# US Building Permits Data — Census BPS by State, County & Metro (`nexgensignal/us-census-building-permit-survey-observations`) Actor

US Census Building Permits Survey as data: new housing units, buildings and valuation by structure type (1-unit to 5+) for states, counties and metro areas, monthly, year-to-date and annual. Filter by state, area and date. No API key. Part of NexGen Signal — official-source data products

- **URL**: https://apify.com/nexgensignal/us-census-building-permit-survey-observations.md
- **Developed by:** [NexGen Signal](https://apify.com/nexgensignal) (community)
- **Categories:** Real estate, Automation, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $33.50 / 1,000 building permits records

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## 🏗️ US Building Permits Data — Census BPS by State, County & Metro

Get the US Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey as clean JSON — new privately-owned housing units, buildings and construction value authorized by permit, split into 1-unit, 2-unit, 3-4 unit and 5+ unit structures, for every state, county and metro area — straight from Census's own permit files.

Choose states (with division, region and US totals), counties or metro and micro areas (CBSA, from 2024), and monthly, year-to-date or annual files. With no dates, the actor reads the latest month Census has published. Valuation is always delivered in dollars.

The unit of output is one **permits record**: one state, county or metro area for one month or year. You pay per record delivered; a run that finds nothing costs nothing.

### Who buys this and for what job

- **Homebuilders, building-products makers and suppliers** sizing demand by county and metro, single-family versus multifamily.
- **Real estate investors and lenders** tracking new supply pipelines in their markets.
- **Economists and analysts** following housing permits month by month.
- **Local government and planning teams** benchmarking against peer counties.

Buyers usually search for this as **"building permits data"** or **"census building permits by county"**.

### 📊 Sample Output

![Table of Census building permits by state for August 2026: total units, 1-unit units, 5+ unit units and total valuation.](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/IXCaMKjxSmUTLHhmq/records/us-census-building-permit-survey-observations.png)

| period | name | total_units | one_unit_units | five_plus_units_units | total_valuation_usd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08 | Alabama | 1731 | 1317 | 403 | 451645000 |
| 2026-08 | Alaska | 57 | 40 | 5 | 19039000 |
| 2026-08 | Arizona | 4266 | 2097 | 2116 | 1190862000 |
| 2026-08 | Arkansas | 884 | 738 | 89 | 225057000 |
| 2026-08 | California | 9649 | 4145 | 5262 | 2599020000 |
| 2026-08 | Colorado | 1900 | 1298 | 578 | 779079000 |

Rows from live run `I8tz4glQAGFnK8cJv` on Apify (the Store example: level state, latest month, 10 records). Notice the latest month Census has published (August 2026 here), with single-family (1-unit) and multifamily (5+ units) counts and valuation in dollars.

### ✅ What you get

Every field of each record:

