Data / Rankings / Single-family housing units authorized by building permits / Cities in Pennsylvania

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

Philadelphia, PA had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 68 cities in 2020, at 983. Yeadon, PA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 3. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest983Philadelphia, PA
Lowest0Yeadon, PA
Median368 cities

Top 40 cities, 2020

Philadelphia, PA: 983 countPhiladelphia, PA983Pittsburgh, PA: 167 countPittsburgh, PA167Mechanicsburg, PA: 64 countMechanicsburg, PA64Lansdale, PA: 59 countLansdale, PA59Plum, PA: 42 countPlum, PA42Jefferson Hills, PA: 40 countJefferson Hills, PA40Phoenixville, PA: 35 countPhoenixville, PA35Monroeville, PA: 25 countMonroeville, PA25Whitehall, PA: 25 countWhitehall, PA25Bethlehem, PA: 22 countBethlehem, PA22Chambersburg, PA: 22 countChambersburg, PA22Elizabethtown, PA: 18 countElizabethtown, PA18Wyomissing, PA: 18 countWyomissing, PA18Waynesboro, PA: 16 countWaynesboro, PA16West Chester, PA: 13 countWest Chester, PA13West Mifflin, PA: 12 countWest Mifflin, PA12York, PA: 12 countYork, PA12Franklin Park, PA: 11 countFranklin Park, PA11Murrysville, PA: 11 countMurrysville, PA11Lancaster, PA: 10 countLancaster, PA10Hermitage, PA: 9 countHermitage, PA9Bethel Park, PA: 7 countBethel Park, PA7Emmaus, PA: 7 countEmmaus, PA7Carlisle, PA: 6 countCarlisle, PA6Northampton, PA: 6 countNorthampton, PA6Chester, PA: 5 countChester, PA5Dunmore, PA: 5 countDunmore, PA5Easton, PA: 5 countEaston, PA5Erie, PA: 4 countErie, PA4Coatesville, PA: 3 countCoatesville, PA3Hanover, PA: 3 countHanover, PA3Scranton, PA: 3 countScranton, PA3St. Marys, PA: 3 countSt. Marys, PA3Washington, PA: 3 countWashington, PA3Altoona, PA: 2 countAltoona, PA2Ephrata, PA: 2 countEphrata, PA2New Kensington, PA: 2 countNew Kensington, PA2State College, PA: 2 countState College, PA2Williamsport, PA: 2 countWilliamsport, PA2Butler, PA: 1 countButler, PA1Philadelphia, PA: 983 countPhiladelphia, PA983Pittsburgh, PA: 167 countPittsburgh, PA167Mechanicsburg, PA: 64 countMechanicsburg, PA64Lansdale, PA: 59 countLansdale, PA59Plum, PA: 42 countPlum, PA42Jefferson Hills, PA: 40 countJefferson Hills, PA40Phoenixville, PA: 35 countPhoenixville, PA35Monroeville, PA: 25 countMonroeville, PA25Whitehall, PA: 25 countWhitehall, PA25Bethlehem, PA: 22 countBethlehem, PA22Chambersburg, PA: 22 countChambersburg, PA22Elizabethtown, PA: 18 countElizabethtown, PA18Wyomissing, PA: 18 countWyomissing, PA18Waynesboro, PA: 16 countWaynesboro, PA16West Chester, PA: 13 countWest Chester, PA13West Mifflin, PA: 12 countWest Mifflin, PA12York, PA: 12 countYork, PA12Franklin Park, PA: 11 countFranklin Park, PA11Murrysville, PA: 11 countMurrysville, PA11Lancaster, PA: 10 countLancaster, PA10Hermitage, PA: 9 countHermitage, PA9Bethel Park, PA: 7 countBethel Park, PA7Emmaus, PA: 7 countEmmaus, PA7Carlisle, PA: 6 countCarlisle, PA6Northampton, PA: 6 countNorthampton, PA6Chester, PA: 5 countChester, PA5Dunmore, PA: 5 countDunmore, PA5Easton, PA: 5 countEaston, PA5Erie, PA: 4 countErie, PA4Coatesville, PA: 3 countCoatesville, PA3Hanover, PA: 3 countHanover, PA3Scranton, PA: 3 countScranton, PA3St. Marys, PA: 3 countSt. Marys, PA3Washington, PA: 3 countWashington, PA3Altoona, PA: 2 countAltoona, PA2Ephrata, PA: 2 countEphrata, PA2New Kensington, PA: 2 countNew Kensington, PA2State College, PA: 2 countState College, PA2Williamsport, PA: 2 countWilliamsport, PA2Butler, PA: 1 countButler, PA1
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

