Census Building Permits Survey · Final 2025

2–4-Unit Housing Permits by State, 2025

Where are housing units in small multifamily buildings being authorized? Compare all 50 states and DC by volume, share, or population.

55,741 units · 3.89% of U.S. authorizations

These counts measure housing units authorized in buildings with 2, 3 or 4 units. Authorizations are not completed homes; this category covers only part of missing-middle housing.

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Units per 1,000 residents

Compare authorizations relative to population. Montana leads at 0.612 units per 1,000 residents, about 61 per 100,000.

UNITS PER 1,000 RESIDENTS (/1,000)

0.05–<0.164
0.164–<0.278
0.278–<0.392
0.392–<0.506
0.506–≤0.62
No data
Lower bound included

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Compare the share of each state's authorizations in 2–4-unit buildings. Rhode Island leads at 28.65%; a high share can coexist with low overall permitting.

SHARE OF ALL AUTHORIZED UNITS (%)

1–<6.6
6.6–<12.2
12.2–<17.8
17.8–<23.4
23.4–≤29
No data
Lower bound included

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Housing units authorized

Compare the volume of authorized units. Texas leads with 9,133 units; raw counts also reflect a state's population size.

HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED

0–<1,840
1,840–<3,680
3,680–<5,520
5,520–<7,360
7,360–≤9,200
No data
Lower bound included

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All 50 states and DC

Activate a heading to sort, then activate it again to reverse. Shares display two decimals and rates three; sorting and CSV retain full precision. DC is included in all views and downloads, with no state rank.

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Final 2025 authorizations · July 1, 2025 population · 50 states and DC

Alabama	132	228	360	19,061	5,193,088	1.89	0.069	48
Alaska	72	44	116	848	737,270	13.68	0.157	26
Arizona	1,178	292	1,470	51,532	7,623,818	2.85	0.193	20
Arkansas	970	310	1,280	15,492	3,114,791	8.26	0.411	5
California	3,496	1,137	4,633	103,856	39,355,309	4.46	0.118	35
Colorado	462	240	702	33,754	6,012,561	2.08	0.117	36
Connecticut	208	148	356	7,273	3,688,496	4.89	0.097	40
Delaware	170	0	170	6,468	1,059,952	2.63	0.160	25
District of Columbia	38	0	38	1,591	693,645	2.39	0.055	Unranked
Florida	2,644	1,405	4,049	178,297	23,462,518	2.27	0.173	22
Georgia	708	641	1,349	61,196	11,302,748	2.20	0.119	34
Hawaii	210	8	218	3,708	1,432,820	5.88	0.152	27
Idaho	340	566	906	17,944	2,029,733	5.05	0.446	4
Illinois	614	849	1,463	18,551	12,719,141	7.89	0.115	37
Indiana	506	164	670	29,076	6,973,333	2.30	0.096	41
Iowa	432	322	754	13,664	3,238,387	5.52	0.233	12
Kansas	1,612	171	1,783	10,299	2,977,220	17.31	0.599	2
Kentucky	714	303	1,017	14,940	4,606,864	6.81	0.221	15
Louisiana	520	69	589	14,203	4,618,189	4.15	0.128	30
Maine	244	97	341	6,979	1,414,874	4.89	0.241	11
Maryland	420	23	443	13,358	6,265,347	3.32	0.071	47
Massachusetts	438	197	635	12,477	7,154,084	5.09	0.089	44
Michigan	726	517	1,243	23,075	10,127,884	5.39	0.123	32
Minnesota	310	279	589	20,947	5,830,405	2.81	0.101	39
Mississippi	152	47	199	8,405	2,954,160	2.37	0.067	49
Missouri	718	616	1,334	17,474	6,270,541	7.63	0.213	17
Montana	360	340	700	5,258	1,144,694	13.31	0.612	1
Nebraska	356	195	551	10,596	2,018,006	5.20	0.273	7
Nevada	474	122	596	18,540	3,282,188	3.21	0.182	21
New Hampshire	166	157	323	5,030	1,415,342	6.42	0.228	13
New Jersey	818	733	1,551	27,661	9,548,215	5.61	0.162	24
New Mexico	162	25	187	7,747	2,125,498	2.41	0.088	45
New York	1,098	681	1,779	38,667	20,002,427	4.60	0.089	43
North Carolina	1,086	320	1,406	86,167	11,197,968	1.63	0.126	31
North Dakota	56	10	66	2,440	799,358	2.70	0.083	46
Ohio	832	924	1,756	33,640	11,900,510	5.22	0.148	28
Oklahoma	868	248	1,116	15,513	4,123,288	7.19	0.271	9
Oregon	480	219	699	14,839	4,273,586	4.71	0.164	23
Pennsylvania	518	704	1,222	25,709	13,059,432	4.75	0.094	42
Rhode Island	350	148	498	1,738	1,114,521	28.65	0.447	3
South Carolina	416	368	784	45,862	5,570,274	1.71	0.141	29
South Dakota	100	107	207	5,305	935,094	3.90	0.221	14
Tennessee	426	453	879	43,374	7,315,076	2.03	0.120	33
Texas	6,356	2,777	9,133	210,217	31,709,821	4.34	0.288	6
Utah	202	578	780	26,775	3,538,904	2.91	0.220	16
Vermont	92	39	131	2,294	644,663	5.71	0.203	18
Virginia	500	94	594	33,094	8,880,107	1.79	0.067	50
Washington	1,342	790	2,132	34,913	8,001,020	6.11	0.266	10
West Virginia	72	126	198	3,962	1,766,147	5.00	0.112	38
Wisconsin	1,536	92	1,628	25,569	5,972,787	6.37	0.273	8
Wyoming	48	70	118	2,238	588,753	5.27	0.200	19

