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 2021, at 151. West Haverstraw, NY had the lowest, at 0. The median was 3. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest151New York, NY

Lowest0West Haverstraw, NY

Median388 cities

Top 40 cities, 2021

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

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2021 count	Change on 2020
1	New York, NY Estimated	151	-30.4%
2	Middletown, NY Estimated	76	+15.2%
3	Saratoga Springs, NY Estimated	65	+22.6%
4	Rochester, NY Estimated	45	-22.4%
5	Canandaigua, NY Estimated	38	+322.2%
6	Buffalo, NY Estimated	35	+16.7%
6	Harrison, NY Estimated	35	+20.7%
6	Sleepy Hollow, NY Estimated	35	+250%
9	Woodbury, NY Estimated	30	-3.2%
10	Newburgh, NY Estimated	28	+16.7%
11	Rye, NY Estimated	24	+14.3%
12	Westbury, NY Estimated	22	+22.2%
13	Long Beach, NY Estimated	21	+10.5%
14	Syracuse, NY Estimated	17	+466.7%
15	Airmont, NY Estimated	13	+333.3%
16	Great Neck, NY Estimated	12	+33.3%
16	Ithaca, NY Estimated	12	n/a
16	Valley Stream, NY Estimated	12	+200%
16	Yonkers, NY Estimated	12	+20%
20	Chestnut Ridge, NY Estimated	11	+266.7%
20	Lake Grove, NY Estimated	11	+22.2%
22	Freeport, NY Estimated	10	+42.9%
22	Hempstead, NY Estimated	10	+66.7%
22	Spring Valley, NY Estimated	10	+66.7%
25	Mamaroneck, NY Estimated	9	-10%
25	Plattsburgh, NY Estimated	9	+28.6%
27	Albany, NY Estimated	8	+100%
28	North Tonawanda, NY Estimated	7	0%
29	Beacon, NY Estimated	6	+50%
30	Dobbs Ferry, NY Estimated	5	+66.7%
30	Garden City, NY Estimated	5	+25%
30	Rome, NY Estimated	5	+25%
30	Troy, NY Estimated	5	+25%
34	East Rockaway, NY Estimated	4	-60%
34	Glen Cove, NY Estimated	4	+100%
34	Lindenhurst, NY Estimated	4	+33.3%
34	New Hyde Park, NY Estimated	4	+300%
34	Rockville Centre, NY Estimated	4	-20%
34	White Plains, NY Estimated	4	+33.3%
40	Babylon, NY Estimated	3	-50%
40	Kingston, NY Estimated	3	0%
40	Kiryas Joel, NY Estimated	3	n/a
40	Mineola, NY Estimated	3	+50%
40	New Square, NY Estimated	3	+50%
45	Corning, NY Estimated	2	+100%
45	Haverstraw, NY Estimated	2	n/a
45	Lockport, NY Estimated	2	+100%
45	Lynbrook, NY Estimated	2	n/a
45	Mount Vernon, NY Estimated	2	+100%
45	New Rochelle, NY Estimated	2	-50%
45	Peekskill, NY Estimated	2	-75%
45	Poughkeepsie, NY Estimated	2	0%
45	Tarrytown, NY Estimated	2	-33.3%
45	Watervliet, NY Estimated	2	n/a
55	Auburn, NY Estimated	1	n/a
55	Batavia, NY Estimated	1	0%
55	Cohoes, NY Estimated	1	-80%
55	Cortland, NY Estimated	1	0%
55	Glens Falls, NY Estimated	1	0%
55	Lackawanna, NY Estimated	1	0%
55	Mount Kisco, NY Estimated	1	-50%
55	Niagara Falls, NY Estimated	1	n/a
55	Patchogue, NY Estimated	1	n/a
55	Tonawanda, NY Estimated	1	0%
65	Amsterdam, NY Estimated	0	-100%
65	Binghamton, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Depew, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Dunkirk, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Elmira, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Endicott, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Floral Park, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Fulton, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Geneva, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Gloversville, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Jamestown, NY Estimated	0	-100%
65	Kenmore, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Massapequa Park, NY Estimated	0	-100%
65	Olean, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Oneida, NY Estimated	0	-100%
65	Oneonta, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Ossining, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Oswego, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Port Chester, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Schenectady, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Suffern, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Utica, NY Estimated	0	n/a
65	Watertown, NY Estimated	0	n/a
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 2021 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/ne2021a.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 New York by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.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, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 27 Apr. 2022, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-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 New York by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-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 New York by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_new_york_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 New York by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2021}},
  year = {2022},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-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/Northeast\%20Region/ne2021a.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, 2021
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/04/27
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/new-york-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/Northeast%20Region/ne2021a.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 151 in 2021, 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 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. 1 cities have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.