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 2021, at 11,980. Snoqualmie, WA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 134 and the figure for Washington was 56,941. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest11,980Seattle, WA
Lowest0Snoqualmie, WA
Median13491 cities
Washington56,941History

Top 40 cities, 2021

Seattle, WA: 11,980 countSeattle, WA11,980Tacoma, WA: 2,470 countTacoma, WA2,470Vancouver, WA: 2,403 countVancouver, WA2,403Bellevue, WA: 2,367 countBellevue, WA2,367Lynnwood, WA: 1,299 countLynnwood, WA1,299Bellingham, WA: 1,115 countBellingham, WA1,115Spokane Valley, WA: 1,093 countSpokane Valley, WA1,093Shoreline, WA: 983 countShoreline, WA983Lacey, WA: 917 countLacey, WA917Ridgefield, WA: 725 countRidgefield, WA725Redmond, WA: 652 countRedmond, WA652Everett, WA: 630 countEverett, WA630Marysville, WA: 616 countMarysville, WA616Kirkland, WA: 596 countKirkland, WA596Spokane, WA: 596 countSpokane, WA596Pasco, WA: 574 countPasco, WA574Port Orchard, WA: 565 countPort Orchard, WA565Bremerton, WA: 532 countBremerton, WA532Richland, WA: 518 countRichland, WA518Yakima, WA: 450 countYakima, WA450Kent, WA: 424 countKent, WA424Pullman, WA: 358 countPullman, WA358West Richland, WA: 333 countWest Richland, WA333Battle Ground, WA: 320 countBattle Ground, WA320Covington, WA: 316 countCovington, WA316Camas, WA: 286 countCamas, WA286Kennewick, WA: 280 countKennewick, WA280Bothell, WA: 268 countBothell, WA268Burlington, WA: 264 countBurlington, WA264Olympia, WA: 263 countOlympia, WA263Gig Harbor, WA: 228 countGig Harbor, WA228Arlington, WA: 215 countArlington, WA215Lake Stevens, WA: 215 countLake Stevens, WA215Ferndale, WA: 209 countFerndale, WA209Sedro-Woolley, WA: 207 countSedro-Woolley, WA207Tumwater, WA: 201 countTumwater, WA201Edgewood, WA: 187 countEdgewood, WA187Moses Lake, WA: 180 countMoses Lake, WA180Mount Vernon, WA: 176 countMount Vernon, WA176Anacortes, WA: 165 countAnacortes, WA165Seattle, WA: 11,980 countSeattle, WA11,980Tacoma, WA: 2,470 countTacoma, WA2,470Vancouver, WA: 2,403 countVancouver, WA2,403Bellevue, WA: 2,367 countBellevue, WA2,367Lynnwood, WA: 1,299 countLynnwood, WA1,299Bellingham, WA: 1,115 countBellingham, WA1,115Spokane Valley, WA: 1,093 countSpokane Valley, WA1,093Shoreline, WA: 983 countShoreline, WA983Lacey, WA: 917 countLacey, WA917Ridgefield, WA: 725 countRidgefield, WA725Redmond, WA: 652 countRedmond, WA652Everett, WA: 630 countEverett, WA630Marysville, WA: 616 countMarysville, WA616Kirkland, WA: 596 countKirkland, WA596Spokane, WA: 596 countSpokane, WA596Pasco, WA: 574 countPasco, WA574Port Orchard, WA: 565 countPort Orchard, WA565Bremerton, WA: 532 countBremerton, WA532Richland, WA: 518 countRichland, WA518Yakima, WA: 450 countYakima, WA450Kent, WA: 424 countKent, WA424Pullman, WA: 358 countPullman, WA358West Richland, WA: 333 countWest Richland, WA333Battle Ground, WA: 320 countBattle Ground, WA320Covington, WA: 316 countCovington, WA316Camas, WA: 286 countCamas, WA286Kennewick, WA: 280 countKennewick, WA280Bothell, WA: 268 countBothell, WA268Burlington, WA: 264 countBurlington, WA264Olympia, WA: 263 countOlympia, WA263Gig Harbor, WA: 228 countGig Harbor, WA228Arlington, WA: 215 countArlington, WA215Lake Stevens, WA: 215 countLake Stevens, WA215Ferndale, WA: 209 countFerndale, WA209Sedro-Woolley, WA: 207 countSedro-Woolley, WA207Tumwater, WA: 201 countTumwater, WA201Edgewood, WA: 187 countEdgewood, WA187Moses Lake, WA: 180 countMoses Lake, WA180Mount Vernon, WA: 176 countMount Vernon, WA176Anacortes, WA: 165 countAnacortes, WA165
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
count		Change on 2020
1Seattle, WA Estimated11,980+109.2%
2Tacoma, WA Estimated2,470+165%
3Vancouver, WA Estimated2,403+52.8%
4Bellevue, WA Estimated2,367+610.8%
5Lynnwood, WA Estimated1,299+16.4%
6Bellingham, WA Estimated1,115+70%
7Spokane Valley, WA Estimated1,093-1.5%
8Shoreline, WA Estimated983+440.1%
9Lacey, WA Estimated917+191.1%
10Ridgefield, WA Estimated725+7.6%
11Redmond, WA Estimated652-67.5%
