Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau released data on new building permits issued by localities in 2011. The map below shows the distribution of projects across the U.S., followed by a breakdown of the data via The Atlantic Cities.
From The Atlantic Cities:
Metros with the Most Construction Permits
| Metro | Construction permits, 2011 |
Percent of permitted units in multi-family buildings, 2011 |
| Houston, TX | 31,271 | 27 percent |
| Dallas, TX | 18,686 | 49 percent |
| Washington, DC | 16,501 | 51 percent |
| New York, NY | 13,973 | 91 percent |
| Austin, TX | 10,239 | 39 percent |
| Los Angeles, CA | 9,895 | 77 percent |
| Phoenix, AZ | 9,081 | 20 percent |
| Seattle, WA | 8,664 | 47 percent |
| Atlanta, GA | 8,634 | 28 percent |
| San Antonio, TX | 7,127 | 38 percent |
More permits were issued in the Houston metro area than in any other metro, by far. Four of the top ten metros were in Texas. But this list is dominated by large metro areas, and we’d expect bigger areas to have more construction activity. Looking instead at the number of permits issued per 1,000 existing housing units shows the impact of construction on metro areas relative to their size. Here are the top and bottom ten metro areas by construction activity, among the largest 100 metro areas:
Most Construction Activity
| Metro |
Construction permits per 1000 housing units, 2011 |
| El Paso, TX | 15.36 |
| Austin, TX | 14.49 |
| Raleigh, NC | 13.66 |
| Houston, TX | 13.55 |
| Charleston, SC | 12.80 |
| Dallas, TX | 11.26 |
| Little Rock, AR | 10.53 |
| Baton Rouge, LA | 9.51 |
| Washington, DC | 9.44 |
| Columbia, SC | 8.74 |
Least Construction Activity
| Metro |
Construction permits per 1000 housing units, 2011 |
| Detroit, MI | 0.86 |
| Long Island, NY | 1.65 |
| Providence, RI | 1.70 |
| Springfield, MA | 1.77 |
| Chicago, IL | 1.83 |
| Cleveland, OH | 1.85 |
| New Haven, CT | 1.90 |
| Dayton, OH | 1.95 |
| Toledo, OH | 2.00 |
| Ventura County, CA | 2.02 |
The rate of construction is highest in metros within Texas and the Carolinas and lowest in the Northeast and Midwest. The map shows the pattern across America. The rate of construction is higher across the Texas, the mid-South and Mountain states, but lower in New England, the Great Lakes, South Florida and most of coastal California.
