By the numbers
While still below levels prevailing before the Great Recession, new single-family home permitting in Wisconsin continued to increase last year, with 13,335 new homes permitted in 2025, according to figures from the Wisconsin Builders Association.
New home construction in Wisconsin peaked at 30,333 in 2003. Construction bottomed out at 5,362 in 2011. Since then, the figures have gradually ticked upward: The 2025 total was 3.9 percent higher than the year prior.
Dane County led the state in new single-family permits in 2025 with 1,398, followed by Waukesha County at 1,003 and Brown County at 679.
When adjusted for population, however, Adams County punched above its weight, issuing 9.95 permits for every 1,000 residents, followed by Burnett County at 9.39 and Door at 8.8.
Adams County saw a 158 percent increase in permits between 2024 and 2025, by far the largest year-over-year increase in the state. Door County and Price County followed behind at 66.1 percent and 40 percent, respectively.
Wyatt Eichholz is a policy and legislative associate at the Badger Institute.
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