12Everett, WA Estimated630+12.5%
13Marysville, WA Estimated616+45.6%
14Kirkland, WA Estimated596+3.5%
14Spokane, WA Estimated596+10.6%
16Pasco, WA Estimated574+9.3%
17Port Orchard, WA Estimated565+118.1%
18Bremerton, WA Estimated532+42.2%
19Richland, WA Estimated518-9.4%
20Yakima, WA Estimated450+121.7%
21Kent, WA Estimated424+12.5%
22Pullman, WA Estimated358+630.6%
23West Richland, WA Estimated333+46.1%
24Battle Ground, WA Estimated320+63.3%
25Covington, WA Estimated316+167.8%
26Camas, WA Estimated286-15.1%
27Kennewick, WA Estimated280-14.1%
28Bothell, WA Estimated268+38.1%
29Burlington, WA Estimated264+27.5%
30Olympia, WA Estimated263+34.2%
31Gig Harbor, WA Estimated228+90%
32Arlington, WA Estimated215+52.5%
32Lake Stevens, WA Estimated215-38.7%
34Ferndale, WA Estimated209+25.9%
35Sedro-Woolley, WA Estimated207+417.5%
36Tumwater, WA Estimated201+8.6%
37Edgewood, WA Estimated187+21.4%
38Moses Lake, WA Estimated180+42.9%
39Mount Vernon, WA Estimated176+93.4%
40Anacortes, WA Estimated165+52.8%
41Maple Valley, WA Estimated164-21.9%
42Burien, WA Estimated163+167.2%
43Walla Walla, WA Estimated156+218.4%
44Issaquah, WA Estimated155+50.5%
45Wenatchee, WA Estimated149-22.8%
46Poulsbo, WA Estimated134+168%
47Mountlake Terrace, WA Estimated127-34.2%
48Lynden, WA Estimated124-7.5%
49University Place, WA Estimated120-10.4%
50Monroe, WA Estimated1190%
51Kenmore, WA Estimated118+202.6%
52Bonney Lake, WA Estimated114+16.3%
53Liberty Lake, WA Estimated110-34.1%
54Airway Heights, WA Estimated109+25.3%
55Puyallup, WA Estimated103+1%
56Port Townsend, WA Estimated98+197%
57Renton, WA Estimated97-63.1%
58Washougal, WA Estimated94+62.1%
59Bainbridge Island, WA Estimated93+8.1%
60Lakewood, WA Estimated83-48.8%
61Centralia, WA Estimated80+35.6%
62Auburn, WA Estimated79-4.8%
62Edmonds, WA Estimated79-66.2%
64Grandview, WA Estimated78+160%
65Cheney, WA Estimated69+165.4%
66Longview, WA Estimated68+300%
67Enumclaw, WA Estimated66-58.2%
68Ellensburg, WA Estimated61-19.7%
69Sammamish, WA Estimated50-70.9%
70Newcastle, WA Estimated49+36.1%
71Port Angeles, WA Estimated46+39.4%
72Oak Harbor, WA Estimated45-59.5%
73Snohomish, WA Estimated40-9.1%
74Yelm, WA Estimated38+81%
75Mill Creek, WA Estimated36-71.9%
75Sumner, WA Estimated36-30.8%
77Des Moines, WA Estimated33-85.1%
78Mercer Island, WA Estimated31-65.6%
79Federal Way, WA Estimated29-17.1%
80Sunnyside, WA Estimated26+4%
81SeaTac, WA Estimated22-12%
82Shelton, WA Estimated16-77.5%
83Tukwila, WA Estimated15-88.4%
84Aberdeen, WA Estimated10-41.2%
85Woodinville, WA Estimated9-91%
86Kelso, WA Estimated7-53.3%
86Lake Forest Park, WA Estimated7-12.5%
88East Wenatchee, WA Estimated6-57.1%
89Mukilteo, WA Estimated3-76.9%
90Fife, WA Estimated0-100%
90Snoqualmie, 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/we2021a.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. (2022). 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, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.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, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 27 Apr. 2022, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2022. 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, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2022) 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, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_washington_by_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  year = {2022},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2021. 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/we2021a.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, 2021
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/04/27
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2021.
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/we2021a.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 11,980 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Snoqualmie, WA, with 0 in 2021.

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