Who Actually
Builds Housing

Shade the country by supply rate - housing units authorized per 1,000 residents, not raw count - and a diagonal appears. A dark band of permitting runs from the Mountain West down through the Carolinas and Florida. The palest states are the coastal Northeast and the industrial Midwest: large, established populations clearing remarkably few new homes. Raw counts would hide this; per capita is the lens that makes a big slow state and a small fast one comparable.

Hover a state for its figures

Fig. A-01 · Choropleth, 51 jurisdictions, single-hue mauve density ramp. Hover a state for its rate and unit count; the ranked table below carries every value so the reading never rests on colour alone. Census BPS Annual 2025 units over Census Vintage 2024 resident population.

All 51 jurisdictions, ranked (data table)

State	Per 1,000	Units	Multifamily	Rate
Idaho	9.0	17,944	16%
South Carolina	8.4	45,862	11%
North Carolina	7.8	86,167	23%
Florida	7.6	178,297	35%
Utah	7.6	26,775	34%
Arizona	6.8	51,532	32%
Texas	6.7	210,217	29%
Delaware	6.1	6,468	14%
Tennessee	6.0	43,374	24%
Colorado	5.7	33,754	46%
Nevada	5.7	18,540	31%
South Dakota	5.7	5,305	34%
Georgia	5.5	61,196	25%
Nebraska	5.3	10,596	42%
Arkansas	5.0	15,492	25%
Maine	5.0	6,979	27%
Montana	4.6	5,258	36%
Washington	4.4	34,913	43%
Wisconsin	4.3	25,569	41%
Indiana	4.2	29,076	29%
Iowa	4.2	13,664	41%
Oklahoma	3.8	15,513	18%
Virginia	3.8	33,094	36%
Wyoming	3.8	2,238	17%
Alabama	3.7	19,061	17%
Minnesota	3.6	20,947	36%
New Hampshire	3.6	5,030	28%
New Mexico	3.6	7,747	16%
Kansas	3.5	10,299	23%
Oregon	3.5	14,839	33%
Vermont	3.5	2,294	38%
Kentucky	3.3	14,940	34%
Louisiana	3.1	14,203	17%
North Dakota	3.1	2,440	25%
Mississippi	2.9	8,405	11%
New Jersey	2.9	27,661	48%
Missouri	2.8	17,474	27%
Ohio	2.8	33,640	43%
California	2.6	103,856	40%
Hawaii	2.6	3,708	29%
District of Columbia	2.3	1,591	86%
Michigan	2.3	23,075	27%
West Virginia	2.2	3,962	4%
Maryland	2.1	13,358	27%
Connecticut	2.0	7,273	67%
Pennsylvania	2.0	25,709	34%
New York	1.9	38,667	66%
Massachusetts	1.7	12,477	55%
Rhode Island	1.6	1,738	29%
Illinois	1.5	18,551	34%
Alaska	1.1	848	19%

Line the 51 jurisdictions up by how many homes each permits per resident and the shape is lopsided: a thick stack of below-average states, then a thinning above-average tail of fast builders. 30 of 51 sit under the U.S. average; the median jurisdiction (New Mexico) permits about 3.6 per 1,000. The country's housing supply is decided by a small number of outliers.

• Below U.S. average
• At or above average

Fig. A-02 · Each column counts the states whose supply rate falls in that unit-wide band. Bar caps are direct-labelled with the state count. Census BPS Annual data over Census Vintage 2024 population.

The same 25 metros, ranked by units permitted per 1,000 residents, each bar split into single-family and multifamily (5+ units) so rank and building shape read at once. The order is the whole argument: the leaders are mid-size Sun Belt and Mountain West metros, and the biggest, costliest coastal names sink to the bottom. Rank runs opposite to price.

