Housing - Building permits (2016) To resort data: click column headings. To download data: click here. Name Single family building permits per 10,000 population Rank Single family building permits per 10,000 population Idaho 1 60 South Carolina 2 54 Utah 3 52 Delaware 4 51 North Carolina 5 44 Colorado 6 41 Nevada 7 40 Texas 8 39 South Dakota 9 39 Tennessee 10 38 Florida 11 37 Arizona 12 37 Georgia 13 36 Washington 14 33 North Dakota 15 32 Montana 16 32 Oregon 17 28 Nebraska 18 28 Iowa 19 27 Louisiana 20 27 Wyoming 21 27 Virginia 22 26 Maine 23 26 Alabama 24 25 Arkansas 25 24 Oklahoma 26 24 Minnesota 27 22 Indiana 28 22 New Hampshire 29 21 Mississippi 30 21 Wisconsin 31 20 Missouri 32 20 Kansas 33 19 Maryland 34 19 New Mexico 35 19 Kentucky 36 18 Vermont 37 17 Michigan 38 15 Alaska 39 15 Hawaii 40 15 Ohio 41 14 California 42 14 Pennsylvania 43 13 New Jersey 44 12 Massachusetts 45 12 West Virginia 46 11 Rhode Island 47 10 Illinois 48 9 Connecticut 49 7 New York 50 6 Source: 2016: U.S. Bureau of the Census; Building Permits Survey, (https://www.census.gov/construction/bps/); DATE LAST UPDATED: August 28, 2017