In 2024, local governments across the United States authorized 1.38 million new housing units through building permits. But that national number hides an extraordinary geographic divide: a handful of states dominate new construction, while many of the most expensive markets barely build at all.
The Building Powerhouses
Five states account for nearly half of all permits issued nationally:
| State | Total Permits | % of National |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 225,756 | 16.3% |
| Florida | 173,326 | 12.5% |
| California | 101,545 | 7.3% |
| North Carolina | 95,163 | 6.9% |
| Georgia | 68,367 | 4.9% |
Texas alone issued more permits than the bottom 25 states combined. This isn't surprising — Texas has minimal zoning restrictions, cheap land, and massive population growth. But it raises a question: why aren't the most expensive states building more?
The Construction Paradox
Here's the central irony of American housing: the places that need homes the most are building them the least.
Metros with affordability scores below 30 (our most expensive) average just 1.5 building permits per 1,000 residents. Metros with scores above 70 (affordable) average 3.6 per 1,000 — more than double.
This is the supply-side story of the housing crisis in one statistic. Expensive places are expensive precisely because they don't build enough. And the regulatory, political, and physical constraints that prevent building ensure they stay expensive.
Where Construction Is Booming
The metros with the highest per-capita permit rates are almost all fast-growing Sun Belt or Mountain West areas:
- Wildwood-The Villages, FL: 21.4 permits per 1,000 residents — America's fastest-growing retirement community
- Punta Gorda, FL: 20.1 per 1,000
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL: 18.7 per 1,000
- Idaho Falls, ID: 17.7 per 1,000
- St. George, UT: 17.2 per 1,000
Florida dominates the top of the list, with multiple metros building at 10× the national rate. This is a state that added 365,000 residents in 2024 alone — and the construction industry is racing to keep up.
Where Construction Has Stalled
At the bottom of the list sits a different America — shrinking Rust Belt cities where demand is so low that builders see no reason to add supply:
- Enid, OK: 0.3 per 1,000
- Fairbanks-College, AK: 0.2 per 1,000
- Morgantown, WV: 0.1 per 1,000
- Weirton-Steubenville, WV: 0.1 per 1,000
- Wheeling, WV: 0.1 per 1,000
West Virginia appears three times in the bottom five. The state lost 3.2% of its population in the last decade. When people are leaving, no one builds.
Single-Family vs. Multifamily
Nationally, roughly 60% of 2024 permits were for single-family homes and 40% for multifamily (2+ units). But this varies wildly by state. California permitted 61,143 single-family homes but also authorized 40,402 multifamily units — a 60/40 split. Texas, by contrast, was 70% single-family.
The multifamily share is highest in states where density is politically accepted (New York, Massachusetts, California) and lowest in sprawling Southern states where land is cheap enough for detached homes.
The Bottom Line
1.38 million permits sounds like a lot — but it's still below the estimated 1.5-1.7 million units needed annually to close the housing gap. And the permits are concentrated in places that are already relatively affordable, while the most expensive metros continue to underbuilt. Until expensive metros fix their supply problem, no amount of Sun Belt construction will solve the national crisis.
Use our interactive map to explore building permits by state, or check any metro profile for local permit data.