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 2017, at 9,887. Mukilteo, WA had the lowest, at 3. The median was 139 and the figure for Washington was 45,794. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest9,887Seattle, WA
Lowest3Mukilteo, WA
Median13991 cities
Washington45,794History

Top 40 cities, 2017

Seattle, WA: 9,887 countSeattle, WA9,887Vancouver, WA: 1,546 countVancouver, WA1,546Redmond, WA: 1,350 countRedmond, WA1,350Bellevue, WA: 1,308 countBellevue, WA1,308Tacoma, WA: 1,127 countTacoma, WA1,127Spokane, WA: 832 countSpokane, WA832Issaquah, WA: 831 countIssaquah, WA831Spokane Valley, WA: 737 countSpokane Valley, WA737Bellingham, WA: 571 countBellingham, WA571Pasco, WA: 557 countPasco, WA557Bothell, WA: 519 countBothell, WA519Airway Heights, WA: 468 countAirway Heights, WA468Des Moines, WA: 451 countDes Moines, WA451Maple Valley, WA: 443 countMaple Valley, WA443Kennewick, WA: 387 countKennewick, WA387Sammamish, WA: 367 countSammamish, WA367Richland, WA: 360 countRichland, WA360Woodinville, WA: 357 countWoodinville, WA357Puyallup, WA: 353 countPuyallup, WA353Kent, WA: 351 countKent, WA351Kirkland, WA: 349 countKirkland, WA349Liberty Lake, WA: 306 countLiberty Lake, WA306Everett, WA: 294 countEverett, WA294Ellensburg, WA: 260 countEllensburg, WA260Renton, WA: 249 countRenton, WA249Gig Harbor, WA: 247 countGig Harbor, WA247Camas, WA: 235 countCamas, WA235Marysville, WA: 235 countMarysville, WA235Pullman, WA: 216 countPullman, WA216Shoreline, WA: 204 countShoreline, WA204Arlington, WA: 198 countArlington, WA198Moses Lake, WA: 198 countMoses Lake, WA198Tumwater, WA: 195 countTumwater, WA195Edmonds, WA: 184 countEdmonds, WA184Washougal, WA: 170 countWashougal, WA170Edgewood, WA: 169 countEdgewood, WA169Lake Stevens, WA: 169 countLake Stevens, WA169Battle Ground, WA: 163 countBattle Ground, WA163Lacey, WA: 163 countLacey, WA163Mount Vernon, WA: 159 countMount Vernon, WA159Seattle, WA: 9,887 countSeattle, WA9,887Vancouver, WA: 1,546 countVancouver, WA1,546Redmond, WA: 1,350 countRedmond, WA1,350Bellevue, WA: 1,308 countBellevue, WA1,308Tacoma, WA: 1,127 countTacoma, WA1,127Spokane, WA: 832 countSpokane, WA832Issaquah, WA: 831 countIssaquah, WA831Spokane Valley, WA: 737 countSpokane Valley, WA737Bellingham, WA: 571 countBellingham, WA571Pasco, WA: 557 countPasco, WA557Bothell, WA: 519 countBothell, WA519Airway Heights, WA: 468 countAirway Heights, WA468Des Moines, WA: 451 countDes Moines, WA451Maple Valley, WA: 443 countMaple Valley, WA443Kennewick, WA: 387 countKennewick, WA387Sammamish, WA: 367 countSammamish, WA367Richland, WA: 360 countRichland, WA360Woodinville, WA: 357 countWoodinville, WA357Puyallup, WA: 353 countPuyallup, WA353Kent, WA: 351 countKent, WA351Kirkland, WA: 349 countKirkland, WA349Liberty Lake, WA: 306 countLiberty Lake, WA306Everett, WA: 294 countEverett, WA294Ellensburg, WA: 260 countEllensburg, WA260Renton, WA: 249 countRenton, WA249Gig Harbor, WA: 247 countGig Harbor, WA247Camas, WA: 235 countCamas, WA235Marysville, WA: 235 countMarysville, WA235Pullman, WA: 216 countPullman, WA216Shoreline, WA: 204 countShoreline, WA204Arlington, WA: 198 countArlington, WA198Moses Lake, WA: 198 countMoses Lake, WA198Tumwater, WA: 195 countTumwater, WA195Edmonds, WA: 184 countEdmonds, WA184Washougal, WA: 170 countWashougal, WA170Edgewood, WA: 169 countEdgewood, WA169Lake Stevens, WA: 169 countLake Stevens, WA169Battle Ground, WA: 163 countBattle Ground, WA163Lacey, WA: 163 countLacey, WA163Mount Vernon, WA: 159 countMount Vernon, WA159
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2017
count		Change on 2016
1Seattle, WA Estimated9,887-1.1%
2Vancouver, WA Estimated1,546+115.9%
3Redmond, WA Estimated1,350+47.2%
4Bellevue, WA Estimated1,308-17.6%
5Tacoma, WA Estimated1,127+82.7%
6Spokane, WA Estimated832-0.5%
7Issaquah, WA Estimated831+429.3%
8Spokane Valley, WA Estimated737-8.7%
9Bellingham, WA Estimated571+8.3%
10Pasco, WA Estimated557+32.3%
11Bothell, WA Estimated519-14.8%
