Data / Rankings / Housing units authorized by building permits / Cities in Washington

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 2016, at 9,999. Fife, WA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 132 and the figure for Washington was 44,077. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest9,999Seattle, WA
Lowest0Fife, WA
Median13291 cities
Washington44,077History

Top 40 cities, 2016

Seattle, WA: 9,999 countSeattle, WA9,999Bellevue, WA: 1,587 countBellevue, WA1,587Redmond, WA: 917 countRedmond, WA917Lacey, WA: 879 countLacey, WA879Spokane, WA: 836 countSpokane, WA836Spokane Valley, WA: 807 countSpokane Valley, WA807Vancouver, WA: 716 countVancouver, WA716Tacoma, WA: 617 countTacoma, WA617Bothell, WA: 609 countBothell, WA609Kirkland, WA: 542 countKirkland, WA542Auburn, WA: 534 countAuburn, WA534Bellingham, WA: 527 countBellingham, WA527Richland, WA: 527 countRichland, WA527Moses Lake, WA: 446 countMoses Lake, WA446Pasco, WA: 421 countPasco, WA421Kent, WA: 409 countKent, WA409Kennewick, WA: 401 countKennewick, WA401Sammamish, WA: 385 countSammamish, WA385Lake Stevens, WA: 370 countLake Stevens, WA370Shoreline, WA: 369 countShoreline, WA369Liberty Lake, WA: 337 countLiberty Lake, WA337Marysville, WA: 335 countMarysville, WA335Ridgefield, WA: 323 countRidgefield, WA323Olympia, WA: 306 countOlympia, WA306Burien, WA: 258 countBurien, WA258Mill Creek, WA: 257 countMill Creek, WA257Bremerton, WA: 251 countBremerton, WA251Camas, WA: 236 countCamas, WA236Cheney, WA: 235 countCheney, WA235Everett, WA: 228 countEverett, WA228Kenmore, WA: 212 countKenmore, WA212Renton, WA: 207 countRenton, WA207Tumwater, WA: 200 countTumwater, WA200Gig Harbor, WA: 196 countGig Harbor, WA196Covington, WA: 194 countCovington, WA194Edgewood, WA: 182 countEdgewood, WA182Battle Ground, WA: 176 countBattle Ground, WA176Pullman, WA: 176 countPullman, WA176Issaquah, WA: 157 countIssaquah, WA157Poulsbo, WA: 152 countPoulsbo, WA152Seattle, WA: 9,999 countSeattle, WA9,999Bellevue, WA: 1,587 countBellevue, WA1,587Redmond, WA: 917 countRedmond, WA917Lacey, WA: 879 countLacey, WA879Spokane, WA: 836 countSpokane, WA836Spokane Valley, WA: 807 countSpokane Valley, WA807Vancouver, WA: 716 countVancouver, WA716Tacoma, WA: 617 countTacoma, WA617Bothell, WA: 609 countBothell, WA609Kirkland, WA: 542 countKirkland, WA542Auburn, WA: 534 countAuburn, WA534Bellingham, WA: 527 countBellingham, WA527Richland, WA: 527 countRichland, WA527Moses Lake, WA: 446 countMoses Lake, WA446Pasco, WA: 421 countPasco, WA421Kent, WA: 409 countKent, WA409Kennewick, WA: 401 countKennewick, WA401Sammamish, WA: 385 countSammamish, WA385Lake Stevens, WA: 370 countLake Stevens, WA370Shoreline, WA: 369 countShoreline, WA369Liberty Lake, WA: 337 countLiberty Lake, WA337Marysville, WA: 335 countMarysville, WA335Ridgefield, WA: 323 countRidgefield, WA323Olympia, WA: 306 countOlympia, WA306Burien, WA: 258 countBurien, WA258Mill Creek, WA: 257 countMill Creek, WA257Bremerton, WA: 251 countBremerton, WA251Camas, WA: 236 countCamas, WA236Cheney, WA: 235 countCheney, WA235Everett, WA: 228 countEverett, WA228Kenmore, WA: 212 countKenmore, WA212Renton, WA: 207 countRenton, WA207Tumwater, WA: 200 countTumwater, WA200Gig Harbor, WA: 196 countGig Harbor, WA196Covington, WA: 194 countCovington, WA194Edgewood, WA: 182 countEdgewood, WA182Battle Ground, WA: 176 countBattle Ground, WA176Pullman, WA: 176 countPullman, WA176Issaquah, WA: 157 countIssaquah, WA157Poulsbo, WA: 152 countPoulsbo, WA152
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2016
count		Change on 2015
1Seattle, WA Estimated9,999-11.8%
2Bellevue, WA Estimated1,587+74.2%
3Redmond, WA Estimated917+2.3%
4Lacey, WA Estimated879+185.4%
5Spokane, WA Estimated836+1.6%
6Spokane Valley, WA Estimated807+117.5%
7Vancouver, WA Estimated716-34.1%
8Tacoma, WA Estimated617+65.4%
9Bothell, WA Estimated609+96.5%
10Kirkland, WA Estimated542+73.2%
11Auburn, WA Estimated534+136.3%
12Bellingham, WA Estimated527-10.7%
12Richland, WA Estimated527+124.3%
14Moses Lake, WA Estimated446+46.2%
15Pasco, WA Estimated421+38%
16Kent, WA Estimated409+7.3%
17Kennewick, WA Estimated401-11.1%
18Sammamish, WA Estimated385+100.5%
