Cities in North Carolina by single-family housing units authorized by building permits
Durham, NC had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 59 cities in 2021, at 1,960. Elizabeth City, NC had the lowest, at 0. The median was 152. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
All cities, 2021
Full ranking
| Rank | Cities | 2021 | Change on 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Durham, NC Estimated | 1,960 | -0.6% |
| 2 | Fuquay-Varina, NC Estimated | 1,807 | +74.6% |
| 3 | Raleigh, NC Estimated | 1,354 | +16.5% |
| 4 | Apex, NC Estimated | 1,214 | -14.9% |
| 5 | Winston-Salem, NC Estimated | 1,087 | -30.1% |
| 6 | Cary, NC Estimated | 964 | +20.8% |
| 7 | Wake Forest, NC Estimated | 753 | +34% |
| 8 | Holly Springs, NC Estimated | 712 | -12.7% |
| 9 | Garner, NC Estimated | 704 | +76% |
| 10 | Leland, NC Estimated | 699 | -9.1% |
| 11 | Gastonia, NC Estimated | 618 | +26.9% |
| 12 | Greensboro, NC Estimated | 529 | -19.6% |
| 13 | High Point, NC Estimated | 524 | +35.8% |
| 14 | Clayton, NC Estimated | 513 | -21.9% |
| 15 | Monroe, NC Estimated | 496 | +94.5% |
| 16 | Asheville, NC Estimated | 453 | +14.1% |
| 17 | Wendell, NC Estimated | 423 | +2.2% |
| 18 | Mebane, NC Estimated | 384 | +21.9% |
| 19 | Greenville, NC Estimated | 373 | +17.7% |
| 20 | Waxhaw, NC Estimated | 344 | -1.1% |
| 21 | Fayetteville, NC Estimated | 337 | +49.8% |
| 22 | Zebulon, NC Estimated | 319 | -21.6% |
| 23 | Burlington, NC Estimated | 291 | +16.9% |
| 24 | Kernersville, NC Estimated | 289 | +15.1% |
| 25 | Southern Pines, NC Estimated | 235 | +21.8% |
| 26 | Rocky Mount, NC Estimated | 219 | +284.2% |
| 27 | Morrisville, NC Estimated | 180 | +52.5% |
| 28 | Rolesville, NC Estimated | 170 | -0.6% |
| 29 | Kings Mountain, NC Estimated | 162 | +72.3% |
| 30 | Knightdale, NC Estimated | 152 | +18.8% |
| 31 | Tarboro, NC Estimated | 130 | +490.9% |
| 32 | Graham, NC Estimated | 124 | -6.8% |
| 33 | Morehead City, NC Estimated | 122 | +149% |
| 34 | Sanford, NC Estimated | 116 | -20% |
| 35 | Pinehurst, NC Estimated | 114 | -33.3% |
| 36 | Thomasville, NC Estimated | 95 | +50.8% |
| 37 | Wilson, NC Estimated | 91 | -20.9% |
| 38 | Asheboro, NC Estimated | 87 | +2.4% |
| 39 | Aberdeen, NC Estimated | 74 | -63.5% |
| 40 | Goldsboro, NC Estimated | 68 | 0% |
| 41 | Waynesville, NC Estimated | 60 | +106.9% |
| 41 | Winterville, NC Estimated | 60 | +15.4% |
| 43 | Shelby, NC Estimated | 52 | +92.6% |
| 44 | Carrboro, NC Estimated | 43 | +115% |
| 45 | Chapel Hill, NC Estimated | 42 | +10.5% |
| 46 | Hope Mills, NC Estimated | 37 | +27.6% |
| 47 | Boone, NC Estimated | 28 | +600% |
| 48 | Lexington, NC Estimated | 21 | -48.8% |
| 49 | New Bern, NC Estimated | 18 | -90.9% |
| 50 | Jacksonville, NC Estimated | 17 | 0% |
| 51 | Eden, NC Estimated | 15 | +650% |
| 52 | Morganton, NC Estimated | 13 | +18.2% |
| 52 | Reidsville, NC Estimated | 13 | +18.2% |
| 54 | Lumberton, NC Estimated | 11 | +22.2% |
| 55 | Kinston, NC Estimated | 8 | +300% |
| 56 | Roanoke Rapids, NC Estimated | 6 | +50% |
| 57 | Spring Lake, NC Estimated | 5 | +66.7% |
| 58 | Havelock, NC Estimated | 1 | -95.7% |
| 59 | Elizabeth City, NC Estimated | 0 | -100% |
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/South%20Region/so2021a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
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 North Carolina by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2021a.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 North Carolina by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 27 Apr. 2022, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2021a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/north-carolina-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 North Carolina by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2021a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/north-carolina-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 North Carolina by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2021a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/north-carolina-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_north_carolina_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 North Carolina by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2021}},
year = {2022},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2021a.txt},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/north-carolina-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/South\%20Region/so2021a.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 North Carolina 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/South%20Region/so2021a.txt
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/north-carolina-cities?period=2021
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/north-carolina-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/South%20Region/so2021a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank Cities in North Carolina by single-family housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_single_family_units","level":"municipality","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=building_permit_single_family_units&level=municipality&within=North%20Carolina&limit=10Questions
Which city has the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits?
Durham, NC, with 1,960 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which city has the lowest single-family housing units authorized by building permits?
Elizabeth City, NC, 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.