12Airway Heights, WA Estimated468+1,318.2%
13Des Moines, WA Estimated451+1,056.4%
14Maple Valley, WA Estimated443+768.6%
15Kennewick, WA Estimated387-3.5%
16Sammamish, WA Estimated367-4.7%
17Richland, WA Estimated360-31.7%
18Woodinville, WA Estimated357+2,450%
19Puyallup, WA Estimated353+154%
20Kent, WA Estimated351-14.2%
21Kirkland, WA Estimated349-35.6%
22Liberty Lake, WA Estimated306-9.2%
23Everett, WA Estimated294+28.9%
24Ellensburg, WA Estimated260+162.6%
25Renton, WA Estimated249+20.3%
26Gig Harbor, WA Estimated247+26%
27Camas, WA Estimated235-0.4%
27Marysville, WA Estimated235-29.9%
29Pullman, WA Estimated216+22.7%
30Shoreline, WA Estimated204-44.7%
31Arlington, WA Estimated198+1,137.5%
31Moses Lake, WA Estimated198-55.6%
33Tumwater, WA Estimated195-2.5%
34Edmonds, WA Estimated184+46%
35Washougal, WA Estimated170+93.2%
36Edgewood, WA Estimated169-7.1%
36Lake Stevens, WA Estimated169-54.3%
38Battle Ground, WA Estimated163-7.4%
38Lacey, WA Estimated163-81.5%
40Mount Vernon, WA Estimated159+10.4%
40Ridgefield, WA Estimated159-50.8%
42Monroe, WA Estimated156+13%
43Ferndale, WA Estimated153+1.3%
43Port Orchard, WA Estimated153+183.3%
45Lynden, WA Estimated150+25%
46Auburn, WA Estimated139-74%
47Olympia, WA Estimated127-58.5%
48Yakima, WA Estimated125-8.8%
49University Place, WA Estimated120+100%
50Bremerton, WA Estimated112-55.4%
51Bainbridge Island, WA Estimated109-17.4%
51Burlington, WA Estimated109+1,716.7%
53Poulsbo, WA Estimated101-33.6%
54West Richland, WA Estimated95-10.4%
55Anacortes, WA Estimated91+21.3%
56Covington, WA Estimated85-56.2%
57Snoqualmie, WA Estimated80-12.1%
58Mercer Island, WA Estimated78+11.4%
59Federal Way, WA Estimated74+17.5%
59Kenmore, WA Estimated74-65.1%
61Wenatchee, WA Estimated69-1.4%
62Lake Forest Park, WA Estimated64+18.5%
63Lakewood, WA Estimated60+81.8%
64Burien, WA Estimated58-77.5%
65Cheney, WA Estimated55-76.6%
66Bonney Lake, WA Estimated54-32.5%
67Port Townsend, WA Estimated53-40.4%
68Yelm, WA Estimated52-36.6%
69Sedro-Woolley, WA Estimated50-55.8%
70Newcastle, WA Estimated49-26.9%
71Tukwila, WA Estimated46+43.8%
72Walla Walla, WA Estimated45-55.4%
73Lynnwood, WA Estimated43+207.1%
74Port Angeles, WA Estimated42+90.9%
75Centralia, WA Estimated39-36.1%
76Mill Creek, WA Estimated36-86%
77Oak Harbor, WA Estimated35-10.3%
78Longview, WA Estimated33-34%
79Enumclaw, WA Estimated31+6.9%
80Sumner, WA Estimated260%
81Snohomish, WA Estimated25-55.4%
81Sunnyside, WA Estimated25+4.2%
83Shelton, WA Estimated23+155.6%
84SeaTac, WA Estimated18-71.9%
85Kelso, WA Estimated11+266.7%
86Fife, WA Estimated7n/a
86Grandview, WA Estimated7+250%
88Aberdeen, WA Estimated6+20%
88East Wenatchee, WA Estimated6-77.8%
90Mountlake Terrace, WA Estimated3-93.3%
90Mukilteo, WA Estimated3-50%

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/we2017a.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. (2018). 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, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.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, 2017. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2018, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2018. 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, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2018) 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, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_washington_by_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  year = {2018},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2017. 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/we2017a.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, 2017
PY  - 2018
DA  - 2018/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2017.
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/we2017a.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 9,887 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Mukilteo, WA, with 3 in 2017.

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