# Census State Building Permit Change Monitor (`aether_studio/census-state-building-permit-change-monitor`) Actor

Compare the two newest official Census Building Permits Survey state releases and rank housing-unit or construction-value changes.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/aether\_studio/census-state-building-permit-change-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [AetherPromptStudio](https://apify.com/aether_studio) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Census State Building Permit Change Monitor

Compare the two newest official U.S. Census Building Permits Survey state
releases and immediately see where residential construction authorization is
accelerating or slowing. The Actor converts Census monthly files into clean,
ranked state-level change records with housing-unit, construction-value,
single-family, multifamily, and reported-coverage context.

This is a national housing-development signal rather than a city permit lead
scraper. It answers **which states changed most since the prior monthly
release?** without requiring users to download spreadsheets, understand Census
file layouts, or maintain their own month-over-month comparison pipeline.

### What it does

- Discovers the two newest Census state current-month files automatically.
- Compares all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- Ranks total authorized housing units, single-family units, units in buildings
  with five or more units, or total authorized construction value.
- Filters by two-letter state code, direction, and minimum absolute percentage
  change.
- Preserves the current and previous official source URL on every record.
- Reports estimated totals alongside the share represented by responding permit
  offices, so users can judge coverage.
- Produces a compact `SUMMARY` record even when filters return no dataset rows.
- Uses bounded, keyless government downloads with no browser, proxy, login, or
  personal data.

### Buyer workflows

Construction-material suppliers can rank states where authorized residential
units are expanding. Homebuilders and land teams can add a state-level momentum
signal to market-selection research. Banks, housing analysts, and commercial
real-estate teams can monitor broad development direction. Economic researchers
and newsrooms can automate a reproducible monthly comparison instead of
manually reconciling Census releases.

The output is intentionally an aggregate market indicator. It does not identify
individual permit applicants, property owners, contractors, addresses, or
survey respondents.

### Example input

```json
{
  "states": ["CA", "TX", "FL", "AZ"],
  "metric": "totalUnits",
  "minAbsolutePercentChange": 5,
  "direction": "all",
  "sortBy": "absolutePercentChange",
  "maxResults": 25
}
```

Leave `states` empty to compare every state and DC. Supported metrics are:

- `totalUnits`: all authorized housing units across structure types.
- `singleFamilyUnits`: authorized units in one-unit buildings.
- `multiFamilyFivePlusUnits`: authorized units in buildings containing five or
  more units.
- `totalValue`: authorized construction value in thousands of dollars.

### Example output

```json
{
  "recordKey": "census-bps-state-202606-06-totalUnits",
  "state": "California",
  "stateCode": "CA",
  "stateFips": "06",
  "currentPeriod": "202606",
  "previousPeriod": "202605",
  "metric": "totalUnits",
  "currentValue": 10013,
  "previousValue": 9872,
  "absoluteChange": 141,
  "percentChange": 1.43,
  "direction": "increased",
  "currentTotalUnits": 10013,
  "previousTotalUnits": 9872,
  "currentSingleFamilyUnits": 5776,
  "currentMultiFamilyFivePlusUnits": 3784,
  "currentTotalValueThousands": 2989811,
  "currentReportedCoveragePercent": 60.1,
  "sourceUrl": "https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/State/st2606c.txt",
  "previousSourceUrl": "https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/State/st2605c.txt",
  "retrievedAt": "2026-08-24T13:00:00.000Z"
}
```

Values above illustrate the schema. Every real run derives its values and
periods from the official files available at run time.

### Interpreting reported coverage

Census state files contain both estimated totals and the portion represented by
permit offices that reported. `currentReportedCoveragePercent` is the reported
unit subtotal divided by the estimated unit total. It provides useful context,
but it is not a statistical confidence interval or a quality grade.

A large monthly move can reflect real authorization activity, late reports,
imputation, corrections, or changes in reporting coverage. Review the current
and previous coverage values and official methodology before drawing a strong
conclusion.

### Source cadence and revisions

The Actor reads public comma-delimited state files from the official
[Census Building Permits Survey](https://www.census.gov/construction/bps/).
Revised state data are generally released monthly on the seventeenth workday.
Release timing can change, and prior figures can be affected by late reports or
corrections.

The Census Bureau explains that the survey covers permit-issuing jurisdictions
and reports units and valuation for new privately owned residential
construction. The published files contain aggregate statistics; the Actor does
not attempt to identify any respondent or combine Census data to reveal a
person, household, business, or establishment.

This product uses U.S. Census Bureau data but is not endorsed or certified by
the Census Bureau. Source data, file links, retrieval time, and the selected
comparison period remain visible for auditability.

### Empty results

A successful run may produce zero rows when no state matches the selected
postal codes, direction, or minimum percentage threshold. Check the `SUMMARY`
record to confirm the two periods compared and how many states matched. For a
broad diagnostic run, clear `states`, choose `all`, set the minimum change to
zero, and use `totalUnits`.

When the previous value is zero and the current value is positive, a normal
percentage change is mathematically undefined. Such records use `null` for
`percentChange`, preserve both values, and sort as exceptional moves.

### Limits and responsible use

Inputs are capped at 100 results, while the source contains only 51 state/DC
rows per month. Runtime defaults are bounded to 512 MB and 300 seconds, and the
Actor operates with limited permissions. It does not use a proxy or make
unbounded pagination requests.

Building Permit Survey figures can be estimated, revised, influenced by late
reports, and unsuitable as a stand-alone local forecast. The Actor performs
descriptive change detection only. It is not investment, lending, appraisal,
legal, or construction advice. Verify material decisions against the official
release, methodology, and any relevant local permit authority.

# Actor input Schema

## `states` (type: `array`):

Optional two-letter postal codes, such as CA, TX, or FL. Leave empty for all states and DC.

## `metric` (type: `string`):

Metric used for filtering, direction, and ranking.

## `minAbsolutePercentChange` (type: `number`):

Return only states whose selected metric changed by at least this percentage.

## `direction` (type: `string`):

Return all states or only states where the selected metric increased, decreased, or stayed unchanged.

## `sortBy` (type: `string`):

Order results by percentage movement, current metric value, or state name.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of state/DC change records written to the dataset.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "states": [],
  "metric": "totalUnits",
  "minAbsolutePercentChange": 0,
  "direction": "all",
  "sortBy": "absolutePercentChange",
  "maxResults": 25
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("aether_studio/census-state-building-permit-change-monitor").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("aether_studio/census-state-building-permit-change-monitor").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call aether_studio/census-state-building-permit-change-monitor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,aether_studio/census-state-building-permit-change-monitor"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/7Cf8BBnAD2BKhqbAf/builds/OMXja0b4YuuSLx2hD/openapi.json