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

Nashville, TN had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 58 cities in 2021, at 3,932. Elizabethton, TN had the lowest, at 0. The median was 146. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest3,932Nashville, TN

Lowest0Elizabethton, TN

Median14658 cities

All 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	Nashville, TN Estimated	3,932	+11.3%
2	Murfreesboro, TN Estimated	2,064	+21.1%
3	Clarksville, TN Estimated	1,452	-24.6%
4	Lebanon, TN Estimated	1,258	+70.5%
5	Columbia, TN Estimated	796	+26.3%
6	Gallatin, TN Estimated	763	+11.2%
7	Spring Hill, TN Estimated	635	-32.2%
8	Mount Juliet, TN Estimated	609	-6.2%
9	Chattanooga, TN Estimated	575	+13.4%
10	Nolensville, TN Estimated	521	+14.8%
11	Crossville, TN Estimated	477	+7.9%
12	Hendersonville, TN Estimated	454	+35.5%
13	Morristown, TN Estimated	438	+190.1%
14	White House, TN Estimated	349	+29.3%
15	Franklin, TN Estimated	293	-28.2%
16	Smyrna, TN Estimated	290	-52%
17	Collierville, TN Estimated	271	+41.9%
18	Knoxville, TN Estimated	261	-15.8%
19	Cleveland, TN Estimated	253	+21.6%
19	Oakland, TN Estimated	253	+7.2%
21	Johnson City, TN Estimated	241	+30.3%
22	Lenoir City, TN Estimated	219	+242.2%
23	Shelbyville, TN Estimated	215	+22.9%
24	Jackson, TN Estimated	191	+17.9%
25	Springfield, TN Estimated	186	+34.8%
26	Kingsport, TN Estimated	173	+106%
27	Winchester, TN Estimated	171	+94.3%
28	Cookeville, TN Estimated	150	-35.6%
29	Brentwood, TN Estimated	147	+4.3%
30	Fairview, TN Estimated	145	+51%
31	Maryville, TN Estimated	143	-31.3%
32	Farragut, TN Estimated	138	+48.4%
33	Goodlettsville, TN Estimated	119	-7%
34	Oak Ridge, TN Estimated	112	+38.3%
35	La Vergne, TN Estimated	103	+12%
36	Atoka, TN Estimated	96	+12.9%
37	Dickson, TN Estimated	86	+26.5%
38	Sevierville, TN Estimated	63	+37%
39	Clinton, TN Estimated	62	+100%
40	Alcoa, TN Estimated	58	+18.4%
40	Greeneville, TN Estimated	58	+13.7%
42	Manchester, TN Estimated	57	-30.5%
43	Portland, TN Estimated	53	+32.5%
43	Tullahoma, TN Estimated	53	-10.2%
45	Red Bank, TN Estimated	47	-16.1%
46	Bartlett, TN Estimated	44	+25.7%
47	Soddy-Daisy, TN Estimated	43	-14%
48	Collegedale, TN Estimated	32	-27.3%
49	Athens, TN Estimated	30	+36.4%
50	Dyersburg, TN Estimated	28	+16.7%
51	Bristol, TN Estimated	27	+145.5%
51	Martin, TN Estimated	27	+22.7%
53	Paris, TN Estimated	22	+22.2%
54	Lawrenceburg, TN Estimated	18	+100%
55	McMinnville, TN Estimated	12	-7.7%
56	Union City, TN Estimated	10	+150%
57	East Ridge, TN Estimated	0	-100%
57	Elizabethton, TN 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. 3 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

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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

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

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Questions

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

Nashville, TN, with 3,932 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Elizabethton, TN, 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. 3 cities have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.