Insights / Data report, August 2026
WHERE THE US is building.
New housing permits show where builders expect demand, and where new apartments, subdivisions, and the shopping centers that follow will need leasing and community websites. This report ranks the 100 largest US metros by housing units permitted from January through August 2026, per 1,000 residents, using the Census Bureau’s Building Permits Survey.
Findings
WHAT THE
data shows.
Housing units authorized by building permits, January through August 2026. Rates use July 2025 population.
- 01
Durham permitted the most new housing for its size: 9.8 units per 1,000 residents from January through August, followed by North Port (9.4) and Fayetteville (9.2). The US rate was 2.8.
- 02
Permits rose fastest in Durham (+64% over the same months of 2025), Seattle (+52%), and Hartford (+52%).
- 03
They fell furthest in Bridgeport (-55%), Baton Rouge (-41%), and Las Vegas (-38%).
- 04
Apartment buildings dominate in New York, where 77% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more, and in Madison (67%) and Miami (66%).
- 05
Nationally, 968,187 units were permitted from January through August 2026, about the same as a year earlier.
Units permitted per 1,000 residents, January–August 2026
Each metro links to its city guide.
Method
Units authorized by building permits, year to date through August 2026, from the Census Bureau’s Building Permits Survey metropolitan files, compared with the same months of 2025. Rates divide permitted units by the July 2025 population estimate. Metros use the 2023 OMB definitions. Permits measure authorizations, not completed construction, and the Census Bureau imputes some figures for places that do not report each month.
Sources: Building Permits Survey, August 2026; Population Estimates, Vintage 2025. Updated 2026-10-10.
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