Cities in New York by single-family housing units authorized by building permits

New York, NY had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 88 cities in 2015, at 469. West Haverstraw, NY had the lowest, at 0. The median was 3. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest469New York, NY

Lowest0West Haverstraw, NY

Median388 cities

Top 40 cities, 2015

count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2015 count	Change on 2014
1	New York, NY Estimated	469	-13.3%
2	Rochester, NY Estimated	65	-7.1%
3	Middletown, NY Estimated	62	-10.1%
4	Saratoga Springs, NY Estimated	57	-20.8%
5	Buffalo, NY Estimated	45	-31.8%
6	Harrison, NY Estimated	33	+6.5%
7	Patchogue, NY Estimated	29	-49.1%
8	Rome, NY Estimated	23	+283.3%
9	Long Beach, NY Estimated	16	+6.7%
9	Yonkers, NY Estimated	16	-30.4%
11	Freeport, NY Estimated	14	+75%
12	Beacon, NY Estimated	13	+85.7%
12	Westbury, NY Estimated	13	-13.3%
12	Woodbury, NY Estimated	13	-59.4%
15	Garden City, NY Estimated	11	-8.3%
15	Syracuse, NY Estimated	11	-26.7%
17	Babylon, NY Estimated	10	+11.1%
18	Cohoes, NY Estimated	9	+200%
18	Glens Falls, NY Estimated	9	-62.5%
18	Newburgh, NY Estimated	9	-10%
18	Oswego, NY Estimated	9	-18.2%
18	Port Chester, NY Estimated	9	+50%
18	Tarrytown, NY Estimated	9	-10%
24	Mineola, NY Estimated	8	+14.3%
24	North Tonawanda, NY Estimated	8	-33.3%
26	Peekskill, NY Estimated	7	n/a
26	White Plains, NY Estimated	7	-12.5%
28	Canandaigua, NY Estimated	6	-33.3%
28	Great Neck, NY Estimated	6	+50%
28	Plattsburgh, NY Estimated	6	-14.3%
31	Albany, NY Estimated	5	-85.3%
31	Hempstead, NY Estimated	5	n/a
31	Lake Grove, NY Estimated	5	-16.7%
31	Mamaroneck, NY Estimated	5	+25%
31	Rockville Centre, NY Estimated	5	+25%
36	New Hyde Park, NY Estimated	4	+33.3%
36	New Square, NY Estimated	4	+300%
36	Oneida, NY Estimated	4	+300%
36	Spring Valley, NY Estimated	4	-42.9%
40	Airmont, NY Estimated	3	n/a
40	Chestnut Ridge, NY Estimated	3	0%
40	Lindenhurst, NY Estimated	3	-66.7%
40	Mount Vernon, NY Estimated	3	+50%
40	Niagara Falls, NY Estimated	3	n/a
45	Dobbs Ferry, NY Estimated	2	-33.3%
45	Ithaca, NY Estimated	2	0%
45	Schenectady, NY Estimated	2	0%
45	Tonawanda, NY Estimated	2	n/a
49	Auburn, NY Estimated	1	-75%
49	East Rockaway, NY Estimated	1	n/a
49	Floral Park, NY Estimated	1	0%
49	Fulton, NY Estimated	1	n/a
49	Geneva, NY Estimated	1	n/a
49	Glen Cove, NY Estimated	1	-75%
49	Jamestown, NY Estimated	1	n/a
49	Kingston, NY Estimated	1	-85.7%
49	Kiryas Joel, NY Estimated	1	n/a
49	Massapequa Park, NY Estimated	1	-75%
49	New Rochelle, NY Estimated	1	-80%
49	Oneonta, NY Estimated	1	0%
49	Ossining, NY Estimated	1	0%
49	Sleepy Hollow, NY Estimated	1	n/a
49	Troy, NY Estimated	1	-91.7%
49	Valley Stream, NY Estimated	1	0%
65	Amsterdam, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Batavia, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Binghamton, NY Estimated	0	-100%
65	Corning, NY Estimated	0	-100%
65	Cortland, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Depew, NY Estimated	0	-100%
65	Dunkirk, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Elmira, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Endicott, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Gloversville, NY Estimated	0	-100%
65	Haverstraw, NY Estimated	0	-100%
65	Kenmore, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Lackawanna, NY Estimated	0	-100%
65	Lockport, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Lynbrook, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Mount Kisco, NY Estimated	0	-100%
65	Olean, NY Estimated	0	-100%
65	Poughkeepsie, NY Estimated	0	-100%
65	Rye, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Suffern, NY Estimated	0	-100%
65	Utica, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Watertown, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Watervliet, NY Estimated	0	-100%
65	West Haverstraw, NY 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. 1 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2015 and are left out rather than filled from another source. 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/Northeast%20Region/ne2015a.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. (2016). 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 New York by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2015a.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 New York by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2015. U.S. Census Bureau, 30 Sept. 2016, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2015a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-cities?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2016. 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 New York by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2015a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-cities?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2016) 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 New York by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2015a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-cities?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_new_york_2015,
  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 New York by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2015}},
  year = {2016},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2015a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-cities?period=2015. 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/Northeast\%20Region/ne2015a.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 New York by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2015
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/09/30
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2015a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-cities?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-cities?period=2015.
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/Northeast%20Region/ne2015a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

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

New York, NY, with 469 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

West Haverstraw, NY, with 0 in 2015.

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. 1 cities have no value for 2015 and are not ranked.