Three different questions, three different leaders

Texas has the largest count, Montana has the highest rate per resident, and Rhode Island has the highest share of total authorizations. These comparisons describe scale, population-adjusted activity, and the mix of authorized housing respectively.

Rhode Island's 498 small-building units are 28.65% of its 1,738 total authorized units. Texas's 9,133 small-building units are 4.34% of its 210,217 total. A higher share therefore does not establish a higher volume or rate of construction. State totals also hide substantial local differences.

What this category includes

Small-building units = units in 2-unit buildings + units in 3–4-unit buildings. Each apartment counts as one housing unit. These are new privately owned residential authorizations, not building counts, individual permit documents, housing starts, completions, or net additions after demolition.

This is a narrow slice of missing-middle housing. Census classifies many attached townhouses as 1-unit structures; the 5+ category also includes some smaller apartment buildings. Conversions within existing buildings are excluded. The figures do not identify every ADU, housing form, walkable location, affordability level, tenure, or zoning program.

Do not infer that a state's laws caused its rank or that authorized homes were built. Areas where permits are not required are excluded, and estimates include imputation and nonsampling error. Small counts and close ranks may not represent meaningful differences. Explore population growth for related context.

Calculations and sources

Share = 2–4-unit units ÷ all authorized units × 100. Rate = 2–4-unit units ÷ July 1, 2025 resident population × 1,000. The same Census population vintage is used for every state. The national share uses national totals rather than averaging state percentages. Ranks compare the 50 states at full precision; equal values share a rank. DC remains unranked.

Source: Census Building Permits Survey, final 2025 annual release published May 14, 2026, retrieved October 1, 2026; official state workbook, “State Units Ann” sheet. The last column counts 5+ unit buildings and is excluded from unit sums. Population comes from Census Vintage 2025, July 1 estimates.

All 51 state/DC joins and all four unit categories reconcile to the national totals: 36,748 + 18,993 = 55,741 small-building units, out of 1,431,616 total authorizations. Population sums to 341,784,857. Counts are preserved exactly; derived values are rounded only for display. The source snapshot is frozen for 2025; partial 2026 figures are not mixed into this comparison.

Census definitions · Methods and limitations

Archived official workbook · Extracted source counts · Archived population CSV · Calculated data and checksums