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 70 cities in 2024, at 539. York, PA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 1. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest539Philadelphia, PA
Lowest0York, PA
Median170 cities

Top 40 cities, 2024

Philadelphia, PA: 539 countPhiladelphia, PA539Pittsburgh, PA: 229 countPittsburgh, PA229Chambersburg, PA: 174 countChambersburg, PA174Jefferson Hills, PA: 79 countJefferson Hills, PA79Allentown, PA: 61 countAllentown, PA61Norristown, PA: 61 countNorristown, PA61Waynesboro, PA: 52 countWaynesboro, PA52Mechanicsburg, PA: 42 countMechanicsburg, PA42Plum, PA: 35 countPlum, PA35Murrysville, PA: 24 countMurrysville, PA24Carlisle, PA: 21 countCarlisle, PA21Bethlehem, PA: 16 countBethlehem, PA16Franklin Park, PA: 16 countFranklin Park, PA16Baldwin, PA: 10 countBaldwin, PA10Lebanon, PA: 9 countLebanon, PA9St. Marys, PA: 9 countSt. Marys, PA9Chester, PA: 7 countChester, PA7Hanover, PA: 6 countHanover, PA6Hermitage, PA: 6 countHermitage, PA6Elizabethtown, PA: 5 countElizabethtown, PA5Phoenixville, PA: 5 countPhoenixville, PA5Ephrata, PA: 4 countEphrata, PA4Erie, PA: 4 countErie, PA4Emmaus, PA: 3 countEmmaus, PA3Monroeville, PA: 3 countMonroeville, PA3Penn Hills, PA: 3 countPenn Hills, PA3Altoona, PA: 2 countAltoona, PA2Easton, PA: 2 countEaston, PA2Lansdale, PA: 2 countLansdale, PA2Lower Burrell, PA: 2 countLower Burrell, PA2Scranton, PA: 2 countScranton, PA2West Chester, PA: 2 countWest Chester, PA2Bethel Park, PA: 1 countBethel Park, PA1Dunmore, PA: 1 countDunmore, PA1Harrisburg, PA: 1 countHarrisburg, PA1Lansdowne, PA: 1 countLansdowne, PA1Munhall, PA: 1 countMunhall, PA1New Castle, PA: 1 countNew Castle, PA1New Kensington, PA: 1 countNew Kensington, PA1State College, PA: 1 countState College, PA1Philadelphia, PA: 539 countPhiladelphia, PA539Pittsburgh, PA: 229 countPittsburgh, PA229Chambersburg, PA: 174 countChambersburg, PA174Jefferson Hills, PA: 79 countJefferson Hills, PA79Allentown, PA: 61 countAllentown, PA61Norristown, PA: 61 countNorristown, PA61Waynesboro, PA: 52 countWaynesboro, PA52Mechanicsburg, PA: 42 countMechanicsburg, PA42Plum, PA: 35 countPlum, PA35Murrysville, PA: 24 countMurrysville, PA24Carlisle, PA: 21 countCarlisle, PA21Bethlehem, PA: 16 countBethlehem, PA16Franklin Park, PA: 16 countFranklin Park, PA16Baldwin, PA: 10 countBaldwin, PA10Lebanon, PA: 9 countLebanon, PA9St. Marys, PA: 9 countSt. Marys, PA9Chester, PA: 7 countChester, PA7Hanover, PA: 6 countHanover, PA6Hermitage, PA: 6 countHermitage, PA6Elizabethtown, PA: 5 countElizabethtown, PA5Phoenixville, PA: 5 countPhoenixville, PA5Ephrata, PA: 4 countEphrata, PA4Erie, PA: 4 countErie, PA4Emmaus, PA: 3 countEmmaus, PA3Monroeville, PA: 3 countMonroeville, PA3Penn Hills, PA: 3 countPenn Hills, PA3Altoona, PA: 2 countAltoona, PA2Easton, PA: 2 countEaston, PA2Lansdale, PA: 2 countLansdale, PA2Lower Burrell, PA: 2 countLower Burrell, PA2Scranton, PA: 2 countScranton, PA2West Chester, PA: 2 countWest Chester, PA2Bethel Park, PA: 1 countBethel Park, PA1Dunmore, PA: 1 countDunmore, PA1Harrisburg, PA: 1 countHarrisburg, PA1Lansdowne, PA: 1 countLansdowne, PA1Munhall, PA: 1 countMunhall, PA1New Castle, PA: 1 countNew Castle, PA1New Kensington, PA: 1 countNew Kensington, PA1State College, PA: 1 countState College, 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

