis, MO Estimated	124	+7.8%
17	Grain Valley, MO Estimated	123	-1.6%
18	Springfield, MO Estimated	118	+22.9%
19	Dardenne Prairie, MO Estimated	96	+152.6%
19	Festus, MO Estimated	96	+134.1%
21	Independence, MO Estimated	82	-4.7%
22	Kearney, MO Estimated	81	+14.1%
23	Union, MO Estimated	76	+15.2%
24	Kirkwood, MO Estimated	75	+2.7%
25	Liberty, MO Estimated	71	+77.5%
26	Cape Girardeau, MO Estimated	67	-30.2%
26	St. Peters, MO Estimated	67	+36.7%
28	Washington, MO Estimated	54	+63.6%
29	Webb City, MO Estimated	53	+8.2%
30	Belton, MO Estimated	52	+4%
30	Jefferson City, MO Estimated	52	+8.3%
32	Smithville, MO Estimated	50	-2%
33	St. Joseph, MO Estimated	45	-4.3%
34	Moberly, MO Estimated	43	+43.3%
35	Farmington, MO Estimated	42	+50%
36	Lebanon, MO Estimated	41	+141.2%
37	Arnold, MO Estimated	40	+33.3%
38	Branson, MO Estimated	39	-15.2%
39	Neosho, MO Estimated	29	+7.4%
40	Bridgeton, MO Estimated	26	n/a
41	Excelsior Springs, MO Estimated	24	+71.4%
41	Kirksville, MO Estimated	24	-42.9%
41	Warrensburg, MO Estimated	24	-11.1%
44	Monett, MO Estimated	23	-8%
44	Town and Country, MO Estimated	23	-4.2%
46	Bolivar, MO Estimated	22	+175%
47	Kennett, MO Estimated	21	+10.5%
48	Carthage, MO Estimated	19	+5.6%
49	Poplar Bluff, MO Estimated	18	+80%
49	Webster Groves, MO Estimated	18	-28%
51	Fulton, MO Estimated	17	+6.3%
51	Sikeston, MO Estimated	17	+41.7%
53	Clayton, MO Estimated	15	+15.4%
53	Mexico, MO Estimated	15	-21.1%
55	Ellisville, MO Estimated	13	+225%
56	Harrisonville, MO Estimated	12	+20%
56	Jackson, MO Estimated	12	+9.1%
56	Rolla, MO Estimated	12	-62.5%
56	West Plains, MO Estimated	12	0%
60	Sedalia, MO Estimated	10	-47.4%
61	Creve Coeur, MO Estimated	9	-57.1%
61	Grandview, MO Estimated	9	+80%
63	Gladstone, MO Estimated	8	+100%
64	Ballwin, MO Estimated	7	-79.4%
65	Jennings, MO Estimated	6	+20%
66	Maryville, MO Estimated	5	-54.5%
67	University City, MO Estimated	4	0%
68	Raytown, MO Estimated	3	-57.1%
69	Florissant, MO Estimated	2	n/a
69	Maryland Heights, MO Estimated	2	0%
71	Hazelwood, MO Estimated	1	n/a
71	Overland, MO Estimated	1	0%
73	Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO Estimated	0	n/a
73	Ferguson, MO Estimated	0	n/a
73	Hannibal, MO Estimated	0	-100%
73	Marshall, 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/mw2020a.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. (2021). 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, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.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, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, 3 May 2021, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2021. 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, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2021) 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, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_missouri_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  year = {2021},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2020. 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/mw2020a.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, 2020
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/05/03
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2020a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2020.
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/mw2020a.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 900 in 2020, 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 2020.

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.