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 2021, at 1,553. Yeadon, PA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 2. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest1,553Philadelphia, PA

Lowest0Yeadon, PA

Median268 cities

Top 40 cities, 2021

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	2021 count	Change on 2020
1	Philadelphia, PA Estimated	1,553	+58%
2	Pittsburgh, PA Estimated	198	+18.6%
3	York, PA Estimated	56	+366.7%
4	Hanover, PA Estimated	43	+1,333.3%
5	Phoenixville, PA Estimated	41	+17.1%
5	Plum, PA Estimated	41	-2.4%
7	Mechanicsburg, PA Estimated	39	-39.1%
8	Monroeville, PA Estimated	38	+52%
9	Emmaus, PA Estimated	34	+385.7%
10	Jefferson Hills, PA Estimated	32	-20%
11	Whitehall, PA Estimated	28	+12%
12	Chambersburg, PA Estimated	24	+9.1%
13	Bethel Park, PA Estimated	23	+228.6%
14	Northampton, PA Estimated	20	+233.3%
15	Elizabethtown, PA Estimated	16	-11.1%
16	Murrysville, PA Estimated	14	+27.3%
16	West Mifflin, PA Estimated	14	+16.7%
18	Waynesboro, PA Estimated	12	-25%
19	Hermitage, PA Estimated	10	+11.1%
20	Franklin Park, PA Estimated	7	-36.4%
21	Carlisle, PA Estimated	6	0%
21	Chester, PA Estimated	6	+20%
23	Lansdale, PA Estimated	5	-91.5%
24	Lancaster, PA Estimated	4	-60%
24	Lower Burrell, PA Estimated	4	+300%
24	St. Marys, PA Estimated	4	+33.3%
27	Bethlehem, PA Estimated	3	-86.4%
27	Scranton, PA Estimated	3	0%
27	Washington, PA Estimated	3	0%
30	Altoona, PA Estimated	2	0%
30	Berwick, PA Estimated	2	n/a
30	Dunmore, PA Estimated	2	-60%
30	Wilkes-Barre, PA Estimated	2	+100%
30	Wyomissing, PA Estimated	2	-88.9%
35	Ephrata, PA Estimated	1	-50%
35	Erie, PA Estimated	1	-75%
35	New Castle, PA Estimated	1	0%
35	New Kensington, PA Estimated	1	-50%
35	Pottstown, PA Estimated	1	n/a
35	Pottsville, PA Estimated	1	n/a
35	Williamsport, PA Estimated	1	-50%
42	Allentown, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	Baldwin, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	Bloomsburg, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	Butler, PA Estimated	0	-100%
42	Coatesville, PA Estimated	0	-100%
42	Columbia, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	Darby, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	Easton, PA Estimated	0	-100%
42	Greensburg, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	Harrisburg, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	Hazleton, PA Estimated	0	-100%
42	Indiana, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	Johnstown, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	Kingston, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	Lansdowne, PA Estimated	0	-100%
42	Lebanon, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	McKeesport, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	Meadville, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	Munhall, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	Nanticoke, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	Norristown, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	Reading, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	Sharon, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	State College, PA Estimated	0	-100%
42	West Chester, PA Estimated	0	-100%
42	Wilkinsburg, PA Estimated	0	n/a
42	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. 2 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_pennsylvania_by_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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-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?

Philadelphia, PA, with 1,553 in 2021, 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 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. 2 cities have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.