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Residential Construction

Metropolitan Council uses building permits data to monitor the location and pace of housing development within the region. Data from local building officials are collected and compiled by the U.S. Bureau of the Census and by the Metropolitan Council.

The two data collections differ in their geographic scope, housing type categories, and reporting of permit valuation. Both data sets contain information at the municipal level. They show similar trends, but final counts from the Metropolitan Council are typically 4 to 6 percent higher than counts published by the Census Bureau.

Metropolitan Council data collection

2006 Council Survey of Residential Building Permits
PDF | Excel File

2005 Council Survey of Residential Building Permits

2004 Council Survey of Residential Building Permits

2003 Council Survey of Residential Building Permits

2002 Council Survey of Residential Building Permits

2001 Council Survey of Residential Building Permits

• Metropolitan Council surveys all cities and townships in the Twin Cities seven-county region at the end of each calendar year
• Historically, the Council has prepared statistics on single-family units, townhouse units, duplexes, and multifamily units. Beginning with 2004 data, multifamily units are categorized as either in buildings with 2-4 units or in buildings with 5 or more units.
• In June of each year, Metropolitan Council publishes previous year summary statistics and local details for the Twin Cities seven-county region.

Census Bureau data collection

Building Permits Database

2006 Residential Building
2006 Residential Building by city

2005 Residential Building
2005 Residential Building by city

2004 Residential Building
2004 Residential Building by city

2003 Residential Building
2003 Residential Building by city

2002 Residential Building
2002 Residential Building by city

2001 Residential Building
2001 Residential Building by city

Census Bureau collects data monthly from participating cities and towns across the nation. Counties in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Statistical Area are considered “completely covered” by Census Bureau, though not all cities and towns respond.

On a monthly schedule, Census Bureau provides year-to-date statistics on single-family housing units, buildings with two units (duplexes), buildings with three or four units, and buildings with five or more units. Townhouses are included in the “single-family” category.

Census Bureau also releases annual data each May, for the previous year, reflecting all revisions made to the year’s dataset. This release includes reporting from places that are not asked to report on a monthly basis (typically more rural areas).

Each February, Metropolitan Council publishes preliminary annual statistics for the Twin Cities seven-county region, as well as six other adjacent counties within the larger Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan statistical area.