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 2021, at 890. St. Ann, MO had the lowest, at 0. The median was 33. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest890Kansas City, MO

Lowest0St. Ann, MO

Median3377 cities

Top 40 cities, 2021

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	2021 count	Change on 2020
1	Kansas City, MO Estimated	890	-1.1%
2	Lee's Summit, MO Estimated	638	+49.1%
3	Columbia, MO Estimated	487	+18.2%
4	St. Charles, MO Estimated	413	+1.7%
5	Wentzville, MO Estimated	383	+18.9%
6	O'Fallon, MO Estimated	347	-16%
7	Nixa, MO Estimated	276	+34%
8	Raymore, MO Estimated	274	+72.3%
9	Eureka, MO Estimated	259	+43.9%
10	Republic, MO Estimated	232	+41.5%
11	Ozark, MO Estimated	229	+46.8%
12	Joplin, MO Estimated	193	+7.2%
13	Blue Springs, MO Estimated	177	-49.7%
14	Festus, MO Estimated	149	+55.2%
15	St. Louis, MO Estimated	146	+17.7%
16	Lake St. Louis, MO Estimated	142	-30.4%
17	Union, MO Estimated	138	+81.6%
18	Grain Valley, MO Estimated	128	+4.1%
19	Troy, MO Estimated	113	-26.1%
20	Cape Girardeau, MO Estimated	102	+52.2%
21	Independence, MO Estimated	99	+20.7%
22	Dardenne Prairie, MO Estimated	91	-5.2%
23	Neosho, MO Estimated	89	+206.9%
24	Kearney, MO Estimated	84	+3.7%
24	Kirkwood, MO Estimated	84	+12%
26	Washington, MO Estimated	77	+42.6%
27	St. Peters, MO Estimated	69	+3%
28	Liberty, MO Estimated	66	-7%
29	Jackson, MO Estimated	65	+441.7%
30	Branson, MO Estimated	62	+59%
31	Jefferson City, MO Estimated	58	+11.5%
31	Springfield, MO Estimated	58	-50.8%
33	Farmington, MO Estimated	52	+23.8%
34	Lebanon, MO Estimated	48	+17.1%
34	Smithville, MO Estimated	48	-4%
36	Belton, MO Estimated	43	-17.3%
36	St. Joseph, MO Estimated	43	-4.4%
38	West Plains, MO Estimated	34	+183.3%
39	Sedalia, MO Estimated	33	+230%
40	Harrisonville, MO Estimated	30	+150%
41	Kennett, MO Estimated	24	+14.3%
42	Arnold, MO Estimated	23	-42.5%
42	Bolivar, MO Estimated	23	+4.5%
44	Bridgeton, MO Estimated	22	-15.4%
45	Carthage, MO Estimated	21	+10.5%
45	Town and Country, MO Estimated	21	-8.7%
47	Moberly, MO Estimated	20	-53.5%
47	Rolla, MO Estimated	20	+66.7%
47	Warrensburg, MO Estimated	20	-16.7%
50	Excelsior Springs, MO Estimated	19	-20.8%
50	Fulton, MO Estimated	19	+11.8%
50	Kirksville, MO Estimated	19	-20.8%
53	Monett, MO Estimated	17	-26.1%
54	Mexico, MO Estimated	14	-6.7%
54	Sikeston, MO Estimated	14	-17.6%
54	Webster Groves, MO Estimated	14	-22.2%
57	Grandview, MO Estimated	11	+22.2%
58	Maryville, MO Estimated	10	+100%
59	Creve Coeur, MO Estimated	9	0%
60	Ellisville, MO Estimated	7	-46.2%
61	Ballwin, MO Estimated	6	-14.3%
62	Raytown, MO Estimated	5	+66.7%
62	University City, MO Estimated	5	+25%
64	Clayton, MO Estimated	4	-73.3%
64	Gladstone, MO Estimated	4	-50%
64	Poplar Bluff, MO Estimated	4	-77.8%
64	Webb City, MO Estimated	4	-92.5%
68	Jennings, MO Estimated	2	-66.7%
68	Marshall, MO Estimated	2	n/a
68	Maryland Heights, MO Estimated	2	0%
68	Overland, MO Estimated	2	+100%
72	Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO Estimated	1	n/a
72	Florissant, MO Estimated	1	-50%
72	Hazelwood, MO Estimated	1	0%
75	Ferguson, MO Estimated	0	n/a
75	Hannibal, MO Estimated	0	n/a
75	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/mw2021a.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. (2022). 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, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2021a.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, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 27 Apr. 2022, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2021a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2022. 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, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2021a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2022) 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, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2021a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_missouri_by_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  year = {2022},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2021a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2021. 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/mw2021a.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, 2021
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/04/27
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Midwest%20Region/mw2021a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/missouri-cities?period=2021.
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/mw2021a.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 890 in 2021, 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 2021.

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.