1. 01 Myrtle Beach, SC 15.8
2. 02 Boise City, ID 11.2
3. 03 Raleigh-Cary, NC 11.2
4. 04 Austin-Round Rock, TX 10.7
5. 05 Provo-Orem, UT 9.6
6. 06 Orlando-Kissimmee, FL 9.5
7. 07 Nashville-Davidson, TN 8.9
8. 08 Houston-The Woodlands, TX 8.3
9. 09 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 7.9
10. 10 Charlotte-Concord, NC 7.7
11. 11 Phoenix-Mesa, AZ 7.7
12. 12 Jacksonville, FL 7.6
13. 13 Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL 6.6
14. 14 Atlanta-Sandy Springs, GA 5.3
15. 15 Denver-Aurora, CO 5.2
16. 16 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 3.9
17. 17 Seattle-Tacoma, WA 3.8
18. 18 Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL 3.6
19. 19 Washington-Arlington, DC 2.8
20. 20 New York-Newark, NY 2.2
21. 21 Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA 2.1
22. 22 Boston-Cambridge, MA 2.0
23. 23 Philadelphia-Camden, PA 2.0
24. 24 San Francisco-Oakland, CA 1.7
25. 25 Chicago-Naperville, IL 1.7

Fig. A-03 · Bar length is the supply rate; the mauve share is multifamily. Full counts in the table below. Census BPS Annual 2025 units over Census Vintage 2024 population.

Full metro table (units, single, multifamily)

Metro	Per 1,000	Total units	Single-fam	Multifamily	Multi %
Myrtle Beach, SC	15.8	6,511	6,418	77	1%
Boise City, ID	11.2	9,438	7,970	1,218	13%
Raleigh-Cary, NC	11.2	17,543	11,760	5,542	32%
Austin-Round Rock, TX	10.7	27,322	14,810	11,749	43%
Provo-Orem, UT	9.6	7,304	5,395	1,695	23%
Orlando-Kissimmee, FL	9.5	27,845	14,198	13,463	48%
Nashville-Davidson, TN	8.9	19,203	13,267	5,827	30%
Houston-The Woodlands, TX	8.3	65,075	46,219	16,385	25%
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX	7.9	66,179	39,790	24,607	37%
Charlotte-Concord, NC	7.7	22,233	16,242	5,820	26%
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ	7.7	39,699	23,755	14,800	37%
Jacksonville, FL	7.6	13,455	9,512	3,700	27%
Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL	6.6	22,747	13,596	8,771	39%
Atlanta-Sandy Springs, GA	5.3	33,670	22,065	11,052	33%
Denver-Aurora, CO	5.2	15,948	7,477	8,195	51%
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN	3.9	14,516	8,868	5,342	37%
Seattle-Tacoma, WA	3.8	15,659	6,136	8,199	52%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL	3.6	23,453	5,873	16,699	71%
Washington-Arlington, DC	2.8	17,990	10,168	7,392	41%
New York-Newark, NY	2.2	44,444	10,477	31,550	71%
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA	2.1	27,242	12,883	12,525	46%
Boston-Cambridge, MA	2.0	10,072	3,971	5,695	57%
Philadelphia-Camden, PA	2.0	12,900	7,256	4,935	38%
San Francisco-Oakland, CA	1.7	7,750	2,713	4,884	63%
Chicago-Naperville, IL	1.7	15,778	9,497	5,324	34%

Plot every metro by population and by supply rate and the dots drift down as they drift right: the largest metros - the New Yorks and Los Angeleses where housing is scarcest and dearest - sit along the floor, while the fastest permitting happens in the smaller Sun Belt boomtowns up the left side. Size is not the constraint. The places with the most people and the most demand authorize the fewest homes per resident.

• Sun Belt boomtown
• Steady
• Supply-frozen

Fig. A-04 · One mark per metro; shape and colour both encode archetype, so the groups read under colour-blindness and in greyscale. Extremes direct-labelled; hover any dot for its figures. Census BPS Annual 2025 units over Census Vintage 2024 population.

Now hold volume constant and ask only about shape. Each bar is one metro's permitted units normalized to 100% and split into single-family, the 2 to 4 unit "missing middle", and multifamily (5+), sorted from most detached at the top to most apartment at the bottom. Sun Belt sprawl and Texas subdivisions anchor one end; the supply-frozen coasts, where almost every new unit is an apartment, anchor the other. Two different housing economies, drawn to the same width.