- `record_id` — bPS:<level>:<period type>:<geography code>:<period>; stable, use it to upsert.
- `level` — state, county or metro.
- `period_type` — monthly, year_to_date or annual.
- `period` — 2026-08 (monthly and year-to-date) or 2025 (annual).
- `survey_date` — survey date as published (YYYYMM or YYYY).
- `name` — state, county or CBSA name as published.
- `state_fips` — two-digit FIPS state code (state and county levels; division/region/US rows carry Census's own codes).
- `county_fips` — three-digit FIPS county code (county level).
- `csa_code` — combined Statistical Area code, or 999 when the CBSA is in none (metro level).
- `cbsa_code` — five-digit CBSA code (metro level).
- `cbsa_type` — metropolitan (part of a CSA or not) or Micropolitan.
- `region` — census region.
- `division` — census division.
- `is_aggregate` — true for division, region and US total rows in state files.
- `total_buildings` — sum of the four building-type columns (estimates with imputation).
- `total_units` — sum of the four unit columns.
- `total_valuation_usd` — sum of the four valuation columns, in dollars.
- `valuation_published_unit` — unit Census uses in this file (thousands of dollars for state and CBSA files, dollars for county files); valuation_usd fields are always in dollars.
- `source` — publisher survey.
- `source_file` — census file read.
- `source_url` — file URL.
- `source_file_last_modified` — last-Modified of that file.
- `licence` — licence notice.
- `attribution` — source line.
- `observed_at` — when this run read it (UTC).
- `one_unit_buildings` — 1-unit buildings (estimates with imputation).
- `one_unit_units` — 1-unit housing units (estimates with imputation).
- `one_unit_valuation_usd` — 1-unit valuation in dollars (estimates with imputation).
- `two_units_buildings` — 2-units buildings (estimates with imputation).
- `two_units_units` — 2-units housing units (estimates with imputation).
- `two_units_valuation_usd` — 2-units valuation in dollars (estimates with imputation).
- `three_four_units_buildings` — 3-4 units buildings (estimates with imputation).
- `three_four_units_units` — 3-4 units housing units (estimates with imputation).
- `three_four_units_valuation_usd` — 3-4 units valuation in dollars (estimates with imputation).
- `five_plus_units_buildings` — 5+ units buildings (estimates with imputation).
- `five_plus_units_units` — 5+ units housing units (estimates with imputation).
- `five_plus_units_valuation_usd` — 5+ units valuation in dollars (estimates with imputation).
- `reported_one_unit_buildings` — 1-unit buildings (reported only).
- `reported_one_unit_units` — 1-unit housing units (reported only).
- `reported_one_unit_valuation_usd` — 1-unit valuation in dollars (reported only).
- `reported_two_units_buildings` — 2-units buildings (reported only).
- `reported_two_units_units` — 2-units housing units (reported only).
- `reported_two_units_valuation_usd` — 2-units valuation in dollars (reported only).
- `reported_three_four_units_buildings` — 3-4 units buildings (reported only).
- `reported_three_four_units_units` — 3-4 units housing units (reported only).
- `reported_three_four_units_valuation_usd` — 3-4 units valuation in dollars (reported only).
- `reported_five_plus_units_buildings` — 5+ units buildings (reported only).
- `reported_five_plus_units_units` — 5+ units housing units (reported only).
- `reported_five_plus_units_valuation_usd` — 5+ units valuation in dollars (reported only).

### ⚙️ Sample inputs

**1. The Store example — states, latest month**

```json
{
  "level": "state",
  "maxRecords": 10
}
```

Returned the 10 records above from `st2608c.txt` in run `I8tz4glQAGFnK8cJv`; $0.50 on the Free plan.

**2. Every Texas county, latest month**

```json
{
  "level": "county",
  "states": ["TX"],
  "maxRecords": 40
}
```

Read 3,018 counties from `co2608c.txt` and returned 40 of the 221 Texas counties in run `OqHDi8aCAhwVJE1aw`; raise maxRecords for all of them.

**3. Annual permits for Texas metro and micro areas**

```json
{
  "level": "metro",
  "periodType": "annual",
  "yearFrom": 2025,
  "yearTo": 2025,
  "nameContains": ["TX"],
  "maxRecords": 20
}
```

Returned 20 of the 66 Texas CBSAs from `cbsa2025a.txt` in run `Pjdni8tlQiGfyeveR`.

Input fields:

| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `level` | Which Census permits file family to read. |
| `periodType` | Monthly current-month files, year-to-date files (include late reports for earlier months), or annual files. |
| `monthFrom` | First month wanted, e.g. 2025-01 (monthly and year-to-date). Leave both months empty for the latest month. |
| `monthTo` | Last month wanted, e.g. 2026-08. |
| `yearFrom` | First year wanted (annual files). |
| `yearTo` | Last year wanted (annual files). |
| `states` | Two-letter codes (TX) or FIPS codes (48); at state level also full names. Not for metro. |
| `nameContains` | Keep rows whose name contains any of these, e.g. Harris (county), Austin (metro), TX (metro names end with the state). |
| `cbsaCodes` | Five-digit CBSA codes, e.g. 12420 (metro level). |
| `includeAggregates` | State files end with division, region and US totals. |
| `order` | By period. |
| `maxRecords` | Stop after this many records (each is charged once). |

