Cities in Pennsylvania by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2025

Philadelphia, PA had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 70 cities in 2025, at 656. Yeadon, PA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 1. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest656Philadelphia, PA

Lowest0Yeadon, PA

Median170 cities

Top 40 cities, 2025

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	2025 count	Change on 2024
1	Philadelphia, PA Estimated	656	+21.7%
2	Chambersburg, PA Estimated	236	+35.6%
3	Phoenixville, PA Estimated	128	+2,460%
4	Pittsburgh, PA Estimated	75	-67.2%
5	Plum, PA Estimated	53	+51.4%
6	Waynesboro, PA Estimated	48	-7.7%
7	Jefferson Hills, PA Estimated	41	-48.1%
8	Norristown, PA Estimated	37	-39.3%
9	Franklin Park, PA Estimated	33	+106.3%
10	Murrysville, PA Estimated	22	-8.3%
11	Baldwin, PA Estimated	18	+80%
12	Carlisle, PA Estimated	16	-23.8%
13	Berwick, PA Estimated	12	n/a
13	Erie, PA Estimated	12	+200%
15	Bethlehem, PA Estimated	11	-31.3%
15	Mechanicsburg, PA Estimated	11	-73.8%
17	St. Marys, PA Estimated	10	+11.1%
18	Lebanon, PA Estimated	8	-11.1%
19	Chester, PA Estimated	7	0%
19	Lower Burrell, PA Estimated	7	+250%
21	Altoona, PA Estimated	6	+200%
22	Harrisburg, PA Estimated	5	+400%
22	Hermitage, PA Estimated	5	-16.7%
22	York, PA Estimated	5	n/a
25	Lancaster, PA Estimated	4	n/a
25	State College, PA Estimated	4	+300%
27	Bethel Park, PA Estimated	3	+200%
27	Penn Hills, PA Estimated	3	0%
27	Williamsport, PA Estimated	3	+200%
30	Dunmore, PA Estimated	2	+100%
30	Mount Lebanon, PA Estimated	2	n/a
30	Northampton, PA Estimated	2	n/a
30	Scranton, PA Estimated	2	0%
30	Wilkes-Barre, PA Estimated	2	+100%
35	Allentown, PA Estimated	1	-98.4%
35	Bloomsburg, PA Estimated	1	n/a
35	Coatesville, PA Estimated	1	n/a
35	Kingston, PA Estimated	1	n/a
35	Lansdowne, PA Estimated	1	0%
35	Munhall, PA Estimated	1	0%
35	West Chester, PA Estimated	1	-50%
35	Whitehall, PA Estimated	1	n/a
43	Butler, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	Columbia, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	Darby, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	Easton, PA Estimated	0	-100%
43	Elizabethtown, PA Estimated	0	-100%
43	Emmaus, PA Estimated	0	-100%
43	Ephrata, PA Estimated	0	-100%
43	Greensburg, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	Hanover, PA Estimated	0	-100%
43	Hazleton, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	Indiana, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	Johnstown, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	Lansdale, PA Estimated	0	-100%
43	McKeesport, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	Meadville, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	Monroeville, PA Estimated	0	-100%
43	Nanticoke, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	New Castle, PA Estimated	0	-100%
43	New Kensington, PA Estimated	0	-100%
43	Pottstown, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	Pottsville, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	Reading, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	Sharon, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	Washington, PA Estimated	0	-100%
43	West Mifflin, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	Wilkinsburg, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	Wyomissing, PA Estimated	0	n/a
43	Yeadon, PA 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/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.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. (2026). 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 Pennsylvania by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.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 Pennsylvania by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2025. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 May 2026, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. 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 Pennsylvania by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) 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 Pennsylvania by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_pennsylvania_by_2025,
  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 Pennsylvania by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities. 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/ne2025a.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 Pennsylvania by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/14
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2025a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities.
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/ne2025a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

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

Philadelphia, PA, with 656 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Yeadon, PA, with 0 in 2025.

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.