RankCities2020
count		Change on 2019
1Philadelphia, PA Estimated983+10%
2Pittsburgh, PA Estimated167+114.1%
3Mechanicsburg, PA Estimated64+120.7%
4Lansdale, PA Estimated59+90.3%
5Plum, PA Estimated42+2.4%
6Jefferson Hills, PA Estimated40-18.4%
7Phoenixville, PA Estimated35+775%
8Monroeville, PA Estimated25+257.1%
8Whitehall, PA Estimated25+1,150%
10Bethlehem, PA Estimated22+450%
10Chambersburg, PA Estimated22+214.3%
12Elizabethtown, PA Estimated18+260%
12Wyomissing, PA Estimated18+1,700%
14Waynesboro, PA Estimated16+14.3%
15West Chester, PA Estimated13-71.7%
16West Mifflin, PA Estimated120%
16York, PA Estimated120%
18Franklin Park, PA Estimated11-71.1%
18Murrysville, PA Estimated11+22.2%
20Lancaster, PA Estimated10+900%
21Hermitage, PA Estimated9-86.8%
22Bethel Park, PA Estimated7+133.3%
22Emmaus, PA Estimated70%
24Carlisle, PA Estimated6-40%
24Northampton, PA Estimated6+20%
26Chester, PA Estimated5+25%
26Dunmore, PA Estimated5n/a
26Easton, PA Estimated5+25%
29Erie, PA Estimated4+33.3%
30Coatesville, PA Estimated3+50%
30Hanover, PA Estimated3-25%
30Scranton, PA Estimated30%
30St. Marys, PA Estimated3-70%
30Washington, PA Estimated30%
35Altoona, PA Estimated2-50%
35Ephrata, PA Estimated2-33.3%
35New Kensington, PA Estimated2n/a
35State College, PA Estimated2+100%
35Williamsport, PA Estimated2+100%
40Butler, PA Estimated1n/a
40Hazleton, PA Estimated10%
40Lansdowne, PA Estimated1n/a
40Lower Burrell, PA Estimated1-83.3%
40New Castle, PA Estimated10%
40Wilkes-Barre, PA Estimated10%
46Allentown, PA Estimated0n/a
46Baldwin, PA Estimated0n/a
46Berwick, PA Estimated0n/a
46Bloomsburg, PA Estimated0-100%
46Columbia, PA Estimated0n/a
46Darby, PA Estimated0n/a
46Greensburg, PA Estimated0-100%
46Harrisburg, PA Estimated0n/a
46Indiana, PA Estimated0n/a
46Johnstown, PA Estimated0n/a
46Kingston, PA Estimated0n/a
46Lebanon, PA Estimated0-100%
46McKeesport, PA Estimated0n/a
46Meadville, PA Estimated0-100%
46Munhall, PA Estimated0n/a
46Nanticoke, PA Estimated0-100%
46Norristown, PA Estimated0-100%
46Pottstown, PA Estimated0-100%
46Pottsville, PA Estimated0n/a
46Reading, PA Estimated0n/a
46Sharon, PA Estimated0n/a
46Wilkinsburg, PA Estimated0n/a
46Yeadon, PA Estimated0n/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. 2 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2020 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/ne2020a.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. (2021). 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, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2020a.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, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, 3 May 2021, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2020a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2021. 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, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2020a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities?period=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2021) 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, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2020a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_pennsylvania_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  year = {2021},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2020a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities?period=2020. 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/ne2020a.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, 2020
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/05/03
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2020a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities?period=2020.
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/ne2020a.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 983 in 2020, 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 2020.

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. 2 cities have no value for 2020 and are not ranked.

Single-family housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Cities in Pennsylvania: more rankings