The city of Columbus, OH led the nation in the number of multifamily housing permits issued during the year ended August 2025 for places below the metro level. The city issued permits for 7,476 units, 150 fewer than in July.

The Columbus metro as a whole ranked #9 on RealPage’s August top 10 permitting list with 9,548 units, up 36% or 2,529 units from one year ago. That was the largest total for multifamily permitting in Columbus' history. which overtook single-family permitting in mid-2022 and accounted for 60% of Columbus’ total units permitted in August.

RealPage’s ranking is based on analysis of the top 150 apartment markets in the U.S. It attributed the increase in permits issued to Columbus’ robust job growth as well as its large population, academic institutions and strong and diverse economy.

The other metros in the top 10 for multifamily permits were, in order, New York (24,002 units, 4,405 fewer than the previous year), Dallas (18,274 units), Houston (13,527 units), Orlando (11,762 units), Phoenix (11,433 units), Austin (10,772 units), Miami (10,695 units), Atlanta (10,637 units) and Newark (8,977 units). In four metros, the number of permits issued fell. The remainder saw increases ranging from 16.5% in Newark to 49% in Orlando.

Other metros where more multifamily permits were issued year over year included Bridgeport, CT, Fayetteville, AR, Detroit, Savannah, and Chicago. However, issuance slumped in Fort Worth, Tampa, Greensboro, NC, Raleigh, Washington, DC, Boston and eight other markets.

In addition to the major metros, permits may also be issued by individual locations including cities, towns, boroughs and unincorporated counties within the metros. In this group, the city of Columbus ranked highest for permits issued. The other places in the top 10 of this group included Miami, the Bronx and Brooklyn in New York, unincorporated Harris County near Houston, Austin, San Diego, unincorporated Orange County near Orlando, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

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