RankCities2024
count		Change on 2023
1Philadelphia, PA Estimated539+33.1%
2Pittsburgh, PA Estimated2290%
3Chambersburg, PA Estimated174-52.3%
4Jefferson Hills, PA Estimated79+51.9%
5Allentown, PA Estimated61+221.1%
5Norristown, PA Estimated61+177.3%
7Waynesboro, PA Estimated52+92.6%
8Mechanicsburg, PA Estimated42+40%
9Plum, PA Estimated35+40%
10Murrysville, PA Estimated24+50%
11Carlisle, PA Estimated21+162.5%
12Bethlehem, PA Estimated16-5.9%
12Franklin Park, PA Estimated16-27.3%
14Baldwin, PA Estimated10n/a
15Lebanon, PA Estimated9+800%
15St. Marys, PA Estimated9+50%
17Chester, PA Estimated7+16.7%
18Hanover, PA Estimated6+50%
18Hermitage, PA Estimated6+50%
20Elizabethtown, PA Estimated5n/a
20Phoenixville, PA Estimated5-91.8%
22Ephrata, PA Estimated4n/a
22Erie, PA Estimated4+300%
24Emmaus, PA Estimated3-92.1%
24Monroeville, PA Estimated3-50%
24Penn Hills, PA Estimated3n/a
27Altoona, PA Estimated20%
27Easton, PA Estimated2-66.7%
27Lansdale, PA Estimated2+100%
27Lower Burrell, PA Estimated2-50%
27Scranton, PA Estimated2+100%
27West Chester, PA Estimated2-50%
33Bethel Park, PA Estimated1n/a
33Dunmore, PA Estimated1-66.7%
33Harrisburg, PA Estimated1-93.3%
33Lansdowne, PA Estimated1-75%
33Munhall, PA Estimated1n/a
33New Castle, PA Estimated10%
33New Kensington, PA Estimated1n/a
33State College, PA Estimated1n/a
33Washington, PA Estimated1-66.7%
33Wilkes-Barre, PA Estimated1-66.7%
33Williamsport, PA Estimated10%
44Berwick, PA Estimated0-100%
44Bloomsburg, PA Estimated0-100%
44Butler, PA Estimated0n/a
44Coatesville, PA Estimated0n/a
44Columbia, PA Estimated0-100%
44Darby, PA Estimated0n/a
44Greensburg, PA Estimated0n/a
44Hazleton, PA Estimated0n/a
44Indiana, PA Estimated0n/a
44Johnstown, PA Estimated0n/a
44Kingston, PA Estimated0n/a
44Lancaster, PA Estimated0-100%
44McKeesport, PA Estimated0n/a
44Meadville, PA Estimated0n/a
44Mount Lebanon, PA Estimated0n/a
44Nanticoke, PA Estimated0n/a
44Northampton, PA Estimated0-100%
44Pottstown, PA Estimated0-100%
44Pottsville, PA Estimated0n/a
44Reading, PA Estimated0n/a
44Sharon, PA Estimated0n/a
44West Mifflin, PA Estimated0-100%
44Whitehall, PA Estimated0-100%
44Wilkinsburg, PA Estimated0n/a
44Wyomissing, PA Estimated0-100%
44Yeadon, PA Estimated0n/a
44York, 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. 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/ne2024a.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. (2025). 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, 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2024a.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, 2024. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2025, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2024a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities?period=2024. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. 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, 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2024a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities?period=2024.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) 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, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2024a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities?period=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_pennsylvania_by_2024,
  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, 2024}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2024a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities?period=2024. 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/ne2024a.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, 2024
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/Northeast%20Region/ne2024a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities?period=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/pennsylvania-cities?period=2024.
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/ne2024a.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 539 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

York, PA, with 0 in 2024.

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.

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

Cities in Pennsylvania: more rankings