19Lake Stevens, WA Estimated370+92.7%
20Shoreline, WA Estimated369+685.1%
21Liberty Lake, WA Estimated337+174%
22Marysville, WA Estimated335+188.8%
23Ridgefield, WA Estimated323+53.1%
24Olympia, WA Estimated306+121.7%
25Burien, WA Estimated258-13.4%
26Mill Creek, WA Estimated257+678.8%
27Bremerton, WA Estimated251+54.9%
28Camas, WA Estimated236+5.4%
29Cheney, WA Estimated235-0.4%
30Everett, WA Estimated228-26.2%
31Kenmore, WA Estimated212+29.3%
32Renton, WA Estimated207-54.4%
33Tumwater, WA Estimated200+92.3%
34Gig Harbor, WA Estimated196+58.1%
35Covington, WA Estimated194-57.1%
36Edgewood, WA Estimated182-41.7%
37Battle Ground, WA Estimated176-32.8%
37Pullman, WA Estimated176+1.1%
39Issaquah, WA Estimated157-74.2%
40Poulsbo, WA Estimated152+17.8%
41Ferndale, WA Estimated151+38.5%
42Mount Vernon, WA Estimated144+9.1%
43Puyallup, WA Estimated139-34.7%
44Monroe, WA Estimated138+137.9%
45Yakima, WA Estimated137-2.1%
46Bainbridge Island, WA Estimated132-20.5%
47Edmonds, WA Estimated126+137.7%
48Lynden, WA Estimated120-4.8%
49Sedro-Woolley, WA Estimated113+145.7%
50West Richland, WA Estimated106-27.4%
51Walla Walla, WA Estimated101+16.1%
52Ellensburg, WA Estimated99+219.4%
53Snoqualmie, WA Estimated91+250%
54Port Townsend, WA Estimated89+154.3%
55Washougal, WA Estimated88-7.4%
56Yelm, WA Estimated82-39.7%
57Bonney Lake, WA Estimated80+33.3%
58Anacortes, WA Estimated750%
59Mercer Island, WA Estimated70-7.9%
59Wenatchee, WA Estimated70-16.7%
61Newcastle, WA Estimated67-27.2%
62SeaTac, WA Estimated64+326.7%
63Federal Way, WA Estimated63-91.5%
64Centralia, WA Estimated61+454.5%
65University Place, WA Estimated60+328.6%
66Snohomish, WA Estimated56-24.3%
67Lake Forest Park, WA Estimated54+86.2%
67Port Orchard, WA Estimated54-50%
69Maple Valley, WA Estimated51+54.5%
70Longview, WA Estimated50+316.7%
71Mountlake Terrace, WA Estimated45+400%
72Des Moines, WA Estimated39+30%
72Oak Harbor, WA Estimated390%
74Airway Heights, WA Estimated33+65%
74Lakewood, WA Estimated33-31.3%
76Tukwila, WA Estimated32-15.8%
77Enumclaw, WA Estimated29-29.3%
78East Wenatchee, WA Estimated27-69.7%
79Sumner, WA Estimated26-61.8%
80Sunnyside, WA Estimated24-31.4%
81Port Angeles, WA Estimated22-43.6%
82Arlington, WA Estimated16+300%
83Lynnwood, WA Estimated14-95.7%
83Woodinville, WA Estimated14-87.6%
85Shelton, WA Estimated9+350%
86Burlington, WA Estimated6-78.6%
86Mukilteo, WA Estimated6-64.7%
88Aberdeen, WA Estimated5+400%
89Kelso, WA Estimated3-25%
90Grandview, WA Estimated20%
91Fife, WA Estimated0-100%

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/we2016a.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. (2017). 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, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2016a.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, 2016. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2017, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2016a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2017. 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, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2016a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2016.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2017) 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, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2016a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_washington_by_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  year = {2017},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2016a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2016. 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/we2016a.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, 2016
PY  - 2017
DA  - 2017/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2016a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2016.
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/we2016a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

Seattle, WA, with 9,999 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Fife, WA, with 0 in 2016.

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.

Housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Cities in Washington: more rankings