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 2022, at 8,990. Fife, WA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 141 and the figure for Washington was 49,030. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest8,990Seattle, WA
Lowest0Fife, WA
Median14191 cities
Washington49,030History

Top 40 cities, 2022

Seattle, WA: 8,990 countSeattle, WA8,990Redmond, WA: 2,153 countRedmond, WA2,153Vancouver, WA: 1,882 countVancouver, WA1,882Tacoma, WA: 1,540 countTacoma, WA1,540Bothell, WA: 1,263 countBothell, WA1,263Shoreline, WA: 1,121 countShoreline, WA1,121Spokane Valley, WA: 1,048 countSpokane Valley, WA1,048Bellingham, WA: 833 countBellingham, WA833Renton, WA: 820 countRenton, WA820SeaTac, WA: 699 countSeaTac, WA699Pasco, WA: 578 countPasco, WA578Spokane, WA: 578 countSpokane, WA578Kirkland, WA: 552 countKirkland, WA552Richland, WA: 490 countRichland, WA490Port Orchard, WA: 484 countPort Orchard, WA484Federal Way, WA: 474 countFederal Way, WA474Bellevue, WA: 452 countBellevue, WA452Lynnwood, WA: 392 countLynnwood, WA392Marysville, WA: 366 countMarysville, WA366Kent, WA: 362 countKent, WA362Ridgefield, WA: 362 countRidgefield, WA362Yakima, WA: 349 countYakima, WA349Battle Ground, WA: 342 countBattle Ground, WA342Bremerton, WA: 342 countBremerton, WA342Olympia, WA: 338 countOlympia, WA338University Place, WA: 334 countUniversity Place, WA334Lacey, WA: 319 countLacey, WA319Woodinville, WA: 313 countWoodinville, WA313Lake Stevens, WA: 304 countLake Stevens, WA304Liberty Lake, WA: 301 countLiberty Lake, WA301Wenatchee, WA: 278 countWenatchee, WA278Burien, WA: 272 countBurien, WA272Kennewick, WA: 270 countKennewick, WA270Burlington, WA: 262 countBurlington, WA262West Richland, WA: 260 countWest Richland, WA260Pullman, WA: 246 countPullman, WA246Maple Valley, WA: 221 countMaple Valley, WA221Edgewood, WA: 217 countEdgewood, WA217Lynden, WA: 215 countLynden, WA215Arlington, WA: 210 countArlington, WA210Seattle, WA: 8,990 countSeattle, WA8,990Redmond, WA: 2,153 countRedmond, WA2,153Vancouver, WA: 1,882 countVancouver, WA1,882Tacoma, WA: 1,540 countTacoma, WA1,540Bothell, WA: 1,263 countBothell, WA1,263Shoreline, WA: 1,121 countShoreline, WA1,121Spokane Valley, WA: 1,048 countSpokane Valley, WA1,048Bellingham, WA: 833 countBellingham, WA833Renton, WA: 820 countRenton, WA820SeaTac, WA: 699 countSeaTac, WA699Pasco, WA: 578 countPasco, WA578Spokane, WA: 578 countSpokane, WA578Kirkland, WA: 552 countKirkland, WA552Richland, WA: 490 countRichland, WA490Port Orchard, WA: 484 countPort Orchard, WA484Federal Way, WA: 474 countFederal Way, WA474Bellevue, WA: 452 countBellevue, WA452Lynnwood, WA: 392 countLynnwood, WA392Marysville, WA: 366 countMarysville, WA366Kent, WA: 362 countKent, WA362Ridgefield, WA: 362 countRidgefield, WA362Yakima, WA: 349 countYakima, WA349Battle Ground, WA: 342 countBattle Ground, WA342Bremerton, WA: 342 countBremerton, WA342Olympia, WA: 338 countOlympia, WA338University Place, WA: 334 countUniversity Place, WA334Lacey, WA: 319 countLacey, WA319Woodinville, WA: 313 countWoodinville, WA313Lake Stevens, WA: 304 countLake Stevens, WA304Liberty Lake, WA: 301 countLiberty Lake, WA301Wenatchee, WA: 278 countWenatchee, WA278Burien, WA: 272 countBurien, WA272Kennewick, WA: 270 countKennewick, WA270Burlington, WA: 262 countBurlington, WA262West Richland, WA: 260 countWest Richland, WA260Pullman, WA: 246 countPullman, WA246Maple Valley, WA: 221 countMaple Valley, WA221Edgewood, WA: 217 countEdgewood, WA217Lynden, WA: 215 countLynden, WA215Arlington, WA: 210 countArlington, WA210
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2022
count		Change on 2021
1Seattle, WA Estimated8,990-25%
2Redmond, WA Estimated2,153+230.2%
3Vancouver, WA Estimated1,882-21.7%
4Tacoma, WA Estimated1,540-37.7%
5Bothell, WA Estimated1,263+371.3%
6Shoreline, WA Estimated1,121+14%
7Spokane Valley, WA Estimated1,048-4.1%
8Bellingham, WA Estimated833-25.3%
9Renton, WA Estimated820+745.4%
10SeaTac, WA Estimated699+3,077.3%
11Pasco, WA Estimated578+0.7%
11Spokane, WA Estimated578-3%
13Kirkland, WA Estimated552-7.4%
14Richland, WA Estimated490-5.4%
15Port Orchard, WA Estimated484-14.3%
16Federal Way, WA Estimated474+1,534.5%
17Bellevue, WA Estimated452-80.9%
