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 2019, at 10,784. Mill Creek, WA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 134 and the figure for Washington was 48,424. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest10,784Seattle, WA
Lowest0Mill Creek, WA
Median13491 cities
Washington48,424History

Top 40 cities, 2019

Seattle, WA: 10,784 countSeattle, WA10,784Kirkland, WA: 1,383 countKirkland, WA1,383Vancouver, WA: 1,372 countVancouver, WA1,372Tacoma, WA: 1,076 countTacoma, WA1,076Bellingham, WA: 1,072 countBellingham, WA1,072Spokane Valley, WA: 963 countSpokane Valley, WA963Woodinville, WA: 816 countWoodinville, WA816Ridgefield, WA: 784 countRidgefield, WA784Richland, WA: 760 countRichland, WA760Everett, WA: 723 countEverett, WA723Lacey, WA: 685 countLacey, WA685Camas, WA: 643 countCamas, WA643Yakima, WA: 580 countYakima, WA580Shoreline, WA: 575 countShoreline, WA575Bonney Lake, WA: 523 countBonney Lake, WA523Pasco, WA: 504 countPasco, WA504Marysville, WA: 502 countMarysville, WA502Redmond, WA: 455 countRedmond, WA455Spokane, WA: 421 countSpokane, WA421Bellevue, WA: 404 countBellevue, WA404Olympia, WA: 401 countOlympia, WA401Kent, WA: 389 countKent, WA389Pullman, WA: 388 countPullman, WA388Bremerton, WA: 367 countBremerton, WA367Kennewick, WA: 356 countKennewick, WA356Monroe, WA: 337 countMonroe, WA337Lake Stevens, WA: 315 countLake Stevens, WA315Newcastle, WA: 280 countNewcastle, WA280Federal Way, WA: 266 countFederal Way, WA266Arlington, WA: 247 countArlington, WA247Liberty Lake, WA: 227 countLiberty Lake, WA227Cheney, WA: 219 countCheney, WA219Battle Ground, WA: 217 countBattle Ground, WA217Issaquah, WA: 199 countIssaquah, WA199Covington, WA: 189 countCovington, WA189Maple Valley, WA: 182 countMaple Valley, WA182Enumclaw, WA: 179 countEnumclaw, WA179Sammamish, WA: 175 countSammamish, WA175West Richland, WA: 172 countWest Richland, WA172Renton, WA: 168 countRenton, WA168Seattle, WA: 10,784 countSeattle, WA10,784Kirkland, WA: 1,383 countKirkland, WA1,383Vancouver, WA: 1,372 countVancouver, WA1,372Tacoma, WA: 1,076 countTacoma, WA1,076Bellingham, WA: 1,072 countBellingham, WA1,072Spokane Valley, WA: 963 countSpokane Valley, WA963Woodinville, WA: 816 countWoodinville, WA816Ridgefield, WA: 784 countRidgefield, WA784Richland, WA: 760 countRichland, WA760Everett, WA: 723 countEverett, WA723Lacey, WA: 685 countLacey, WA685Camas, WA: 643 countCamas, WA643Yakima, WA: 580 countYakima, WA580Shoreline, WA: 575 countShoreline, WA575Bonney Lake, WA: 523 countBonney Lake, WA523Pasco, WA: 504 countPasco, WA504Marysville, WA: 502 countMarysville, WA502Redmond, WA: 455 countRedmond, WA455Spokane, WA: 421 countSpokane, WA421Bellevue, WA: 404 countBellevue, WA404Olympia, WA: 401 countOlympia, WA401Kent, WA: 389 countKent, WA389Pullman, WA: 388 countPullman, WA388Bremerton, WA: 367 countBremerton, WA367Kennewick, WA: 356 countKennewick, WA356Monroe, WA: 337 countMonroe, WA337Lake Stevens, WA: 315 countLake Stevens, WA315Newcastle, WA: 280 countNewcastle, WA280Federal Way, WA: 266 countFederal Way, WA266Arlington, WA: 247 countArlington, WA247Liberty Lake, WA: 227 countLiberty Lake, WA227Cheney, WA: 219 countCheney, WA219Battle Ground, WA: 217 countBattle Ground, WA217Issaquah, WA: 199 countIssaquah, WA199Covington, WA: 189 countCovington, WA189Maple Valley, WA: 182 countMaple Valley, WA182Enumclaw, WA: 179 countEnumclaw, WA179Sammamish, WA: 175 countSammamish, WA175West Richland, WA: 172 countWest Richland, WA172Renton, WA: 168 countRenton, WA168
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2019
count		Change on 2018
1Seattle, WA Estimated10,784+36.2%
2Kirkland, WA Estimated1,383-47.7%
3Vancouver, WA Estimated1,372+23.2%
4Tacoma, WA Estimated1,076+4.2%
5Bellingham, WA Estimated1,072+49.3%
6Spokane Valley, WA Estimated963+77.7%
7Woodinville, WA Estimated816+205.6%
8Ridgefield, WA Estimated784+149.7%
9Richland, WA Estimated760+129.6%
10Everett, WA Estimated723+195.1%
11Lacey, WA Estimated685-18.8%