### 🧾 JSON sample record

```json
{
  "record_id": "BPS:state:monthly:01:2026-08",
  "level": "state",
  "period_type": "monthly",
  "period": "2026-08",
  "survey_date": "202608",
  "name": "Alabama",
  "state_fips": "01",
  "county_fips": null,
  "csa_code": null,
  "cbsa_code": null,
  "cbsa_type": null,
  "region": "South",
  "division": "East South Central",
  "is_aggregate": false,
  "one_unit_buildings": 1317,
  "one_unit_units": 1317,
  "one_unit_valuation_usd": 393913000,
  "two_units_buildings": 4,
  "two_units_units": 8,
  "two_units_valuation_usd": 1847000,
  "three_four_units_buildings": 1,
  "three_four_units_units": 3,
  "three_four_units_valuation_usd": 527000,
  "five_plus_units_buildings": 16,
  "five_plus_units_units": 403,
  "five_plus_units_valuation_usd": 55358000,
  "total_buildings": 1338,
  "total_units": 1731,
  "total_valuation_usd": 451645000,
  "reported_one_unit_buildings": 964,
  "reported_one_unit_units": 964,
  "reported_one_unit_valuation_usd": 300592000,
  "reported_two_units_buildings": 2,
  "reported_two_units_units": 4,
  "reported_two_units_valuation_usd": 560000,
  "reported_three_four_units_buildings": 0,
  "reported_three_four_units_units": 0,
  "reported_three_four_units_valuation_usd": 0,
  "reported_five_plus_units_buildings": 11,
  "reported_five_plus_units_units": 350,
  "reported_five_plus_units_valuation_usd": 45482000,
  "valuation_published_unit": "thousands of dollars",
  "source": "U.S. Census Bureau — Building Permits Survey",
  "source_file": "st2608c.txt",
  "source_url": "https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/State/st2608c.txt",
  "source_file_last_modified": "Thu, 24 Sep 2026 11:46:16 GMT",
  "licence": "Work of the U.S. Government (17 U.S.C. 105): U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey; no copyright restrictions in the United States.",
  "attribution": "Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey (BPS)",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-12T04:08:53Z"
}
```

### 🔧 How it works

1. **Robots check.** `www2.census.gov/robots.txt` is read on every run; it sets no rules for general crawlers, so the permit folders are allowed. A robots file that disallowed them would stop the run with nothing charged.

2. **Find the files.** The actor reads Census's folder listing for your level (State, County or CBSA) to see which monthly (`c`), year-to-date (`y`) and annual (`a`) files exist, then picks the latest one or the ones in your date range.

3. **Parse the official layout.** Each comma-delimited file is read using Census's documented record layout: identification fields, then buildings, units and valuation for 1-unit, 2-unit, 3-4 unit and 5+ unit structures, first with imputation and then reported only.

4. **Deliver, then charge.** Records are pushed file by file, newest period first, each batch charged after delivery. Reading stops at `maxRecords` or your maximum charge.

5. **Receipt.** `RUN_RECEIPT` records the robots result, the files read and their row counts, and delivered and charged counts.

No login, API key, proxy or bot workaround.

### 💰 Pricing example

Per record delivered, no start fee, no monthly charge:

| Apify plan | Price per record |
|---|---|
| Free | $0.05 |
| Bronze | $0.045 |
| Silver | $0.04 |
| Gold, Platinum, Diamond | $0.0335 |

- 10 records (the Store example): $0.50 on the Free plan, $0.335 on Gold.
- 1,000 records (the default cap): $50 on Free, $45 on Bronze, $40 on Silver, $33.50 on Gold.

**Coverage and size.** States (with 4 regions, 9 divisions and the US total) and counties back to the 1990s, metro and micro areas (CBSA) from January 2024; the latest month on 12 Oct 2026 was August 2026. State and CBSA valuation is published by Census in thousands of dollars (its documentation says so) and delivered here multiplied to dollars; county valuation is published in whole dollars (the county documentation does not state the unit; the figures are whole dollars) and delivered as published. `total_*` fields are the sum of the four structure-type columns. Metro files before 2024 (old MSA definitions) are not read.

### ⚖️ Legal & ToS

Data: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey (www2.census.gov/econ/bps). A work of the U.S. Government, not subject to copyright in the United States (17 U.S.C. §105). Every record carries that notice in `licence` and the source line in `attribution`. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Census Bureau.

Counts for states, counties and metro areas only — no personal data. `robots.txt` is honoured. Public files only, declared User-Agent, no login, key, proxy or form.

