Top 25 Counties in the U.S. ranked by Largest
  Number of New Private Housing Units Authorized
    by Building Permits, 2000

County, State                Number      Rank
---------------------------------------------
Maricopa, AZ                 43,056         1
Clark, NV                    26,224         2
Harris, TX                   24,565         3
Los Angeles, CA              16,968         4
San Diego, CA                15,592         5
Riverside, CA                15,025         6
Travis, TX                   14,154         7
Mecklenburg, NC              13,960         8
Dallas, TX                   13,745         9
Orange, CA                   12,520        10
Dade, FL                     12,475        11
Gwinnett, GA                 12,372        12
Wake, NC                     12,193        13
Broward, FL                  11,970        14
Cook, IL                     11,877        15
Tarrant, TX                  11,685        16
Hillsborough, FL             11,656        17
King, WA                     11,564        18
Palm Beach, FL               10,504        19
Orange, FL                   10,239        20
Collin, TX                   10,111        21
Fulton, GA                    9,621        22
Franklin, OH                  9,321        23
Lee, FL                       9,120        24
Bexar, TX                     8,978        25

Source:  U.S. Census Bureau,
         County and City Data Book: 2000
         Table B-6.