Fastest-Growing Development Markets

Cities ranked by housing units permitted per 1,000 residents

Raw permitting pace, normalized for population, over the most recent twelve months of Census data.

50 locations · Calculated September 15, 2026 · Data reflects 12 months ending July 2026 · Download CSV

The supporting columns show on a wider screen, and every column is in the CSV.

Narrow to one state

50 places, ranked nationally.

#	City	Permits per 1,000	Permits units 12mo	Permits multifamily share
1	Buckeye, AZ	24.4	2,562	1.0%
2	Columbia, SC	22.9	3,198	73.1%
3	Goodyear, AZ	20.0	2,148	32.6%
4	Palm Bay, FL	18.8	2,451	12.0%
5	The Woodlands, TX	17.2	11,755	5.9%
6	Denton, TX	17.1	2,619	60.7%
7	Durham, NC	15.9	4,643	53.2%
8	Surprise, AZ	15.7	2,428	5.6%
9	Frisco, TX	15.5	3,405	71.1%
10	Bend, OR	15.3	1,580	48.3%
11	San Tan Valley, AZ	15.1	7,102	9.3%
12	College Station, TX	15.1	1,881	61.0%
13	McKinney, TX	14.6	3,065	53.2%
14	Salt Lake City, UT	14.2	2,955	89.9%
15	Gainesville, FL	13.8	2,009	90.2%
16	Abilene, TX	13.7	1,757	30.1%
17	Lehigh Acres, FL	13.5	11,074	25.3%
18	Broken Arrow, OK	12.9	1,529	57.7%
19	New Braunfels, TX	12.4	1,295	23.4%
20	Arlington, VA	12.1	2,852	93.5%
21	Richmond, VA	11.8	2,714	81.1%
22	Atlanta, GA	11.8	5,975	87.8%
23	Bellevue, WA	11.6	1,767	83.1%
24	Clarksville, TN	11.3	2,002	40.4%
25	Meridian, ID	11.3	1,475	18.5%
26	Nampa, ID	11.3	1,249	2.6%
27	Fort Worth, TX	11.3	10,867	44.4%
28	Madison, WI	11.2	3,111	91.0%
29	Sandy Springs, GA	11.2	1,195	93.4%
30	Conroe, TX	11.0	1,121	0.0%
31	Port St. Lucie, FL	10.8	2,517	0.0%
32	St. Petersburg, FL	10.8	2,841	73.1%
33	Sioux Falls, SD	10.7	2,159	65.4%
34	Greeley, CO	10.7	1,187	79.4%
35	Raleigh, NC	10.7	5,124	72.4%
36	Miami, FL	10.4	4,781	91.7%
37	Odessa, TX	10.3	1,191	0.0%
38	Carmel, IN	10.0	1,015	75.6%
39	McAllen, TX	9.9	1,445	21.2%
40	Rochester, MN	9.9	1,215	75.6%
41	Cape Coral, FL	9.8	2,123	11.0%
42	Sparks, NV	9.7	1,067	61.5%
43	Fort Collins, CO	9.5	1,614	71.4%
44	Huntsville, AL	9.5	2,108	42.3%
45	Edinburg, TX	9.4	981	9.8%
46	Charleston, SC	9.4	1,446	46.1%
47	Allen, TX	9.3	1,024	80.9%
48	Murfreesboro, TN	9.2	1,489	16.0%
49	Spring Hill, FL	9.2	1,905	7.3%
50	Jersey City, NJ	9.0	2,657	88.1%

Methodology

Residential units authorized by building permits over the trailing twelve months, divided by population and expressed per 1,000 residents. The trailing window is computed as year-to-date through the latest published month, plus the prior full calendar year, minus the equivalent year-to-date window a year earlier.

What is excluded, and why

Cities under 100,000 residents and cities with no published permit activity. Ranked on permitted units per 1,000 residents over the trailing twelve months. A location qualifies with at least 100 units authorized in that window, which is low enough to include genuinely small markets and high enough to exclude a single large project standing in for a trend.

Development level eligibility

Minimum population: 100,000
Minimum units authorized in the current twelve months: 100

The top 50 of the 309 cities that meet these criteria are listed.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) (2024)
U.S. Census Bureau — Building Permits Survey (2026)

Full details of how signals and the Area Score are calculated are on the methodology page, and how rankings like this one are built and reviewed is on the editorial policy page.