18Lynnwood, WA Estimated392-69.8%
19Marysville, WA Estimated366-40.6%
20Kent, WA Estimated362-14.6%
20Ridgefield, WA Estimated362-50.1%
22Yakima, WA Estimated349-22.4%
23Battle Ground, WA Estimated342+6.9%
23Bremerton, WA Estimated342-35.7%
25Olympia, WA Estimated338+28.5%
26University Place, WA Estimated334+178.3%
27Lacey, WA Estimated319-65.2%
28Woodinville, WA Estimated313+3,377.8%
29Lake Stevens, WA Estimated304+41.4%
30Liberty Lake, WA Estimated301+173.6%
31Wenatchee, WA Estimated278+86.6%
32Burien, WA Estimated272+66.9%
33Kennewick, WA Estimated270-3.6%
34Burlington, WA Estimated262-0.8%
35West Richland, WA Estimated260-21.9%
36Pullman, WA Estimated246-31.3%
37Maple Valley, WA Estimated221+34.8%
38Edgewood, WA Estimated217+16%
39Lynden, WA Estimated215+73.4%
40Arlington, WA Estimated210-2.3%
41Tumwater, WA Estimated183-9%
42Moses Lake, WA Estimated175-2.8%
43Sumner, WA Estimated161+347.2%
44Lakewood, WA Estimated157+89.2%
45Edmonds, WA Estimated148+87.3%
46Longview, WA Estimated141+107.4%
47Poulsbo, WA Estimated139+3.7%
48Port Townsend, WA Estimated129+31.6%
49Gig Harbor, WA Estimated125-45.2%
50Ellensburg, WA Estimated119+95.1%
51Ferndale, WA Estimated116-44.5%
52Airway Heights, WA Estimated1090%
53Walla Walla, WA Estimated108-30.8%
54Kenmore, WA Estimated103-12.7%
55Washougal, WA Estimated95+1.1%
56Anacortes, WA Estimated87-47.3%
56Everett, WA Estimated87-86.2%
58Issaquah, WA Estimated81-47.7%
59Yelm, WA Estimated79+107.9%
60Camas, WA Estimated76-73.4%
61Sammamish, WA Estimated69+38%
62Centralia, WA Estimated67-16.3%
62Enumclaw, WA Estimated67+1.5%
64Puyallup, WA Estimated66-35.9%
65Bonney Lake, WA Estimated62-45.6%
66Monroe, WA Estimated61-48.7%
67Snohomish, WA Estimated60+50%
68Sedro-Woolley, WA Estimated56-72.9%
69Bainbridge Island, WA Estimated52-44.1%
70Grandview, WA Estimated46-41%
71Port Angeles, WA Estimated42-8.7%
72Sunnyside, WA Estimated40+53.8%
73Auburn, WA Estimated39-50.6%
74Mountlake Terrace, WA Estimated35-72.4%
75Oak Harbor, WA Estimated32-28.9%
76Mercer Island, WA Estimated26-16.1%
77Tukwila, WA Estimated25+66.7%
78East Wenatchee, WA Estimated23+283.3%
79Covington, WA Estimated20-93.7%
80Mount Vernon, WA Estimated18-89.8%
81Newcastle, WA Estimated17-65.3%
82Lake Forest Park, WA Estimated13+85.7%
83Cheney, WA Estimated12-82.6%
83Shelton, WA Estimated12-25%
85Snoqualmie, WA Estimated11n/a
86Des Moines, WA Estimated6-81.8%
86Kelso, WA Estimated6-14.3%
88Aberdeen, WA Estimated4-60%
89Mukilteo, WA Estimated30%
90Mill Creek, WA Estimated2-94.4%
91Fife, 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/we2022a.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. (2024). 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, 2022) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2022a.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, 2022. U.S. Census Bureau, 2 Apr. 2024, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2022a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2022. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2024. 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, 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2022a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2022.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2024) 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, 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2022a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_washington_by_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  year = {2024},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2022a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2022. 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/we2022a.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, 2022
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/04/02
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2022a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/washington-cities?period=2022.
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/we2022a.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 8,990 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Fife, WA, with 0 in 2022.

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