Cities in Washington by housing units authorized by building permits

Seattle, WA had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 91 cities in 2015, at 11,340. Aberdeen, WA had the lowest, at 1. The median was 116 and the figure for Washington was 40,374. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest11,340Seattle, WA

Lowest1Aberdeen, WA

Median11691 cities

Washington40,374History

Top 40 cities, 2015

count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2015 count	Change on 2014
1	Seattle, WA Estimated	11,340	+52.3%
2	Vancouver, WA Estimated	1,087	+32.9%
3	Bellevue, WA Estimated	911	-29.5%
4	Redmond, WA Estimated	896	+86.7%
5	Spokane, WA Estimated	823	+58.6%
6	Federal Way, WA Estimated	744	+33.1%
7	Issaquah, WA Estimated	608	-28.9%
8	Bellingham, WA Estimated	590	+9.1%
9	Renton, WA Estimated	454	-25%
10	Covington, WA Estimated	452	n/a
11	Kennewick, WA Estimated	451	+37.5%
12	Kent, WA Estimated	381	+1.6%
13	Tacoma, WA Estimated	373	-64.8%
14	Spokane Valley, WA Estimated	371	-24.4%
15	Lynnwood, WA Estimated	326	+858.8%
16	Kirkland, WA Estimated	313	-53.4%
17	Edgewood, WA Estimated	312	+1,256.5%
18	Bothell, WA Estimated	310	+105.3%
19	Everett, WA Estimated	309	+14.4%
20	Lacey, WA Estimated	308	-1.9%
21	Moses Lake, WA Estimated	305	+154.2%
21	Pasco, WA Estimated	305	+16.9%
23	Burien, WA Estimated	298	+422.8%
24	Battle Ground, WA Estimated	262	+215.7%
25	Cheney, WA Estimated	236	+1,866.7%
26	Richland, WA Estimated	235	-31.5%
27	Auburn, WA Estimated	226	-37.6%
28	Camas, WA Estimated	224	+25.8%
29	Puyallup, WA Estimated	213	+83.6%
30	Ridgefield, WA Estimated	211	+102.9%
31	Lake Stevens, WA Estimated	192	+29.7%
31	Sammamish, WA Estimated	192	-30.9%
33	Pullman, WA Estimated	174	-8.4%
34	Bainbridge Island, WA Estimated	166	+213.2%
35	Kenmore, WA Estimated	164	+221.6%
36	Bremerton, WA Estimated	162	+19.1%
37	West Richland, WA Estimated	146	+37.7%
38	Yakima, WA Estimated	140	+2.2%
39	Olympia, WA Estimated	138	-27.7%
40	Yelm, WA Estimated	136	+123%
41	Mount Vernon, WA Estimated	132	+15.8%
42	Poulsbo, WA Estimated	129	+72%
43	Lynden, WA Estimated	126	+40%
44	Gig Harbor, WA Estimated	124	-31.5%
45	Liberty Lake, WA Estimated	123	+12.8%
46	Marysville, WA Estimated	116	-75.7%
47	Woodinville, WA Estimated	113	-31.5%
48	Ferndale, WA Estimated	109	+51.4%
49	Port Orchard, WA Estimated	108	+120.4%
50	Tumwater, WA Estimated	104	-14.8%
51	Washougal, WA Estimated	95	+15.9%
52	Newcastle, WA Estimated	92	+84%
53	East Wenatchee, WA Estimated	89	+1,383.3%
54	Walla Walla, WA Estimated	87	-2.2%
55	Wenatchee, WA Estimated	84	+52.7%
56	Mercer Island, WA Estimated	76	-72.1%
57	Anacortes, WA Estimated	75	+33.9%
58	Snohomish, WA Estimated	74	+131.3%
59	Sumner, WA Estimated	68	+1,600%
60	Bonney Lake, WA Estimated	60	-84.4%
61	Monroe, WA Estimated	58	-15.9%
62	Edmonds, WA Estimated	53	-46.5%
63	Lakewood, WA Estimated	48	-2%
64	Shoreline, WA Estimated	47	-11.3%
65	Sedro-Woolley, WA Estimated	46	+318.2%
66	Enumclaw, WA Estimated	41	+173.3%
67	Oak Harbor, WA Estimated	39	-36.1%
67	Port Angeles, WA Estimated	39	+21.9%
69	Tukwila, WA Estimated	38	+123.5%
70	Port Townsend, WA Estimated	35	-5.4%
70	Sunnyside, WA Estimated	35	+20.7%
72	Maple Valley, WA Estimated	33	-79.2%
72	Mill Creek, WA Estimated	33	-89%
74	Ellensburg, WA Estimated	31	-60.8%
75	Des Moines, WA Estimated	30	-40%
76	Lake Forest Park, WA Estimated	29	+222.2%
77	Burlington, WA Estimated	28	+86.7%
78	Snoqualmie, WA Estimated	26	-85%
79	Airway Heights, WA Estimated	20	-42.9%
80	Mukilteo, WA Estimated	17	-51.4%
81	SeaTac, WA Estimated	15	+36.4%
82	University Place, WA Estimated	14	-93.2%
83	Longview, WA Estimated	12	-7.7%
84	Centralia, WA Estimated	11	0%
85	Mountlake Terrace, WA Estimated	9	-50%
86	Fife, WA Estimated	6	-96.4%
87	Arlington, WA Estimated	4	+33.3%
87	Kelso, WA Estimated	4	+100%
89	Grandview, WA Estimated	2	-81.8%
89	Shelton, WA Estimated	2	n/a
91	Aberdeen, WA Estimated	1	0%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of new privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in the year or month, from the US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey. Annual totals for the nation, states and counties; monthly counts for the nation and states.

Counts housing units, not buildings, starts, completions or sales. Monthly counts are not seasonally adjusted and do not add up exactly to the annual total, which includes later corrections; the national seasonally adjusted annual rate in the monthly New Residential Construction release is a different measure.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2015a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2016). Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation (Cities in Washington by housing units authorized by building permits, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2015a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Washington by housing units authorized by building permits, 2015. U.S. Census Bureau, 30 Sept. 2016, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2015a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2016. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Cities in Washington by housing units authorized by building permits, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2015a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2016) Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Washington by housing units authorized by building permits, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2015a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_washington_by_2015,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation: Cities in Washington by housing units authorized by building permits, 2015}},
  year = {2016},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2015a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2015. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West\%20Region/we2015a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation: Cities in Washington by housing units authorized by building permits, 2015
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/09/30
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2015a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2015.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2015a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank Cities in Washington by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_units","level":"municipality","within":"Washington","limit":10}
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Questions

Which city has the highest housing units authorized by building permits?

Seattle, WA, with 11,340 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest housing units authorized by building permits?

Aberdeen, WA, with 1 in 2015.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Retrieved 2026-10-12.