Building Permits by State and Metro Area

State and Metro Permit Data

View the latest national, regional and metro-level data from the U.S. Census Bureau on residential building permits. The data illustrate year-to-date (YTD) numbers of building permits for both multifamily and single-family homes, total building permits, and YTD comparisons of the previous year’s pace of permits issued. Download the State and MSA Permit Report

Housing Permit Data Portal

NAHB’s new Housing Permit Data Portal allows for easy access of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s monthly building permits survey. Users can customize their search to view specific data at the metro, county or local builders association level.

The information available in the portal is estimated permit data such as the number of buildings, units and valuation for single-family and multifamily housing. Users can start by using the search box to find specific geographies. The chart at the bottom of the page illustrates the YTD single-family permits, and it can also show side-by-side comparisons of multiple geographical areas selected by the user. View the Portal

Single-Family Permits in 2024

In 2024, the total number of single-family permits issued nationwide reached 981,911. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this was an increase of 6.7% over the 2023 level of 919,973. Single-family permits were up in all four regions. The range of permit increases spanned 10.6% in the West to 4.8% in the South. The Midwest was up by 9.6% and the Northeast was up by 6.6% in single-family permits during this time.

The ten states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 63.1% of the total single-family permits issued. Texas, the state with the highest number of single-family permits, issued 158,121 permits over 2024, which is an increase of 5.5% compared to the same period last year. The second highest state, Florida, was down by 1.9%, while the third highest, North Carolina, posted an increase of 6.4%.

Multifamily Permits in 2024

In 2024, the total number of multifamily permits issued nationwide reached 496,089. This is 16.1% below the 2023 level of 591,129.

The ten states issuing the highest number of multifamily permits combined accounted for 62.4% of the multifamily permits issued. Over 2024, Texas, the state with the highest number of multifamily permits issued, experienced a decline of 18.0%. Florida, the second-highest state in multifamily permits, saw a decline of 26.5%. California, the third largest multifamily issuing state, decreased by 24.1%.