12Camas, WA Estimated643+138.1%
13Yakima, WA Estimated580+131.1%
14Shoreline, WA Estimated575+58%
15Bonney Lake, WA Estimated523+817.5%
16Pasco, WA Estimated504+3.9%
17Marysville, WA Estimated502+45.5%
18Redmond, WA Estimated455-79.3%
19Spokane, WA Estimated421-50.8%
20Bellevue, WA Estimated404-56.3%
21Olympia, WA Estimated401+176.6%
22Kent, WA Estimated389-2.8%
23Pullman, WA Estimated388+65.8%
24Bremerton, WA Estimated367+93.2%
25Kennewick, WA Estimated356-47.6%
26Monroe, WA Estimated337+93.7%
27Lake Stevens, WA Estimated315+24.5%
28Newcastle, WA Estimated280+17.2%
29Federal Way, WA Estimated266+309.2%
30Arlington, WA Estimated247-23.1%
31Liberty Lake, WA Estimated227+41.9%
32Cheney, WA Estimated219+329.4%
33Battle Ground, WA Estimated217+41.8%
34Issaquah, WA Estimated199-18.1%
35Covington, WA Estimated189+190.8%
36Maple Valley, WA Estimated182+54.2%
37Enumclaw, WA Estimated179-2.7%
38Sammamish, WA Estimated175-37.9%
39West Richland, WA Estimated172+107.2%
40Renton, WA Estimated168-35.1%
41Bothell, WA Estimated167-65.4%
42Edgewood, WA Estimated149-74.2%
43Tumwater, WA Estimated143-1.4%
44Moses Lake, WA Estimated138-10.4%
45Lynden, WA Estimated136-25.7%
46Ferndale, WA Estimated134+10.7%
47Puyallup, WA Estimated123-55.6%
48Burlington, WA Estimated118+168.2%
49Snohomish, WA Estimated110+746.2%
50Port Orchard, WA Estimated98-13.3%
51Bainbridge Island, WA Estimated94-63%
52Gig Harbor, WA Estimated88-48.8%
53Mount Vernon, WA Estimated86-50%
54Mercer Island, WA Estimated84-1.2%
55Des Moines, WA Estimated69-42.5%
56Sunnyside, WA Estimated68+161.5%
57University Place, WA Estimated67-59.6%
58Anacortes, WA Estimated66-48%
59Sumner, WA Estimated64-50.8%
60Walla Walla, WA Estimated63-46.2%
61Shelton, WA Estimated61-4.7%
62Washougal, WA Estimated60+62.2%
63Wenatchee, WA Estimated58-69.8%
64Fife, WA Estimated57+280%
64Port Angeles, WA Estimated57+90%
66Airway Heights, WA Estimated56-69.6%
67Burien, WA Estimated53+29.3%
68Edmonds, WA Estimated51-21.5%
68Ellensburg, WA Estimated51-77.8%
68Port Townsend, WA Estimated51+59.4%
71Longview, WA Estimated49+172.2%
72Poulsbo, WA Estimated47-65.2%
73Yelm, WA Estimated44-4.3%
74Centralia, WA Estimated42-20.8%
74Kenmore, WA Estimated42-57.6%
76Lakewood, WA Estimated41-86.8%
77Sedro-Woolley, WA Estimated37+117.6%
78Lynnwood, WA Estimated30-91.8%
78Mountlake Terrace, WA Estimated30+36.4%
80Auburn, WA Estimated23-54%
81Oak Harbor, WA Estimated21-69.1%
82Tukwila, WA Estimated20-80.4%
83Kelso, WA Estimated14+133.3%
83SeaTac, WA Estimated14-64.1%
85Grandview, WA Estimated12+50%
86East Wenatchee, WA Estimated10-47.4%
87Snoqualmie, WA Estimated9+80%
88Lake Forest Park, WA Estimated8-73.3%
89Mukilteo, WA Estimated5-72.2%
90Aberdeen, WA Estimated20%
91Mill Creek, WA Estimated0n/a

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/we2019a.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. (2020). 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, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.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, 2019. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2020, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. 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, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2019.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2020) 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, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_washington_by_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  year = {2020},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2019. 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/we2019a.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, 2019
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2019.
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/we2019a.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 10,784 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Mill Creek, WA, with 0 in 2019.

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