### ❓ FAQ

**What is the difference between 'estimates with imputation' and 'reported only'?**
Census fills in permit offices that did not report (imputation); the `reported_*` fields show only what offices reported. Most users use the imputed figures.

**Monthly or year-to-date?**
Monthly files cover that month only. Year-to-date files sum January to that month and include late reports for earlier months.

**Why is the latest month not this month?**
Census publishes permits with a lag; the actor reads the newest file it finds.

**Do I need a Census API key?**
No. The actor reads Census's public files.

### 🆘 Troubleshooting

- **0 records at county level** — give states as two-letter codes (TX) or FIPS codes (48); names are not accepted at county level.
- **Metro run before 2024** — CBSA files start in January 2024.
- **A name filter matched too much** — `nameContains` matches anywhere in the name; use `cbsaCodes` for an exact metro.
- **SOURCE UNAVAILABLE message** — the source did not answer after four tries; nothing was charged — run again later.
- **CAPPED message** — your maximum total charge was reached; raise it in the run options.
- **Run failed with "Invalid input"** — a filter value is malformed; the message names the field. Nothing was charged.

### 🔗 Related Actors

- [Australia Building Approvals by SA2 - ABS](https://apify.com/nexgensignal/au-building-approvals-sa2-observations) — Australian building approvals.
- [UK Construction Output Monthly - ONS](https://apify.com/nexgensignal/uk-construction-output-observations) — UK construction output.
- [Eurostat Construction Production — Monthly](https://apify.com/nexgensignal/eurostat-construction-production) — construction production across Europe.
- [Europe House Prices — Eurostat House Price Index (Quarterly)](https://apify.com/nexgensignal/eurostat-house-price-index) — house prices across Europe.
- [Ireland House Prices — Property Price Register Sales Search](https://apify.com/nexgensignal/ie-property-price-register-records) — Irish house sales.

🏢 **About NexGen Signal** — official-source data products from government and regulator publications. Browse the catalog: [apify.com/nexgensignal](https://apify.com/nexgensignal)

### ⭐ Found this useful?

If this actor saved you time, a rating on its Apify Store page helps other buyers find it.

Part of NexGen Signal — official-source data products.

# Actor input Schema

## `level` (type: `string`):

Which Census permits file family to read.

## `periodType` (type: `string`):

Monthly current-month files, year-to-date files (include late reports for earlier months), or annual files.

## `monthFrom` (type: `string`):

First month wanted, e.g. 2025-01 (monthly and year-to-date). Leave both months empty for the latest month.

## `monthTo` (type: `string`):

Last month wanted, e.g. 2026-08.

## `yearFrom` (type: `integer`):

First year wanted (annual files).

## `yearTo` (type: `integer`):

Last year wanted (annual files).

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

Two-letter codes (TX) or FIPS codes (48); at state level also full names. Not for metro.

## `nameContains` (type: `array`):

Keep rows whose name contains any of these, e.g. Harris (county), Austin (metro), TX (metro names end with the state).

## `cbsaCodes` (type: `array`):

Five-digit CBSA codes, e.g. 12420 (metro level).

## `includeAggregates` (type: `boolean`):

State files end with division, region and US totals.

## `order` (type: `string`):

By period.

## `maxRecords` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many records (each is charged once).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "level": "state",
  "periodType": "monthly",
  "states": [],
  "nameContains": [],
  "cbsaCodes": [],
  "includeAggregates": true,
  "order": "newest_first",
  "maxRecords": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

The delivered (and billed) records.

## `receipt` (type: `string`):

Robots result, source files, rows read, delivered and charged counts.

# 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 = {
    "level": "state",
    "maxRecords": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("nexgensignal/us-census-building-permit-survey-observations").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 = {
    "level": "state",
    "maxRecords": 10,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("nexgensignal/us-census-building-permit-survey-observations").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 '{
  "level": "state",
  "maxRecords": 10
}' |
apify call nexgensignal/us-census-building-permit-survey-observations --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,nexgensignal/us-census-building-permit-survey-observations"
        }
    }
}
```

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/1LvfmKl64N6EWp0sr/builds/N4t7D86WxiP31sPo8/openapi.json