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 August 29, 2026
| # | City | Permits per 1,000 | Permits units 12mo | Permits multifamily share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frisco, TX | 16.2 | 3,405 | 71.1% |
| 2 | Durham, NC | 16.1 | 4,643 | 53.2% |
| 3 | McKinney, TX | 15.1 | 3,065 | 53.2% |
| 4 | Salt Lake City, UT | 14.5 | 2,955 | 89.9% |
| 5 | Atlanta, GA | 12.0 | 5,975 | 87.8% |
| 6 | Richmond, VA | 11.9 | 2,714 | 81.1% |
| 7 | Fort Worth, TX | 11.5 | 10,867 | 44.4% |
| 8 | Port St. Lucie, FL | 11.4 | 2,517 | 0.0% |
| 9 | Madison, WI | 11.3 | 3,111 | 91.0% |
| 10 | Sioux Falls, SD | 10.9 | 2,159 | 65.4% |
| 11 | St. Petersburg, FL | 10.9 | 2,841 | 73.1% |
| 12 | Raleigh, NC | 10.9 | 5,124 | 72.4% |
| 13 | Miami, FL | 10.7 | 4,781 | 91.7% |
| 14 | Cape Coral, FL | 10.3 | 2,123 | 11.0% |
| 15 | Huntsville, AL | 9.6 | 2,108 | 42.3% |
| 16 | Jersey City, NJ | 9.2 | 2,657 | 88.1% |
| 17 | Denver, CO | 9.0 | 6,441 | 84.9% |
| 18 | Knoxville, TN | 9.0 | 1,738 | 72.3% |
| 19 | Tallahassee, FL | 8.3 | 1,653 | 67.8% |
| 20 | Lubbock, TX | 8.1 | 2,109 | 29.7% |
| 21 | Newark, NJ | 8.0 | 2,472 | 78.7% |
| 22 | Pittsburgh, PA | 8.0 | 2,430 | 95.3% |
| 23 | Austin, TX | 7.8 | 7,547 | 71.8% |
| 24 | Columbus, OH | 7.6 | 6,848 | 82.5% |
| 25 | Tampa, FL | 7.3 | 2,888 | 65.5% |
| 26 | Nashville-Davidson, TN | 7.3 | 5,005 | 58.1% |
| 27 | Brownsville, TX | 7.2 | 1,352 | 45.3% |
| 28 | Omaha, NE | 7.1 | 3,487 | 57.7% |
| 29 | Orlando, FL | 7.1 | 2,224 | 67.9% |
| 30 | Greensboro, NC | 6.8 | 2,042 | 59.5% |
| 31 | Peoria, AZ | 6.8 | 1,321 | 38.8% |
| 32 | Oklahoma City, OK | 6.8 | 4,666 | 5.1% |
| 33 | Vancouver, WA | 6.7 | 1,298 | 66.8% |
| 34 | Tempe, AZ | 6.7 | 1,240 | 92.7% |
| 35 | Baton Rouge, LA | 6.6 | 1,479 | 62.8% |
| 36 | Lincoln, NE | 6.5 | 1,911 | 54.2% |
| 37 | Seattle, WA | 6.5 | 4,827 | 69.7% |
| 38 | North Las Vegas, NV | 6.5 | 1,762 | 37.5% |
| 39 | Henderson, NV | 6.5 | 2,106 | — |
| 40 | Jacksonville, FL | 6.2 | 5,937 | 36.8% |
| 41 | Grand Prairie, TX | 6.2 | 1,222 | 72.3% |
| 42 | Winston-Salem, NC | 6.1 | 1,521 | 0.0% |
| 43 | Phoenix, AZ | 6.0 | 9,707 | 64.5% |
| 44 | Amarillo, TX | 6.0 | 1,196 | 40.9% |
| 45 | Chesapeake, VA | 5.9 | 1,476 | 53.3% |
| 46 | Fontana, CA | 5.8 | 1,225 | 56.7% |
| 47 | Tacoma, WA | 5.7 | 1,267 | 80.0% |
| 48 | Dallas, TX | 5.6 | 7,307 | 69.0% |
| 49 | Irvine, CA | 5.5 | 1,703 | 60.1% |
| 50 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 5.3 | 970 | 71.8% |
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.
- Minimum population: 100,000
- Minimum units authorized in the current twelve months: 100
50 of 146 published cities qualified.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau — Building Permits Survey (2026)
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) (2024)
Full details of how signals and the Area Score are calculated are on the methodology page.