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 2018, at 417. West Haverstraw, NY had the lowest, at 0. The median was 2. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest417New York, NY

Lowest0West Haverstraw, NY

Median288 cities

Top 40 cities, 2018

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2018 count	Change on 2017
1	New York, NY Estimated	417	-13.7%
2	Saratoga Springs, NY Estimated	76	+28.8%
3	Middletown, NY Estimated	66	+1.5%
4	Woodbury, NY Estimated	46	+43.8%
5	Dunkirk, NY Estimated	33	+725%
6	White Plains, NY Estimated	31	+158.3%
7	Harrison, NY Estimated	30	-9.1%
8	Buffalo, NY Estimated	29	-3.3%
9	Rochester, NY Estimated	21	-73.1%
10	Long Beach, NY Estimated	19	+11.8%
11	Ithaca, NY Estimated	15	0%
12	Westbury, NY Estimated	14	+7.7%
13	Lindenhurst, NY Estimated	13	+116.7%
13	Syracuse, NY Estimated	13	+85.7%
15	Lake Grove, NY Estimated	12	+9.1%
16	New Rochelle, NY Estimated	10	+11.1%
16	Newburgh, NY Estimated	10	0%
16	North Tonawanda, NY Estimated	10	-9.1%
16	Yonkers, NY Estimated	10	+42.9%
20	Glens Falls, NY Estimated	8	-33.3%
20	Great Neck, NY Estimated	8	-11.1%
20	Rome, NY Estimated	8	-66.7%
20	Spring Valley, NY Estimated	8	-11.1%
20	Tarrytown, NY Estimated	8	+33.3%
25	Airmont, NY Estimated	7	0%
25	Mamaroneck, NY Estimated	7	0%
25	Mineola, NY Estimated	7	-30%
28	Albany, NY Estimated	6	-33.3%
28	Canandaigua, NY Estimated	6	-40%
28	Plattsburgh, NY Estimated	6	0%
31	Babylon, NY Estimated	5	-37.5%
31	Beacon, NY Estimated	5	-58.3%
33	Floral Park, NY Estimated	4	-33.3%
33	Lackawanna, NY Estimated	4	-42.9%
33	Patchogue, NY Estimated	4	+300%
33	Rockville Centre, NY Estimated	4	0%
37	Freeport, NY Estimated	3	0%
37	Garden City, NY Estimated	3	+50%
37	Haverstraw, NY Estimated	3	n/a
37	Kingston, NY Estimated	3	0%
37	Troy, NY Estimated	3	+200%
42	East Rockaway, NY Estimated	2	n/a
42	Glen Cove, NY Estimated	2	+100%
42	Mount Kisco, NY Estimated	2	n/a
42	Mount Vernon, NY Estimated	2	-33.3%
42	Oneida, NY Estimated	2	+100%
42	Ossining, NY Estimated	2	+100%
42	Schenectady, NY Estimated	2	-33.3%
42	Sleepy Hollow, NY Estimated	2	0%
42	Valley Stream, NY Estimated	2	-33.3%
51	Amsterdam, NY Estimated	1	0%
51	Chestnut Ridge, NY Estimated	1	n/a
51	Corning, NY Estimated	1	-50%
51	Cortland, NY Estimated	1	n/a
51	Dobbs Ferry, NY Estimated	1	-50%
51	Kiryas Joel, NY Estimated	1	n/a
51	Massapequa Park, NY Estimated	1	-80%
51	New Square, NY Estimated	1	-83.3%
51	Olean, NY Estimated	1	n/a
51	Peekskill, NY Estimated	1	n/a
51	Tonawanda, NY Estimated	1	0%
62	Auburn, NY Estimated	0	-100%
62	Batavia, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	Binghamton, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	Cohoes, NY Estimated	0	-100%
62	Depew, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	Elmira, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	Endicott, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	Fulton, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	Geneva, NY Estimated	0	-100%
62	Gloversville, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	Hempstead, NY Estimated	0	-100%
62	Jamestown, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	Kenmore, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	Lockport, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	Lynbrook, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	New Hyde Park, NY Estimated	0	-100%
62	Niagara Falls, NY Estimated	0	-100%
62	Oneonta, NY Estimated	0	-100%
62	Oswego, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	Port Chester, NY Estimated	0	-100%
62	Poughkeepsie, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	Rye, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	Suffern, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	Utica, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	Watertown, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	Watervliet, NY Estimated	0	n/a
62	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 2018 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/ne2018a.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 New York by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2018a.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, 2018. U.S. Census Bureau, 20 June 2019, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2018a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-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 New York by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2018a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-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 New York by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2018a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-cities?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_new_york_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 New York by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2018}},
  year = {2019},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2018a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-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/Northeast\%20Region/ne2018a.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, 2018
PY  - 2019
DA  - 2019/06/20
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2018a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-cities?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-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/Northeast%20Region/ne2018a.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 417 in 2018, 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 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. 1 cities have no value for 2018 and are not ranked.