Bars normalized to 100%. Small segments omit their label; the middle band is the 2 to 4 unit class.

National housing units authorized each year, stacked by building type. The recovery from the 2008 collapse was carried by multifamily nearly as much as single-family - the apartment share crested around 2022, at roughly 39% of all new units. The 2-to-4-unit "missing middle" stayed a rounding error the entire stretch, the housing type America stopped building.

• Single-family (1 unit)
• 2 to 4 units
• Multifamily (5+ units)

Fig. A-06 · Thousands of units authorized nationwide; segment heights are the three building classes. 2025 totalled 1,432k. Source: Census BPS annual state files, summed to national.

Read as a rate rather than a volume, the same national data tells a structural story: the multifamily share of everything permitted climbed from about 22% in 2010 to a peak near 39% in 2022, before easing to 32%. The country is not just building - it is quietly building denser, one approval at a time.

Fig. A-07 · Multifamily (5+ unit) units as a share of all units authorized nationwide each year. Single series; peak and latest year direct-labelled. Source: Census BPS annual state files, summed to national.

Group the metros by archetype and index each group to its own 2010 level - the bottom of the post-crash trough - and the gap becomes a matter of slope. Every cohort recovered, but not evenly: Sun Belt boomtowns ran to roughly three and a half times their 2010 pace and kept climbing; the steady metros and the supply-frozen coasts each about doubled, then stalled and gave ground after the 2021 peak. Same demand, three different tempos of supply - and the boomtowns pulled decisively away.

Fig. A-08 · Each panel indexes one cohort's total permits to 2010 = 100; the two grey lines repeat the other cohorts for scale. Cohorts are an editorial grouping of the metros; the trajectories are their real summed BPS permits.

Here is the whole argument on one axis. Each bar is a metro's distance from the national average of 4.2 units per 1,000 residents - above to the right, below to the left. The fast-permitting Sun Belt and Mountain West metros authorize about 4.7x as many homes per resident as the big coastal metros where demand and prices are highest. Where housing costs the most, the least gets built.

• Above U.S. average
• Below U.S. average

Fig. A-09 · Bars measure each metro's supply rate against the national average; length is the size of the gap, direction is its sign. Census BPS Annual 2025 units over Census Vintage 2024 population.

Every metro vs the U.S. average (data table)

Metro	Per 1,000	vs U.S. avg	Total units
Myrtle Beach, SC	15.8	+11.6	6,511
Boise City, ID	11.2	+7.0	9,438
Raleigh-Cary, NC	11.2	+7.0	17,543
Austin-Round Rock, TX	10.7	+6.5	27,322
Provo-Orem, UT	9.6	+5.4	7,304
Orlando-Kissimmee, FL	9.5	+5.3	27,845
Nashville-Davidson, TN	8.9	+4.7	19,203
Houston-The Woodlands, TX	8.3	+4.1	65,075
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX	7.9	+3.7	66,179
Charlotte-Concord, NC	7.7	+3.5	22,233
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ	7.7	+3.5	39,699
Jacksonville, FL	7.6	+3.4	13,455
Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL	6.6	+2.4	22,747
Atlanta-Sandy Springs, GA	5.3	+1.1	33,670
Denver-Aurora, CO	5.2	+1.0	15,948
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN	3.9	-0.3	14,516
Seattle-Tacoma, WA	3.8	-0.4	15,659
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL	3.6	-0.6	23,453
Washington-Arlington, DC	2.8	-1.4	17,990
New York-Newark, NY	2.2	-2.0	44,444
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA	2.1	-2.1	27,242
Boston-Cambridge, MA	2.0	-2.2	10,072
Philadelphia-Camden, PA	2.0	-2.2	12,900
San Francisco-Oakland, CA	1.7	-2.5	7,750
Chicago-Naperville, IL	1.7	-2.5	15,778